Wayward Explorers

In the morning, Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue cast off from the wall at Saint Annes.  The wall had no cleats, so the prior day, they had just wrapped their lines around a railing and cleated them back to the boat.  This made casting off extremely easy because Sidekick Sue never had to leave the boat.  She just uncleated the line from the boat’s cleat and pulled it back around the railing.  Leaving was a lot more graceful than the landing had been when they scraped a little bit against the wall.  Ooops!  This is why one learns on an old boat.

The morning ride was uneventful except for crossing the cables of a few cable ferries. The Explorers motored about 30 miles to the Carillon lock, much of it in the rain.  They remembered the that captain that had rafted with them in the commercial docks (the owner of Boat #2 from the locking disaster) had said the door of this lock was incredibly tall, and reminiscent of the door used to contain King Kong in the movie.  The Explorers started discussing other tidbits of advice and information Boat #2’s captain had shared and recalled that he said he had been stuck in Montreal for 5 days waiting to get through the second commercial lock.  He had initially tried to pass through on Monday, but it was a Canadian Holiday and he was told to come back on Tuesday.  When he came back on Tuesday, he was told the lock would not be opening because a commercial vessel had run aground and was blocking the lock.  He waited in Old Montreal, checking the status of the lock until Friday, when he was told that it was finally resolved and he could pass through Saturday morning (where we met him).  Two things suddenly dawned upon the Explorers.  First, they were extremely lucky that they showed up on Saturday, and not earlier.  Second, the Explorers original start date for the trip had been delayed three days in Massena when dropping off a vehicle.  Had they left on time, they would have spent that extra three days sitting in Montreal as well, waiting for the lock to open, so their initial delay didn’t really cost them any time…. in fact, it saved them from a few days at anchor or the expense of a marina in Montreal. 

As the Explorers approached the Carillon lock, they had to agree that the door was massive.  Unlike most of the lock doors they had seen that swing open, this door opened like a guillotine.  It was quite a feat of engineering.  As they waited for the door to open (it was only scheduled to open 3 times a day), there was a dock that should have easily accommodated three vessels.  Unfortunately, 2 rather large boats where already on the dock and had not done much to conserve space, leaving the Explorers with only about a half a boat space.  Captain Mark hovered for a bit, and just as he was considering pulling up to a nearby cement wall, the owners of the two boats started manually walking their boats forward to make room, leaving enough space for the Explorers to dock carefully with their tail end sticking out a tiny bit.  Because they had nowhere to cleat behind the boat, they managed to rig up a few spring lines to keep the boat from drifting into the boat in front of it.  Finally, the huge door opened.  The first boat moved into the lock and the second was casting off its lines.  Sidekick Sue took this cue to untie her lines.  Just as she threw her last line onto the Wayward Explorer and was ready to step aboard, she heard someone yelling for help.  The woman in the boat ahead of them had gotten a line caught between the deck planks but she had already boarded the boat and couldn’t get back to the dock.  Captain Mark told Sidekick Sue to go ahead and help her and that he would just maneuver up the dock to pick her up further up the dock.  Sidekick Sue managed to free the line, toss it to the screaming woman, and climb back aboard the Wayward Explorer as Captain Mark promised.  It was a happy ending, and they were heroes of what could have been an ugly situation. Phew!

Inside the lock, there was a floating dock lift (their favorite) and they just had to tie up and relax.  There was a docktender available to help the boat in front of them, the owners were still a little flustered.   Once through the lock, they docked on a wall on the other side and went ashore to do some walking.  They walked into the closest town, which seemed to consist of a hot dog/poutine stand and a smattering of houses.  Then they found a trail to help them satisfy Sidekick Sue’s Fitbit goal for the day.  They returned to the boat and cast off for another 20 miles or so, the weather had gotten much nicer.  They anchored for the night in a calm “finger” off the Ottawa River and had a good night’s sleep. 

Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue woke up refreshed, both commenting on what a good night sleep they had.  They decided that they really liked this small town and wanted to spend some more time looking around.  They assessed the laundry situation and decided that could wait until Ottawa, but they needed some fresh produce, chicken, and ice.  They also need to deal with the composting toilets and the water supply on board.  They were hoping they could use the Wi-fi at Annies to finally get some pictures uploaded to accompany their blogs. 

