#18 Locking Through in a Subaru

Another amazing few days, and an interesting thing has happened. The people, history, and beautiful sights are no longer single points on the loop. The encounters are starting to relate, and multiply. Paths are crossing, and the loop is becoming a web.

It began with a meeting on Lake Champlain. Our cruise south was proving peaceful. A warm breeze from the south meant for us a course straight into the wind through a bit of chop.

Sailors going north had two choices: either a lot of tacking …

                  … or flying wing-on-wing.

 Lake Champlain is sometimes called the sixth great lake. And it certainly qualifies in terms of depth. Note the lower left reading on the chart plotter and the proximity to shore.

 There was not a lot of boat traffic, but we spotted something odd ahead. When we realized it was a man on a paddle board, Allan slowed the engine and inched to within shouting distance. “What are you trying to do, get into the Guiness Book of World Records?” The man smiled and paddled over. We cut the engine and he grabbed onto our gunwale. “No,” he said. “I'm paddling from Burlington to New York City!”

His name is Chase Rosenberg. This was his third day out, and because it was rough, kneeling was more efficient than standing. He figured the trip would take 19 days, averaging 15 miles per day.

Chase has the adventure gene, so we weren't surprised to learn that 13 years ago, upon graduation from high school in Columbus, OH, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trial in four months; 2184 miles from Georgia to Maine. Hiking the entire AT is an accomplishment in itself. To do it in one season – even more remarkable. www.nps.gov/appa/

Also read Bill Bryson's hilarious account of his AT attempt: A Walk in the Woods.

 We wished Chase well and continued down the lake to Chipman Point for the night. This marina is a little gem, with buildings dated 1812.

Really?

Allan mentioned to the owner about seeing the paddle boarder. He said he'd seen just about everything, even a person attempting to SWIM up from New York City to Canada.

 Just after breakfast the next morning, we spotted Chase paddling up to our dock. We invited him aboard for coffee, etc. We noticed that his toes were looking a bit worse for the wear and brought out antibiotic ointment and band aids.

 Once again, we said good byes, and he paddled off. He carries a tent and therma rest mattress and spends nights in parks along the shore. We wondered if we'd spot him again.

Sure enough, we spied him on a far shore by a small dock, chatting to two bikers. We tooted our horn and he gave us a vigorous wave. This would probably be the last siting, though. But it is not the end of the story. Think web and stand by.

 Meanwhile, another strand was developing. Our friend and fellow tug owner Wes Eldred in South Burlington had emailed his friend Fred Wehner who lives on the Champlain Canal. Wes said that we would be passing through, and recommended we connect. Fred is an interesting guy with a chronic case of tugboat disease. His American tug sits at his dock in Fort Edward, and he has an extensive knowledge of working and pleasure boats. He is an avid historian of the canals in New York State. His website is excellent. www.tug44.org

We emailed Fred to say we'd stop by, but that Fort Edward was too far on this day, and we were stopping in Whitehall for the night. Whitehall marks the northern end of the Champlain Canal. 

We tied up here below lock 12 as fast as possible in order to watch the canal tug Governor Cleveland at work.

 We might be catching the working tug disease.

Are we crazy? This is a tug pushing a scow full of rocks!

 Tearing ourselves away, we walked along the waterfront back to the boat. All of a sudden a man leaned out of his car and said, “Are you Allan?” It was Fred! Since he lives just 20 miles south, he decided to come find us. “Hop in. I want to show you something. See that house up there?” 

We rode up to the home of Captain Philip Skenes, the man who founded the town of Skenesborough (now Whitehall) around 1765. This town is the southern entry to Lake Champlain. 

Believe it or not, it is the birthplace of the US Navy, where ships were built in 1776 for the American Revolution. When the War of 1812 started, ships for the Lake Champlain fleet were built here too. We thanked Fred for the history lesson and promised to stop by on our way through.

The next morning, a voice on the dock said, “Nice boat. Are you the ones who helped the paddleboarder?” It turned out that this couple was the two bikers on the dock yesterday talking to Chase. We chatted for a long time, and discovered that he runs a cross-country ski program for kids in his town in Pennsylvania. We encouraged him to come to Vermont to learn about the Bill Koch Program. Hope he does. Nice people. (To date, that ends the Chase story.)

Onto Fort Edward. Fred was waiting at the dock, took us to lunch, and then gave a tour of the old canals in the area. This is the Five Combines Lock, locks 6-10 of the Glens Falls Feeder Canal, using the waters of the upper Hudson River to create a canal connecting Fort Edward to Glens Falls with 14 locks. Imagine lock doors sitting at the top of each waterfall. This group is called a flight. No trick photography here. The waterway really is very very narrow.

 It was here that Fred asked us if we'd ever locked through in a Subaru. Huh? And he proudly drove us to the Fort Edward Junction Lock, and sure enough, the Subaru gave us a trip through.

And finally, yet another connection. This is a canal wall of the original Champlain Canal in Fort Edward, which connected to the eastern end of the Erie Canal. We had already seen the other end in Waterford in mid-June.

 As we said goodbyes, Fred reminded us that we would be passing through the famous area of the canal where extensive dredging operations were underway to remove PCBs deposited by General Electric decades earlier. At lock 8, the tender told us to call Vessel Traffic to request passage through the area.  

 We talked with the female dispatcher (who was great!!!) She gave us instructions to switch to Channel 18A and to notify tugs Eagle and Champlain. Tug Eagle indicated a two whistle pass (starboard to starboard).

A two-whistle pass

Tug Champlain said we wouldn't be a factor for them. 

We proceeded cautiously, weaving past tugs, hopper scows full of bottom dredgings, and barges loaded with cranes enormous backhoes.

 The waves by many workers were a pleasant surprise. 

 We even spotted Fred's friend Linda at the helm of her tug.

It was a front row seat which not many get for viewing this lengthy and controversial situation.

Friday, August 3 marked the final day of our loop. It was a very hot day as we locked through the last four locks.

Testing the water pump before installation

Allan's brother John joined us for this final day of our loop. He was a great help in troubleshooting yet another malfunctioning NEW pump, this time one for the forward cabin AC.

 We crossed our wake in Waterford, 54 days after starting west from here on the Erie. We passed through 101 locks, 5 canals, and 4 rivers; logged 862 nautical miles and 141 engine hours. But those totals only reflect the loop. We logged 282 nautical miles to get to Waterford. In all – 1144 miles. And we're not done.