FAIR WINDS & FOLLOWING SEAS

FAIR WINDS & FOLLOWING SEAS

 
After a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and freshly baked Boston Brown Bread
we headed out.
 
Prevailing winds on Lake Champlain are typically from the South
but today we were gifted with a soft Northerly,
perfect for heading down the lake.
Setting our course 180 deg…

 

and with the wind at our back,
Francois set his autopilot.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
…while Captain took a brief nap…
 
 
…I gladly took over at the helm.
 
 
 
After 17 nm we reached
the perfect anchorage for the night…

The Four Brothers:
 
François – the ‘bald’ island
Stéphane – the ‘bearded’ island
Sylvain – the ‘hairy big head’ island
Frédéric – the ‘baby’ (youngest) island

 
 
We were serenaded during our evening meal…

 

 
by a gazillion birds.
 
 
 
…then treated to sunset over the Adirondacks
 
 

 

 

 

BLUE LIPS and PURPLE TOES

BLUE LIPS and PURPLE TOES

When will summer weather arrive, I would like to know…

Wearing layer upon layer
we left our anchorage at King Bay,
crossing the upper part of Lake Champlain.
It was a frisky day…
wind advisory,
white caps all around…

but we SAILED

New-to-us wind patterns, wave conditions

and new sailing grounds

made the day quite a challenge

but by mid-afternoon we reached Plattsburgh.

22.4 nm

Gas topped up and securely moored for the night,

we activated our cool tool MiFi device

that will keep us in touch with the rest of the world

while we explore….

…and I baked some Boston Brown Bread
to warm our cabin, our purple toes and our blue lips.
 
 
 
SAINT-JEAN to ÎLE aux NOIX to ROUSES POINT

SAINT-JEAN to ÎLE aux NOIX to ROUSES POINT

We made a quick ‘pit stop’ at Île aux Noix

because…surprise surprise surprise

the micro sd chip for our Raymarine chart plotter

was the ‘Silver Edition’ (ie Canada only)

…and not the ‘Gold Edition’ that we had asked and paid for our dealer to insert.

At the time we were still in our ‘trusting’ mode.

…So when we accessed the information for Lake Champlain…

nothing!

Fortunately Marina Fortin at Île aux noix sold the chip that we needed.

$300+ later we can now travel as far as the Bahamas (see y’all later folks)

We took advantage of their dock and hospitality and stepped the mast.

NOW we are ready to go

SAILING!

…and bonus for the day,

we crossed paths with another ‘Looper’

heading north along the river in their beautiful motor cruiser.

(Loopers are boaters – sailors and motor cruiser folks,

who are travelling on the Great American Loop

or plan on doing so and subscribe to the AGLCA,

proudly flying the members’ flag)

Our mandatory stop at Rouses Point

to check in with US Customs & Border Protection Services

went smoothly.

We filled in the required forms for our Cruising Permit (no fees required)

giving us permission to cruise US waters for the next

FOUR…count them FOUR months.

Flying our burgees proudly

…now officially in US waters…

 

Anchored safely for the night in King Bay
we planned our path for the next day,
did some laundry,

 

 
 
…and bathed in Lake Champlain.