A water spigot was located, but not close enough to the boat to run a hose.  They located a hardware store about 1.5 miles away and hiked over to buy a big blue 5-gallon water tote.  Captain Mark set about making multiple trips to the spigot to work on filling the tank.  It turned out the Explorers had done an excellent job with water conservation in the first 4 days of their trip and the tank was not as empty as anticipated, so his job was not as hard as he expected.  Most of the boats from the party scene the night before had left, so there was plenty of boat parking in front of the waterfront restaurants.  Sidekick Sue walked down to see if the Wi-fi signal from Annies could reach the dock.  If so, moving the boat would we worth the free day of Wi-fi.  The signal did indeed reach the dock, but it turned out the dock in front of Annies was not part of the public docking area… it was Annies’ private dock, so staying all day would not be considerate.  So, plan B was to come back, laptop in hand and sit outdoors on the bench (which conveniently had an electrical outlet that may or may not be working) and upload pictures.   With their first round of chores done, the Explorers headed to Annies with their phones and laptop, ready to share and upload pictures.  On arrival, Annies internet router was no longer on the airwaves and it seemed rather rude to go in and ask them to reboot their router so we could steal the internet signal.  As a result….. still no pictures of this trip. 

Instead, our Explorers set out to get the grocery shopping (provisioning) done.  On their return, they saw the lock was open and decided to lock through instead of waiting until morning.  They had already investigated that there was a wall to tie up to on the other side of the lock where they could spend the night just a few hundred yards from where they were currently docked.  That way, in the morning, they would not have to wait for the locks to open at 9 am before leaving.  Sidekick Sue quickly stowed groceries while Captain Mark radioed the locktender and asked if there was enough time to get there for the current lockage.  They replied in the affirmative, so the Explorers quickly cast off and joined a few other boats in the lock. 

After locking through, the Explorers docked and got out their folding bikes and biked 6 miles out and 6 miles back to explore the town.  The ride was somewhat of a disappointment because the rest of town was not quite so quaint as the area around the lock.  Most of the bike route was along major roads and not so charming.  Still, it felt good to get out and get moving.  Sidekick Sue seems to have strained a chest muscle, likely from handling lines, boat hooks and fenders, so she is trying to avoid heavy lifting for a few days, so bicycling is a great alternative. 

Sidekick Sue prepared chicken and salad while Captain Mark dealt with the composting toilets.  When he removed the old toilets and holding tank, he agreed to be the “toilet guy”.  Without going into a lot of gross detail, the composting toilets manage waste by sorting #1 into one container and #2 into a second container containing peat moss.  The containers of #1 have to be emptied frequently (can just be flushed away on land), while the #2 basically takes care of itself and composts into a mixture that can be dumped after the trip.  It’s a bit of a hassle, but nowhere near the hassle of dealing with the holding tanks, the pump-outs and the fear of overflowing in the event that a pump-out station cannot be found when needed.    

After chores and dinner, the Explorers enjoyed a nice quiet evening, finishing off the Leffe beers (seems to be a nightly theme) and enjoying the quiet of the park now that the Saturday night partiers are gone. 

Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue both woke up earlier than planned without an alarm.   They had a lot of nervous energy looking forward to going through their first commercial-sized lock.  It was a 2-mile trip from where they anchored to the waiting area for recreational vessels.  The lock only accommodates recreational vessels twice a day, one pass in the morning and one pass in the afternoon, so boaters have to arrive and just wait until called.  As the Explorers approached the waiting area, they saw that all the available spaces on the dock were taken and boats were already starting to “raft”.  Rafting is when one boat is tied to the dock and another boat pulls alongside and ties to the docked boat. Then another boat pulls alongside the rafted boat and rafts to them, and so on.  

The crew on one of the docked boats gave a wave to the Wayward Explorers to invite them to raft alongside.  Captain Mark (did we say he had nerves of steel?) cautiously and successfully pulled alongside this beautiful luxury yacht that is worth at least 8 times the value of the 1988 Wayward Explorer.  Sidekick Sue worked with the yacht’s crew to make sure the boats were tied together securely and the fenders were placed well to prevent the boats from bumping into each other.   Then, the Explorers waited for another boat to come and raft on their other side.  In about an hour, a couple dozen boats had accumulated in the rafting configuration with a few more hovering nearby.  A signal blasted from the lock, the doors opened, and large container ship exited.  The only commercial vessel waiting for passage was a small steamboat-looking vessel that looked like it might be a river cruise.  This was the first vessel allowed into the lock, and then an announcement in French seemed to indicate that recreational vehicles could enter.  The Explorers didn’t understand the message, but it was clear from the way everyone started un-rafting and jockeying for position that this was the morning passage for personal vehicles.  With ticket in hand, Captain Mark joined the group, hanging toward the back since he commands a slow-moving vessel, but more importantly, he needed to assess what was going on. 

