Bluff Point North, Valcour Island in Lake Champlain

August 1 - 4: Valcour Island is a must stop for any boater transiting Lake Champlain, and the ONLY way to see the island is by boat, YOUR vessel.  It is completely unspoiled; no residents, no ferries, no tours and no bridges to this island.  We were here "on the hook" for 4 days ... scheduled for 3 days, but weather forced us to stay another day ... geez, what a dilemma!   Photos best express the experience.

SANTORINI at anchor ... solitude and nature at its best!

Found a Mermaid cleaning sand from her fins!

Bluff Point Light, also known as the Valcour Island Lighthouse, in service from its construction in 1874 until 1930 and one of the last lighthouses on Lake Champlain

There is a lot of Revolutionary War history in the area.  Valcour Island featured prominently in a naval battle between the superior British Navy sailing south into Champlain from Canada and the fledgling American navy commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold.

Arnold, knowing he could not attack the superior force, decided to let the British attack him and deployed his fleet in the narrow, rocky channel between Valcour Island and the western shore of Lake Champlain. The narrowness of the channel would force the British to attack singly and would not allow them to bring as many guns to bear as on the open water.

Sailing southward down Lake Champlain on the morning of October 11, 1776, the British skirted the eastern shore of Valcour Island, unaware that the American fleet lay on the other side. Shortly before 11:00 a.m., British lookouts spotted the American fleet, and turned to attack.  Arnold’s force took a beating and once darkness fell, retreated.

As dawn broke on the morning of October 12, the British were shocked to discover that Arnold and what was left of the American fleet had escaped.  They pursued the Americans and expected to catch up with them at Crown Point on October 20 only to find Arnold had burned the fort and further retreated to Fort Ticonderoga.  It was snowing and with weather conditions quickly deteriorating, the British had no other choice but to retreat back into Canada to winter quarters. 

Valcour Island resulted in a tactical victory for the British; in the long run however, the battle proved to be a strategic victory for the Americans. Although he lost 80 men, 120 captured, and the destruction of his fleet, Arnold had accomplished the objective of disrupting the British invasion from Canada. By causing the British to postpone their plans until the spring, Arnold had bought the Americans time to gather strength and resources that would be critical at the Battle of Saratoga, the turning point in the War of Independence.

Lake Champlain: Pelots Bay, North Hero Island & Long Point State Park, Tredwell Bay

One benefit of changing course has been spending time on Lake Champlain.  We are both very taken by the beautiful clear water, ringed by forest and the Adirondack Mountains of New York on one side and the Green Mountains of Vermont on the other.  We have crossed paths again with four other cruising couples we met earlier in the trip – all have changed plans from our first meeting.  The weather continues to be changeable.  Even on the days the forecast shows zero percent chance of rain, we can’t count out a short downpour.  Some days we can see rain on the New York side of the Lake and it is clear on the Vermont side. 

After leaving the marina at Rouses Point, we took a slow cruise to anchor in Pelots Bay.  The Bay was larger and more expansive than we had envisioned, enough to hold 100 boats or more.

You've read about sitings of the Loch Ness Monster.  I think we found "Champ" in Pelots Bay.  We were awakened in the morning by a very strange sound passing our boat!  Here's the video ...

Next we moved to an anchorage on Treadwell Bay at Long Point State Park.  We took the dinghy over to the park dock and walked some of the trails through the woods to the Point and then down to the beach on the far side.  Although the anchorage appears very expansive in the photos below, it was really much more intimate than Pelots Bay. 

We have run into very few Americans on the water, everyone on this part of the Lake seems to be from Montreal!     

Long Point State Park:

We found a sister ship, her name is MYKINOS, from Montreal

Long Point anchorage: port view

Long Point: starboard view

Through the Chambly Canal

Setting out from Montreal, we traveled 25 miles down the St Lawrence and anchored off the village of Contrecouer and true to the prevailing weather pattern; we had a cloudburst just as we were setting the anchor.  After a short time, it cleared and we enjoyed our dinner of grilled salmon and a peaceful night’s sleep.  It was lovely to be on the hook again.

On our second day, we traveled another 25 miles to St Ours where we tied to the dock outside the St Ours lock and adjacent to a park.  Ironically, looking at a map, St Ours is almost directly across from Contrecouer.  However, you must go down the Seaway and into the Richeleau River at Sorel.  The path of travel looks like a giant hairpin.  It was a gorgeous day and for once totally rain free and low humidity.  Typical of the seaway, there were numerous small go-fast boats, a very large private yacht, m/v Blue Moon, two freighters underway and one at anchor.  We left the commercial traffic behind after Sorel on the Richeleau arriving at St Ours mid-afternoon with time to enjoy the rest of the day in the cockpit with an adult beverage and then a walk around the park to look at the rapids on the other side that are being by-passed by the lock and canal. 

The following morning we locked through St Ours.  It is only a five-foot lift and you use your own dock lines to tie to a floating dock inside the lock chamber.  The three female lock tenders are cat people and each in-turn had to come and see Clio.  It was another beautiful clear day and we motored slowly to enjoy the scenery along the way passing homes and farms, wild flowers and cultivated gardens and our first glimpse of a mountain in the distance.  Arriving Chambly, we decided to again tie to the canal dock and wait to lock through next day.  This gave us a chance to walk around town both on the river walk and down the main street.  

The Chambly Canal House

Santorini first in line at lock; Fort Chambly in background.

View across Chambly basin from our dock at sunset.

We had our last dinner in Canada at a nice restaurant, made even better by dining outside and with Virginia, our wonderful server, guiding us through the French menu.  Karl decided he could not leave Canada without ordering Poutine as an appetizer.  For those uninitiated, Poutine is French fries, topped with a brown gravy and cheese curds.  Karl ordered with an optional topping of pulled pork!  We both expected the cheese curds to be melted.  They were not, and they tasted like string cheese.  Donna did not expect to like the gravy but it was rich, excellent and home made.  The pork was also excellent.  Taken all together, we enjoyed the experience but are not hankering to repeat it.  Karl also doesn’t regret passing up the opportunity to buy a tee shirt in Montreal.

Another fabulous day of sunshine!  Might this be a new trend?  (Alas, no, the forecast for the next two days was rain.)  There were many boats expecting to lock through in both directions so we were very lucky to be in the first group southbound.  The Chambly is a National Heritage Site and the nine locks are small and operated by hand.  For those who have taken a canal barge trip in Europe, you will recognize this type of locking.

A little snug!

We left Canada, locking and canals behind for now and have entered beautiful Lake Champlain, clearing through US Customs.

O Canada!

With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free!

View of our border (old fishing pier with gap in river) with Canada as seen from Gaines Marina, Rouses Point NY on Lake Champlain -- US Customs trailer (white) can be scene in background on the left

We look forward to a few weeks of exploring Lake Champlain on both the New York and the Vermont side of the Lake.