WiFi...not

My apologies in advance for not updating this blog on a more regular and timely basis. The issue we are facing is getting access to the Internet. 

Posting comments and photos onto this blog and our Facebook accounts uses a lot of bandwidth. We've been using up a lot of our Verizon wireless data quota (getting warning notices, etc.). And now that we are in Canada, forget about it. 

That leaves wifi. There have been many nights where we have been either at anchor, on a mooring, or tied up to a canal wall where there is no wifi. Then there are marinas that say they have wifi, but either we are so far away from the antenna that reception is spotty at best or the system is down. 

That leaves us with the times we are back in civilization and find a McDonalds or Internet cafe. 

Thanks for your patience. 

Lake Chanplain

Lake Champlain is magnificent.  It is both a very large body of water; about 106 miles long (north-south)  by 32 miles wide.  In some ways it is very similar to the size and layout of Long Island Sound where we had sailed for many years.
Our transit of it was very easy.
We left Whitehall early on the 17th.  The lower Champlain starts out 'bendy' like a river but begins to straighten and widen after a few miles.  Several storms with high winds were predicted to come in from the west so we decided to pull into Bulwaga Bay

It is near Crown Point, just past the Champlain Bridge. 
Fortunately the high winds never came, so after a nice dinner we were treated to a great rainbow. off our stern.

Next morning we continued north up to Burlington VT.  One of the boys looked at the University of Vermont, but went elsewhere.  It is a beautiful, and fun college town.  They have a free shuttle that runs up College street which makes going to shops and restaurant a breeze.

Church Street has bee converted into a pedestrian mall with great places to buy things and some really great eateries.
 Nice thing about being on the east side of the lake is that we got some great sunsets.

 

Next day we transited to Plattsburgh NY where we tied up for the night on a mooring ball.  It was a beautiful summer solstice evening.  I cooked salmon on the grill off the stern.

Total miles to date:315.

Next, off to the Great White North

Progress as of June 16

Here is a map of the Great Loop we are travelling.  Our progress is highlighted in yellow.

Whitehall

We finally found completely safe refuge in Whitehall NY.  This is north of Lock C12 on the Champlain Canal.  The marina staf was very helpful and accomodating.  The manager loaned us his car so we could take care of various matters. 
The owner of the marina also owns two restaurants, Dagons (BBQ) and Finch & Chubb.  We ate at Finch.  The venison steak was cooked to perfection.
Whitefall is where the US Navy was born.  (Then) Capt. Benedict Arnold

 built 6 ships in the pool where the marina is located. battle of Valcour Island.  While not a tactical victory, it did help delay the British push down the Hudson.

Total miles to date 222

Mechanicville and the 'floods'

On Monday the 10th we continued on and pulled into the canal pool at Mechanicville, NY.  This is a cute small town in upstate New York that has seen busier times.There is a cute cafe (Ugly Rooster) which serves the best home fries with your breakfast.
The day was mostly cloudy with intermittent rains.  Loretta made a great pasta putanessca using the ships princess stove.

Great cook who had a great view.
However it rained all through the night and by the next morning the water had risen 3 1/2 to 5 feet.  Where we would simply walk straight out, we now had to step down 3+ feet.
The rains continued on and off through the day and around 4pm a canal official advised us that we would lose our dock.  He arranged for the staff to stay until we could move up two locks.

North of Lock 4 looking south

Looking north with our friend "Echo"

Carol Anne tied up safely for the night

We motored onto Ft. Edward where we had a free tie up for the night.

The next morning we heard again from the canal staff that they were going to close all of the locks from C1 to C7 and suggested we go north of C7.  We heeded their advice and made for Whitehall, NY

Total miles to date: 204

Troy and onto the Champlain Canal

We left Catskill on a foggy morning and headed up to Troy.  We overnighted on the west bank across from the city at the "Forever Young Health Club Dock".

Next morning we continued up river to where one has to decide whether to head west on the Erie portion of the NY State Canal system or continue north onto the Champlain Canal.

The first lock we had to go through was the "Federal Lock".  This is separate from New York's system.  It was the first lock we have encountered in our boating lives and helped us with how to handle Carol Anne.  Since there is a lot of physical effort to keep the boat against the canal's wall, we decided to switch roles and have Loretta helm (steer) the boat, while Bob put a line around the pole, cable or hold onto a rope.

We continued northward to the canal pool in Mechanicville, NY

Total miles traveled to date: 179

Catskill

We decided to go to a cute marina called Hop-o-Nose in Catskill, NY to sit out the approaching storm,   There is a cute, very good restaurant there that had entertainment on Saturday night.
There was also work to be done on our dinghy.  The engine needed a lot of TLC and Casey of Saugerties Marine did a great job getting it fixed.  (While ethanol does help reduce the cost of gasoline, it plays havoc with carburetors, hoses, etc.)

 

Sunday we'll slip the ropes again and head up to Troy NY.

Total miles (nautical) traveled: 132

Poughkeepsie

Passing West Point on the way to Poughkeepsie

The winds finally died down and we left Half Moon Bay Wednesday morning.
 Our next stop was Shadows Marina in Poughkeepsie.  This place only opened about 3-4 years ago and is very neat.

While it did offer a place to tie up for the night, the marina itself does not have many amenities.  However there is a very nice restaurant nearby that overlooks the marina and Hudson.
Miles travelled: 32.5  Next stop Catskill

. 

Northern Bound

We are finally north bound on the Loop!

After fueling up at the Liberty Landing fuel dock, we set up the Hudson towards Croton on Hudson. We stayed at Half Moon Bay Marina. With an approaching front, the winds kick up to 13-15 knots which made pulling into the slip a challenge. 

This is a favorite spot for people doing the Great Loop.  It is very close to Metro North so one can get into the city very easily, while docking their boat for a very nice price. The second night we were there we hosted 'docktails' with 4 other couples who were also on the Loop. 

We spent the time there doing various fix up and organizing things.

Miles traveled 32. Next stop: Poughkeepsie.

Day 1

June 1st was a glorious day to start our trip.  The weather was perfect. Blue skies and a comfortable temperature.

With the help of our friend Vin, we slipped Carol Anne's lines and slowly drifted out of our slip at the New Rochelle Municipal Marina at 9am.  We made our way down Western Long Island Sound

at 6-7 knots into the East River.  We timed our departure to be at Hells Gate at slack tide.  While this meant having no trouble with the currents, it did mean we had to deal with the tugs and barges who were also going through at the same time. There were  a couple of times we had to deal with tugs going up and down at the same time were going around a curve.  Everyone played nicely and all had a good passage. 

Going around the tip of Manhattan is spectacular. So is playing "dodgem" with the various water taxis and ferries leaving the Battery. 

We pulled into Liberty Landing Marina and were tied up by 12:45pm. This is a gorgeous place for both boaters and visitors.  There are a couple of nice restaurants and a huge lawn for our dog to do her 'business'. 

Miles traveled: 24. Next stop: Croton on Hudson.

Ready..set...go!

We finally finished with all of the preparation work and are setting sail.  We sold our house and disposed of two cars and packed all of our furniture away.
There are so many people to acknowledge and thank for making this happen.  Loretta did a great job of putting everything away we need for a year on the water.  All into a 37' long boat. Mark Williamson and Calvin of Precision Marine provided invaluable boat help.  Joanne and Jay Fichtel provided great land support during the final days before leaving.
There are all of the good wishes from friends and family.