The Explorers watched the loading process from afar.  The locktenders directed the first boat to the wall on the port (left) side and dropped down long lines for the crews to cleat to their boats.  Then the next two vehicles rafted to the first, and the process started again. Loading the lock was a slow process (took over an hour) and the lock was nearly full when the Wayward Explorer (Boat 1) entered and was directed to the wall.  Sidekick Sue caught the first line and cleated it, while Captain Mark jumped down from the fly-bridge and grabbed the second line.  After cleating the line, he returned to his controls to shut down the engine, while Sidekick Sue moved to the starboard side of the boat to catch lines from the smaller boat (Boat 2) that needed to raft to them.  Once secured, the crew of Boat 2 moved to their starboard side to wait for the next boat to raft (Boat 3).  Up until now, the process had been orderly and uneventful. 

The captain on Boat 2 caught the line at the bow (front) of Boat 3, but then things got awkward.  It quickly became clear that Boat 3 was not prepared with lines and fenders; it appeared they only had one of each.  To make things worse, Boat 3 had a huge stainless steel rack containing fenders that protruded off the side of their boat and would “crunch” the side of the Boat 2 (the Explorers later learned that none of the fenders had ropes on them, which is why they weren’t actually using them).  With only one line secured, Boat 3 started to do a 180-degree rotation, turning sideways in the lock, barely missing the other side of the lock wall, until it was backwards in the lock.  To avoid damage to his own boat, the captain of Boat 2 released the bow line and Boat 3 started to drift into the boat behind Boat 2, which was a beautiful luxury yacht.  The entire crew of the yacht jumped into action to push Boat 3 away.  By now, everyone in the vicinity was watching this action (and getting their boat hooks ready to push Boat 3 away if necessary).  People had their phones up in the air, filming the scene and Sidekick Sue wondered how long it would take for this video to reach the internet.  The captain of Boat 3 finally got turned around again and made another attempt to raft to Boat 2.  On this attempt to move alongside Boat 2, he once again started to flip around 180-degrees (the Explorers later learned that Boat 2 had two side-by-side engines and only one was working, so it made sense that he was rotating).  This time, the captain of Boat 2 was able to grab the rail of Boat 3.  Sidekick Sue was able to give the bow of Boat 3 a push with her boat hook to straighten it out so that it was parallel to Boat 2 and the captain of Boat 2 was able to use his own lines and fenders to secure the boat.  He was clearly not happy about having to deal with a reckless driver who was completely unprepared for rafting, but he was happy that the boat was backward in the lock so the fender rack wasn’t hitting his boat. 

Once the excitement was over, the lock doors closed and the water level began to go up.  Because they were tied to the wall, Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue had to pull tight on their lines to keep the whole “raft” of 3 boats close to the wall.  They watched an experienced boater (Captain Mark said he looked like he should have been in a Discovery Channel series) in front of them to see how they ran the line around a cleat to give them more leverage; it worked like a charm.  Once the water stopped filling the lock, the front doors opened and the whole process worked in reverse, with the boats leaving one by one.  When it came time for the Explorer’s row, of course the boat on the end was backwards, so they had to wait while Boat 3 got itself turned around (again narrowly missing the lock wall).  Everyone breathed a sign of relief as they headed toward the next commercial lock.  The captain on Boat 2 let the Explorers know that Boat 3 (luckily) was headed to a marina, and not following to the next lock.  Phew!  Captain Mark did his best to steer clear of Boat 3 until it turned off and headed toward a marina. 

At the second commercial dock, there wasn’t much excitement at all.  The walls were much taller, so the lift was much higher.  The Wayward Explorers weren’t place on the wall this time; they were instructed to raft up to a huge luxury yacht which turned out to be the same neighbors from the morning before the first lock.  Their friend in Boat #2 rafted up on their starboard again, so everyone was jovial and friendly.  This lockage was easier because the Explorers did not have to manage any lines once everything was tied and secured.  They were able to talk with their neighbors, share their journeys, and gather recommendations of places to visit.  The water was a bit rougher as it filled the dock, jostling the boats around more than the first lock.  It appeared that they were rafted right near where the water was entering the lock. 

After the big lock, the goal for the night was to get to the lock at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which is a small dock for recreational vessels.  It is the gateway to the Ottawa River, obviously heading to Ottawa.  When they arrived at Sainte Annes, they found the dock in front of the lock was nearly full, mostly because a large stretch of the concrete wall was actually under water.  They managed to find a spot where they “almost fit”, where their front end would be sticking beyond the front of the dock with nowhere to cleat the bow line.  They figured that the water was calm and it would be secure if they used a springline.  Just as they were tying up, the personnel from the dock came and moved the vessel that was behind them, so they were able to pull the boat back and tie up properly.  Now they had time to explore Saint Annes. 

