So there I was...coming across Lake Champlain from an incredibly beautiful anchorage with crystal clear water on the New York side heading for Burlington, VT at about 10 am this morning. I had charted a course on my GPS and paper charts before I left the anchorage to make sure I gave a wide berth to a clump of submerged rocks about two miles off the Vermont shore called Colchester Shoal. As I passed the shoal in 332 feet of water I watched as a dive team, with the State Police and Coast Guard assisting, attempt to free a 40+ ft very expensive looking "go fast" boat as it sat atop Colchester Shoal. The damage looked substantial. Their efforts must have been in vain as I noticed a barge, with a crane on it, heading for the boat from Burlington. Gotta be careful out here.
Kim joined me in Canada last weekend to help me go through the 9 locks on the Chambly Canal. We met some wonderful Americans while we were all tied to the canal wall at lock 3 and had an impromptu cocktail party that evening then went through locks 4-9 together as a group the next day. As much as I enjoyed the Canadian hospitality, it was nice to converse with those you have so much in common with. The canal and locks looked like a picture you might take in Europe and were so clean and well run. Kim thoroughly enjoyed the experience and after clearing lock 9 with me rode her bicycle, that we carried on the boat, the 19 km (about 12 miles) back to lock 1 on a bike path that paralleled the canal to where her car was parked. I passed through U.S. customs, at a dock set up for that purpose near the border, the next day and it felt good to be on American soil again, albeit the soil was under a lot of water.
As I write this, I'm anchored near the town of Burlington VT and the view across Lake Champlain of the 1000 ft high mountains on the New York side is stunning. I've heard good things about this college town and am looking forward to checking it out. So I need to quit writing and start exploring.
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