Champlain Canal

Day 2 Sunday

The Champlain Canal links the southern end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River.

This map isn't the best, but it will give you an idea of the route south from Whitehall to Waterford. The night before we had lowered the radar and mast so we could fit under all of the bridges on the locks.

Sunday was a much quieter day for us. We slept late, the winds had calmed and there was a thick fog over the water. We entered lock 12 at Whitehall at about 9 a.m. and proceeded down the canal through the bucolic countryside. There were no biting flies and no cows in the water but we did see lots of geese with their young goslings.
All was shut down with any dredging operations because it was Sunday, and we traveled on through four more locks with little delay and since it was after 2 p.m. and we were in no rush, we decided to stop at Fort Edward where we left lock 7 and entered the Hudson River. We had been to Fort Edward before and we highly recommend it. They have a concrete sea wall with free water and power at the edge of a city park with walkways and flowers and a nice view across the river to manicured lawns.

Serenity in Fort Edward with Mermaiden behind us
 

As we pulled up we saw a small sailboat tied up at the near end and we pulled in just in front of him. The skipper of the sailboat, aptly nicknamed Skip, as we would come to find out, took our lines and helped us tie up. He invited us to join him a little later on at one of the picnic tables and we happily agreed. It turns out that Skip was a very experienced sailor and he was taking his 20 foot, or so, boat Mermaiden, up to Lake Champlain for his three week vacation. He had done part of the loop himself with his sailboat and had even gone up the coast to Nova Scotia.

Skip was a great first friend to make on our trip!
Maybe he is laughing at my hat...
 

We enjoyed a cup of tea together while watching the sunset and we learned that Skip had sailed just about everywhere on the east coast. He has a great memory of places he has been, friends he has made and good restaurants along the way. He gave is some valuable tips for our trip. Skip, when you read this, we hope you didn't have to eat that can of Dinty Moore stew!


Captain's Log:
Departed from Finch & Chubb at Whitehall 8:55 a.m.
Locked thru # 12, 11, 10, 9, 7
Travel time: 5 hrs. 35 min.
Engine time 5.1 hrs
Arrived Ft. Edwards 2:30 p.m.
Wx: Cool, clear with south wind