It turns out that this area of Saint Annes is a hopping place for night life.  There are numerous restaurants along the waterfront, and apparently many people come to tie up and party, some spending the night and others disappearing before morning.  The Explorers set off to get some exercise after not being able to leave the boat at all the day before.  First, they found a pub-style restaurant (Annies) and had a great burger and some beer (and recorded the Wi-Fi password for future use).  Then they explored the area, finding a small grocery store where they picked up some ice and Leffe beer, which was one of their favorites when they traveled to Belgium.  After a nice long walk around town and around the park, they settled in for the evening with a few beers on the fly-bridge.  There were groups of young people in small boats rafted three astride, blasting different techno music in front of them and behind them.  They also noticed that they were very close to a highway overpass and a train bridge with regular trains.  Saint Annes was not going to be a quiet place to sleep.  When they retired for the night, they thought it would be a long night, but apparently all that nervous energy from the lock passages had subsided, and they fell asleep instantly and slept through the techno music, the traffic and the train. 

Today will be a short story.  It was a very uneventful, rain-filled day for Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue.  They pulled up anchor on a gloomy day and started up the St. Lawrence.  It rained the entire day.  Captain Mark decided to try steering from the cabin indoors, where there is a dual set of controls.  This was his first experience driving from inside because this is a very old boat with a very “rectangular” cabin (not very streamlined) and the visibility from inside is not great.  The difference from a car is that with the autopilot on, the Captain can walk around the cabin and look out windows or even step outside.  Luckily, there was very little river traffic and the rain was steady, but not strong.  Winds were still fairly light, and Captain Mark only needed to stick his head outside a few times to confirm the location of other boats, buoys, debris, etc.  He did his best to stay out of the ship channel, but also far enough away from shallow water.  They were passed by a few HUGE container ships, but mostly passed container ships that were anchored along the river.  The Explorer’s goal for the day was to position themselves a short distance from the St. Lambert Lock, so they would be ready to go in the morning.  It was very slow moving because they were traveling against the current of the St. Lawrence, barely moving at 3-4 knots. 

The St. Lambert lock is the first HUGE lock that the Explorers have ever had to traverse.  This one is large enough to accommodate cruise ships, container ships and freighters.  As such, it caters to commercial traffic, not recreational boaters.  As the Explorers understand it, they need to arrive early, tie up with the other recreational boaters and WAIT for the announcement that the locks are opening for recreational vessels (which is supposed to happen twice a day).  The wait could be short or hours and hours, depending on the commercial traffic going through. 

The Explorers settled in an anchorage a few miles from the lock.  Captain Mark spent time researching the process of buying tickets online (these locks are not covered under the Canada Parks pass), and learned that the locks had been closed all day today because of mechanical problems.  So, the Explorers anticipate a busy day tomorrow, with lots of boats, both recreational and commercial, vying to get through.  Suddenly, it made sense why they saw so many commercial boats anchored along the river.  It could be a long day tomorrow.

Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue cast off from the very comfortable dock at Chambly.  Out of the canal, and back on the Richelieu River, the couple headed north.  The first part of the journey was rather uneventful.  It was cloudy and spitting rain; Captain Mark donned his all-weather gear and went up to the fly-bridge, letting Sidekick Sue stay downstairs and take care of some business (blog-writing, bill-paying, etc.).  The Explorers passed three small ferries running on underwater cables that help the locals get from one side of the river to the other where there are no nearby bridges.  As the ferry crosses the river, the cable is pulled very close to the surface, so Captain Mark had to wait a few minutes after the ferry docked to make sure the cable had settled back down before crossing the ferry path.  Over the next few hours, the Explorers were passed by three faster moving vessels that didn’t bother to slow down and created sizeable wakes.  Luckily, from his experience in the ICW last year, Captain Mark is getting much better at riding the wake without too much gear flying around the cabin.  At one point, Captain Mark had to pass under a tall bridge, where the current was so strong it pulled him through at a much higher rate of speed than was comfortable… the Captain has nerves of steel.

Around mid-day, they reached the lock at St. Ours.  This was a much larger lock than the ones on the Chambly canal.  It opens on request and the Wayward Explorer was the only boat in the lock.  The best feature was that the boat could be tied to a floating dock (just like any other dock), and the entire dock just moved down with the water.  There was no line-handling necessary; the Explorers just relaxed and let the lock do its thing.  The locktender indicated that the water level on the St. Lawrence was very high for this time of year, so the difference in the water level from the Richelieu to the St. Lawrence was only a few feet.  Before they knew it, the ride was over and the Explorers untied from the float dock and exited the lock.  Outside the lock, there was a dock available for use of those holding a Canada Park pass (which they do), so the Explorers decided to get out and do some walking.  The dock was attached to a small island park that had a number of A-frame structures available for camping.  Apparently, these are available to boaters coming through if they want to spend the night.  The Explorers walked around the island and then crossed back on the walkway over the lock doors to the other side.  They walked about 2 miles into the town of St. Ours.  Highlights were a beautiful big church with a metal roof and a steel steeple, an antique shop, and a bookstore that doubled as the local’s gathering spot.  As the Explorers returned to their docked boat, they noted the slow-moving sailboat that was with them through the Chambly Canal had caught up and locked through.  The sailor had mentioned that he would be working at the lock through the summer, so his adventure was done.  The Explorers, however, had a few more hours in their day.

