| Hi,
Just got back from Champlain..last weekend...below freezing on
Saturday night. Four foot waves during the bulk of the day so
I traveled South form Button Bay down past fort Ticonderoga. This
kept the wind and waves at my back...following sea... until evening
when the wind calmed down and my return to Button Bay was easier
on the boat/back. I figured that we covered over 30 miles on this
daytrip. I can't comment on Burlington because I couldn't get there
due to the heavy seas....19' SeaRay + 4 footers = discomfort. I here
it's a zoo up there, (from the locals).
I paid $14.00 for the chart kit that should be available at most
marinas in your area. They cut the lake into four sectors, one
side of each page/two pages.
The South end of the lake is very depressed, i.e. marinas are falling
into the water...very few big money power boats, (tons of big buck sail
boats) and not much traffic. In fact; the traffic didn't swell
on Saturday as I expected it would I assume this is because most
people in Champlain Valley are working a full day on Sat. Sunday
seemed to bring a lot of fishermen...trollers/down riggers etc.
My over all impression as it were for four days experience on the
Southern 1/4 of the lake was that this is an un-abused (not over
used) natural resource that reeked of character and abounded in
beauty. The lake, (Southern 1/4) was well marked. I saw no authority
on the water but heard the Coast Guard constantly on the VHF. The
people were, of course, very friendly.
I'm a cruiser that seldon does anything other than picnic and
explore. I can find beauth/history most anywhere I go but I have
to say that Champlain Valley absolutely blew me away.
I can't say you're asking for trouble but if the wind and waves
are as agrevated as they were when I was there...some careful planning
is in order. If you want seclusion, visit the South end of the
lake. It's extremely well marked especially in the narrows, (beyond
the Vt/NY bridge) and the water is sheltered and therefore pretty
flat. This may be a little too far for you to travel but worth
it..you can boat right off the chart! Gas seemed to be 5 to 10 miles
apart...$1.40 for regular...$1.60 for 50:1 pre-mix.
Have an awesome time and let us know how ou made out__mb
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First, I want to thank those of you who replied, sent mail, or called
me last week. I made the trip up and we had a great time.
I picked up a chart at a marine store about 1 block up from the
water on Main St. Nice chart with good detail. Launched the boat
at a launch about 3 blocks south of Main St Burlington. Good steep
ramp with a fair amount of parking, $5 charge.
Headed to the lake Saturday afternoon, I had called the coast guard
ealier in the day and they told me 10-15 knot winds 1-2 ft seas,
I thought this sounded reasonable. As we headed to the lake we
noticed that there was ALOT of sail boats out and not too many power
boats. You would think this might have been a clue to what was
to come but we were too excited to get on the water. We headed
north into the wind first. I knew this would be rougher but I figured
it would be nicer to take the beating first than on the way back
later. Well the 1-2 ft seas had turned into 3-4 ft seas with lots
of wind. It was not completely unbearable, but I must say it was
not the most comfortable ride. BUT, since the lake was all new
to us we had a good time just the same. Went about 7 miles north
and then started to head back stopped in a couple bays along the
way for some putting around. Overall it was fun and we really did
not mind getting a few good sparys in the face every so often. After
a couple hours of this we had had enough and desided to go up to
Montreal for the night. Got back from Montreal about 4:00 Sunday and
there was a completely different lake out there, smooth with little
or no wind, very few sail boats for some reason. :-)
Now we really got to see the lake, went about 20 miles north across
the lake from Burlington over to the New York side. Then came back
down south on the New York side. Stopped in behind an island a
little north of Burlinton an the NY side to do some skiing. This
LITTLE bay was bigger than all of Fort Meadow (where I live).
Continued south down and around the Four brothers Islands??
then back up to Burlington after touring thru Shelburne Bay. Got
back to Burlington just at sunset. I must say this was one of the
most beatiful evenings of boating I have ever had. This lake is
really beautiful and HUGE.
At 17 1/2 ft with a modified-V hull (ie: relitively flat) I would
say that it was about as small as I would want to go and be comfortable
on the lake. Since even on Sunday night there was enough random waves
around to stir things up at times. If I could be sure that I would
have the same spectacular weather that we had last weekend I would
definitly go back. We had a great time.
Mike Smith
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