The Explorers continued up the Richelieu River well north of Montreal until it opened into the St. Lawrence River.  From here, the Explorers will take the St. Lawrence into Montreal, against the current, for a short time.  Plan A is to pick up the Ottawa River on the other side of Montreal, and head to Ottawa.  Plan B, if needed, is to just follow the St. Lawrence straight to Massena, NY.  The Explorers will make that call in a few days.  For tonight, the Explorers pulled around a barrier island in the St. Lawrence and found a calm spot to anchor for the night.  The weather was still gloomy, but the chill in the air kept the bugs away, so our friends were able to enjoy a quiet night on the fly-bridge before retiring for the evening. 

Today was a day of locks and bridges for Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue.  Yesterday, we left our Explorers at Chambly Bridge 12, waiting for a 9:00 AM opening.  The Chambly Canal parallels the Richelieu River which in not navigable through this 12-mile section because of a series of rapids, so the locks have to lower the boats 80’ to the level of the Richelieu River on the other side of the rapids. 

Shortly after 9:00, the bridge started opening and the Explorers were called on the radio to pass under the first bridge and into the first Lock (Lock #9).  They were joined by another trawler (much more modern) and a small sailboat.  The three boats pretty much filled the capacity of the lock.  Throughout the day, they travelled with the same partners as two teams of lock tenders moved along the lock system opening the bridges and locks.  Each team handled “every other” lock so that the next team could advance together and be ready for oncoming boats.  After Lock #9, there was scenic ride to the next one (Lock #8), although there were several lift and swing bridges that our travelers had to pass under.  A few were stationary, and tall enough to pass under, but several had to be opened for the small group of boats.  As Captain Mark was in the lead, he took the role as “lead communicator” to let the bridge tenders know when the three boats were assembled and ready to pass.  The distance between Lock 9 and 8 was only about 8.5 miles, but it took about an hour and a half, travelling through the canal, which got very narrow in places.  There was a bike path along the entire length of the canal, which the Explorers noted for a great afternoon activity.  The scenery was beautiful, lots of countryside with occasional clusters of waterfront homes. 

When the Explorers reached Lock 8, the activity level increased.  Locks 8-4 (counting backward) where spaced only a couple tenths of a mile away from each other, so by the time the Explorers got through one, they were approaching another.  The locks are still manually operated.  After the three boats were in the lock, the lock tending team (3-4 people) hand-cranked the doors shut behind them.   In this particular lock, the lines were thrown to the boats from the sides of the lock (in other locks, we have had to use our own lines to attach to cables or cleats).  Once the boats are ready, the locktenders move to the front of the lock and hand-crank open hatches that allow the water to flow through.  One the water level in the lock matches the water level on the other side of the doors, they move with their crank-handles to another piece of machinery to hand-crank the lock doors open.  Most of the lock-tenders were young and in-shape.  They were friendly, and happy to practice their English with the Explorers.  When Captain Mark inquired about the labor involved, one cute young locktender commented “the ladies like it” and gave him a “Popeye pose”.  This was quickly followed by one of the young female locktenders giving him what sounded like a tongue-lashing in French. 

The final three locks (#3-1) where in fast sequence, each lock opened into the next.  They were basically “water-stairs” that lowered the boats the last 30-40’ feet to the level of the Richelieu River.  The view from the top was both exhilarating and frightening.  After getting through the locks, there was a huge dock and mooring wall, and the Explorers decided to stop for the day.  They were eager to get out the folding bikes and ride back along the walls of the canal.  Captain Mark got the bikes ready, while Sidekick Sue prepared a salad to enjoy on their return.  It was a beautiful day, and they biked 6-miles, about halfway back along the canal, before turning around and heading back.  They noted that there are far more bike-riders enjoying the canal than boats… it had a very European feel… biking is clearly a part of every day life in Chambly.  After returning, they cooked up some chicken, first trying a new inverter to pull power off the batteries (needs a bigger fuse), and then resorting to the backup generator.  After dinner, the Explorers walked through the town of Chambly, picked up some ice, and decided they need to get some beer to go with it. They randomly picked a lager they had never heard of, and made their way back to the boat.   The evening ended with a few drinks up on the fly-bridge, watching the activities in the surrounding water (jet-ski’s, pontoon boats, fishing boats, etc.) and the numerous people coming out to stroll the long dock.  The Explorers agreed that their beer choice was perhaps not the best…. they may have inadvertently found the “Schlitz of Canada”. 

Hoping to find some free wireless to upload pictures. Our Verizon plan that “includes Canada and Mexico” also includes serious “throttling” after only half a gig of data each day, making uploading pictures near impossible if we want to save data for navigating and exploring 🙁

Well, Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue are at it again; attacking another piece of the Great Loop.  This year they are following a route through the Canadian waterways.  This summer, they were able to get a slip in Massena NY on Barnhart Island in Robert Moses State Park.  At the end of last summer, they left the Wayward Explorer on land at Barcomb’s Marina in Rouses Point, north of where they were docked in Plattsburgh, NY.  The boat went in the water last Friday, and the Explorers set off in road vehicles to drop off a vehicle in Massena.  A series of unfortunate events kept the Explorers grounded for a few extra days in Massena, but yesterday, Monday, May 23^rd, they returned with one vehicle to Rouses Point and prepared for today’s departure. 

They started north, passing the defunct Fort Montgomery (it’s for sale if you have a spare $1.4 million), just shy of the Canadian border.  After crossing the border, they headed to the Canadian customs check-in, which was relatively mundane.  Captain Mark thought he was displaying expert maritime knowledge by displaying his yellow “quarantine” flag, which is supposed to let Customs know that everyone aboard is healthy and requesting clearance into a new country.  Apparently, it is not a well-known rule in these parts, as the Customs guys checked them in and asked “What’s the deal with the yellow flag”.  A dejected Captain Mark replaced his yellow flag with its Canadian counterpart, and the Explorers were on their way out of Lake Champlain and up the Richelieu River. 

They passed a swinging railroad bridge that was already open and the Highway 202 Bridge which had plenty of clearance and didn’t require an opening.  Today’s trip was relatively short and scenic.  Many vacation homes dotted the shores on both sides.  It was a beautiful day as the Explorers wove their way around numerous fishermen, being careful to minimize their wake.   As they neared their destination for the day, they passed by Lennox Fort National Historic Site, an island fort which had guarded this gateway to Canada in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.  The site is currently closed for conservation work, and all that could be seen from the water was the ferry landing. 

The day’s destination took the Explorers to the entrance of the Chambly Canal, where they have to wait overnight for the 9:00 AM opening of the lift bridge, followed by a series of 9 locks.  As it is “pre-peak” season for boating, boats are only allowed to enter the sequence of locks twice a day, and the locktender moves along, with the boats to open each bridge and lock along the way.  After checking in with the locktender, the Explorers are on the list for tomorrow morning’s passage. 

The rest of the day was spent walking, exploring and provisioning (grocery shopping in boat-speak) since the Explorers entered Canada with very little food to avoid any trouble at Customs.  Overnight accommodations are along the wall at a cute park that has a bike path along the canal.  Dinner was Michigan Dogs at a small restaurant across the street. 

Pictures to follow if we get some free high-speed internet 🙂

The Explorers woke up early once again, anticipating their last full day of travel.  They fired up the generator (hopefully for the last time before they can troubleshoot the radiator problem) and made breakfast.   Captain Mark pulled up the anchor and noticed two main differences in Lake Champlain compared to the rivers and canals he had traveled.  First, the anchor came up covered in seaweed, and second, he was amazed that he could actually see the anchor line under the water, indicating that this is the cleanest, clearest (and probably coldest) water he has encountered since leaving South Carolina.

When the Explorers left the anchorage, it was foggy and chilly.  The tail of Lake Champlain gradually widened until it was an expansive lake.  The water stayed as smooth as glass until they got closer to the northern end of the lake.  Because the water was so calm, the autopilot was doing most of the work all day, needing very little adjustment to the heading.   Over time, the sun came out and the air warmed up. 

When he reached the northern edge of the lake near Plattsburgh, Captain Mark buzzed by the Dixon Camp on shore as he called to see if anyone was there.  Cousin Joey had just arrived, and Cousin Robert and his wife Dana, were just heading over to the Plattsburgh Boat Basin themselves to grab their boat and take it out for a little ride.  They share a boat with Robert’s sister Elaine and her husband, Steve, which is in the same marina where the Wayward Explorers are ending this adventure. 

The Explorers waved to their cousins and turned around to cross the bay to the marina.  They parked at the fuel dock to “check in” and were directed to their slip, their home for the summer.  They made it into their slip with a little “help” from a marina dock hand, although they agreed that they might have managed the landing a little better on their own, as the dock hand seemed a little inexperienced at handling the lines.  The marina appeared to be half-empty as much of the clientele is from Canada and the border is still closed. Many boats, hailing from Canadian towns, were still up on stands around the marina.

Once settled, the Explorers got out their folding bicycles to head over to the Dixon camp.  They visited with Joey and then they all headed out to McSweeneys to get some world-famous (at least North-Country famous) hot dogs with Michigan sauce.  On the way home, they grabbed some beer to celebrate.  Back at camp, they were joined by Robert and Dana, back from their boat trip, and enjoyed catching up over their celebratory beers.  A few next-generation Dixons buzzed in and out of camp to jet ski and visit.  After a few hours, the Explorers needed to bike back to the marina before it started to get dark and they ended the day with a walk into downtown Plattsburgh to get the “lay of the land” and earn their Fitbit points. 

And so, this journey is complete, from Little River, SC to Plattsburgh NY.  The next week will be spent getting to Massena to retrieve the motorcycle that was left there (when the Explorers thought that was their final destination), stopping home in Lincoln, NH to gather piles of mail and getting to Philly to pick up their Jeep that was generously delivered to their son’s (Mike’s) house by Sidekick Sue’s sister and her husband.  The Explorers will be splitting time between Plattsburgh, Massena and Lincoln, NH throughout the summer and encourage any family or friends that are nearby to reach out to set up a visit.  See you at the Naked Turtle.  Cheers!

Morning came early for the Explorers, as much as they tried to sleep in.  The original plan was to take three more travel days to get from Fort Ann to Plattsburgh.  Over beers last night, the Explorers had discussed splitting the distance between two days and arriving on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, which might better afford the opportunity to see some of the cousins (like Joey), that were coming up for the weekend.  The mileage was manageable, but would mean more motoring and less stopping.  In the morning, the Captain decided to go with the two-day plan, meaning the Explorers had to be out of the Champlain Canal and partway up Lake Champlain by the end of the day. 

The Explorers left their free dock in Fort Ann and immediately passed through Lock #11 which lowered their boat 12’.  If you’re counting, you may have noticed this story skips Lock #10, as it turns out there is no Lock #10.  The Explorers asked the locktender at Lock #11 (who had been working the locks for 29 years), and it turns out that there were plans for a Lock #10 that never materialized, and apparently the NYS government (in its infinite wisdom) never bothered to rename the others. 

Right before Lock #12 (the last one), the Explorers stopped in Whitehall, NY.  It’s another small NY town that has built a wonderful Museum and Visitor’s Center to welcome those coming by water and by land.  Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue recalled stopping here once before when driving to Saratoga Springs.  Whitehall claims the distinction as being the “Birthplace of the U.S. Navy” and they have many historical items on display, as well as an outside display of the remains of the USS Ticonderoga.  Sidekick Sue didn’t recall (from the first visit) that it was right on a canal, and probably never imagined that she would be returning there by waterway just a few years later.  

The Explorers took advantage of the free electricity on the free wall and made breakfast.  Then, they went out and walked a big loop around Whitefield, first exploring one side, and then crossing over to the other side of the canal.  Along the way, Sidekick Sue ventured into Carol’s Collectibles and found some turkey salt and pepper shakers to add to the Thanksgiving collection.  The store is fabulous for treasure hunters, with 12,000 square feet of items priced to move.  It is also home to “CC the Cat”, an adorable stray that found a home at the store.  Sidekick Sue talked to Carol herself.  When Sidekick Sue mentioned they were walking around town, Carol immediately asked if they “came by boat”, as it appears many of her customers do.   When asked if there were more Thanksgiving items around, Sidekick Sue was disappointed to learn that a 2020 flood had destroyed most of Carol’s seasonal inventory that had been in storage.  Carol said that she and CC were taken out of the store in a rowboat by the fire department.  Thankfully, she was able to rebuild and reopen this adorable business after a tough year of Covid and flooding. 

Up on the hill above the canal sits a very distinctive landmark, Skene Manor, a beautifully restored Victorian Gothic -style mansion.  The Explorers would like to return to Whitehall again to  visit this historic site, but since they had increased their boating mileage for the day, they needed to “hit the waterway”. 

Right after the Whitehall Visitor’s Center was Lock #12 (which lowered the boat 15.5’), the LAST lock in the sequence.  Sidekick Sue was glad to be through the locks and they were now officially in the tail of Lake Champlain, the last obstacle between the Explorers and the Plattsburgh Boat Basin.  The first ten miles of Lake Champlain was very narrow and winding; the shores alternated between swampy and sheer rock cliffs.  We passed Fort Ticonderoga, located at the top of one of a hill along the canal.  After a while, the Lake slowly widened and Captain Mark was able to resume use of the autopilot, which is much more useful for open water crossings than it is for navigating the narrow canals.  After a few more hours of motoring, they reached their anchorage at Button Bay, home to Button Bay State Park in Vermont.   After a quick dinner, Captain Mark went to work raising the mast again, because the Explorers needed to be able to display their anchor light for the night, and they are done with the low clearance bridges through the canal.  By the time that chore was done, Captain Mark was tired and it was getting too dark to row to shore to explore the park.  Unfortunately, the Explorers would be short-changing the Fitbit Gods tonight, but it was a minor trade-off, given that they would arrive in Plattsburgh a day earlier.  It was a quiet night, with Captain Mark retiring to read, and Sidekick Sue starting to sort the pieces of another jigsaw.

Last night, the Explorers had decided, on the spur of the moment to get up extra early to “see” the eclipse.  Of course, they had no proper equipment and hadn’t prepared in any manner, but nevertheless, they got up at 5:30 to go outside and look around.  Sidekick Sue lingered in bed a little longer, but finally resolved to getting out of bed, to find Captain Mark in front of the Waterford Visitor Center trying to look at the sun without looking at the sun.  Captain Mark swore he could see the crescent if he looked really fast at the sun from side to side.  Sidekick Sue just saw a big blob.  They have vowed to be more prepared, when the Great American Total Eclipse sweeps across northern NY (Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown) on April 8, 2024.  (Note to Sidekick Sue…. buy the special glasses now, when no one else is thinking about it).

Today was a day of going through locks on the Champlain Canal.  The Explorers left right after the “eclipse viewing” and made it to the “Lock #1” just as it opened for the day.  The first lock raised the boat 14’ , and Lock #2 raised the boat another 18.5’.  The Explorers are finding they are nearly all by themselves on the Champlain Canal.  It seems that everyone else took a left at the Erie Canal.  This means that they are in the locks by themselves and they have a choice of where to park.  For the first couple locks, they were parking with the port side of the boat to the wall.  Sidekick Sue handles the lines to keep close to the wall, while Captain Mark hits the bow thruster every so often to make sure the front rails don’t hit the wall.  The Explorers agree that they need to add a couple of big round fenders to the front of the boat to fend off the cement bulkheads and locks they have encountered on this trip. 

Between Locks #2 and #3, the Explorers stopped at a park with a cement bulkhead provided by the city of Mechanicville.  The amenities even included free electricity, so there was no need to fire up the struggling generator (still need to find the hole in the radiator) to make breakfast.  They took a quick walk through Mechanicville, and found that there was not much to see.   It appeared to be another “burned out” industrial upstate NY town with few signs of prosperity.   Surely, these towns saw better days when the canals were bustling with commercial activity.  A brief miscommunication (and small spat) during docking led the Explorers to realize that it made much more sense to be on the same side of the boat whenever possible giving the Captain a better view of what the lineperson was doing, and making communication easier.  Of course, this is not always possible when docking, but the Explorers resolved to approach the lock walls on the starboard side, whenever possible, moving forward.

The rest of the day was spent negotiating the locks. Each successive lock continued to raise the Wayward Explorer as it passed through Lock #3 (25.5’), Lock #4 (10’), Lock #5 (19’) and Lock #6 (16.5′).  Depending on whether the lock was already occupied with a south-moving vessel (only happened once), or if it had to be emptied before we could approach (happened several times), each lock could take up to a half-hour to get through, so travel time was longer than expected.  As it turned out, rising early to see the eclipse was an important factor in getting to the planned destination before the locks closed for the day.  The Explorers had wanted to stop at Fort Edwards to do some more walking, but decided to stay the course because of all the time that had been lost to lock-throughs.  Up until Fort Edwards, the Champlain Canal was fairly wide and winding compared to the other man-made canals, as it was still connecting vestiges of the Hudson River.  After Fort Edwards, the Hudson River veered away, so the waterway was a narrower, man-made trench. 

Lock #7 raised the Wayward Explorer another 10’ and Lock #8, another 11’, for a total of nearly 125’ for the day.  The Explorers were getting pretty good at managing the locks by this point, even getting pretty tired of them.  As the Explorers approached the final lock for the day (Lock #9), they were surprised to see the walls were so low.  That is when they realized that this lock was already full of water and was going to be taking them down 16’. 

The Explorers reached their destination in Fort Ann right around dinner time.  Fort Ann provided a small free, floating dock, but without any amenities, so the Explorers had to crank up the generator to make pizza.  After dinner, they walked around Fort Ann, which (didn’t take long), and then walked a mile or so up the Champlain Canalway Trail a mile and back to finish up their “steps” for the day.  On the way home, they stopped at the Battle Hill Brewery to have a few draft beers.  They were entertained by a little boy at the next table over who was putting on a show for them to get their attention while his parents obliviously ate their dinners.  The Explorers retired back to the boat in the park; it was too buggy to sit outside and enjoy the night air.  It was a quiet early night, as they were hoping to get extra sleep to make up for the early morning.