From the Captain

Vermont is a state I love. I could not look upon the peaks of Ascutney, Killington, Mansfield, and Equinox, without being moved in a way that no other scene could move me. It was here that I first saw the light of day; here I received my bride, here my dead lie pillowed on the loving breast of our eternal hills.
I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves to serve others. If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont.

President Calvin Coolidge 
^{in a speech at Bennington College, 1928}


Day 1  We're Off  43.2 nautical miles, Charlotte, VT -Whitehall, NY

It's hard to believe we're leaving Vermont in what is (arguably) her most beautiful season (the Fall), but at 9:30 am, following a send-off by some friends at the dock with a toast of champagne and a libation to Neptune poured into the lake, we were off. David Watts is with us, and we steer in 2-hour shifts. Luna's autopilot is still not working properly.

Motoring down the lake into a south wind, Luna's diesel purrs quietly and runs smoothly. We average about 5.7 kts at 1800 RPM. Filling up at the gas dock the day before, she took on 8.2 gallons of diesel for the 27 hours we ran her during the summer, about 1/3 gallon per hour.

Lake Champlain narrows into a river between marshes and woods at the south end, and we followed the channel from buoy to buoy, each lighted buoy hosting an osprey nest. There was a heron around every bend, and a bald eagle perched in a tree. A motorboat slowed courteously as she passed, its owner apologizing for any wake that he was creating.

We arrived in Whitehall, NY, at 6:30 pm, too late to enter the Champlain Canal, which now closes at 5 pm. Although one wonders whether  this is due to federal cutbacks,  local opinion has it  the early closure followed pressure from the marina owners on the Lake Champlain side to retain the business of the travelers headed south. We did not oblige them and anchored just north of the Whitehall marina.

It feels great to be under way, to stop worrying, finally, about what to bring and what arrangements to make. It's clear, though, we have brought too much stuff with us. A universal theme runs through books accounting sailing adventures: anything not stowed in lockers or below decks, or securely tied down, will be launched by violent action of the ship, generally with unpleasant or dangerous consequences. Luna's cabin has too many loose objects at present. It feels like Henry David Thoreau meets the Shopping Channel. I imagine Walden filled to the rafters with boxes of food. There's even a container of spare containers.

It's clear we will have to pare down, simplify, and organize. We have brought our lifestyle and expectations to Luna, but Luna doesn't serve us — she is of the sea. And we serve Luna. Any question about who is master of whom will likely be answered when we encounter sea conditions between New York harbor and Cape May, NJ, and the Delaware River next week.

In the meantime, the commander has been busy organizing the spaces below deck and assures me all will be stowed. Tomorrow we enter the Champlain Canal on our way to the Hudson River.

Day 2, 43.3 nm, Whitehall (Lock 12) to Stillwater N.Y. (Lock 4).

Today was cloudy and cold, with a biting north wind from behind us. Temperature dipped into the 30's at night. If there were a question a few days ago, now is definitely time to leave the north country.

On approaching a lock, you radio ahead on VHF channel 13, identify yourself and your direction of approach. The lock keeper calls back to say come ahead or give you an approximate wait time. On entering the lock, you tie up to the wall with dock lines that hang down from the top. The walls are rough, the lines slimy. We have been advised to make a fender board to protect our fenders from chafing and to wear gloves, both good pieces of advice. We bought a 10 foot 2x6 with us to lash on outboard of the fenders.   

Luna waits as the water in the lock rises

The lock keeper closes the door behind you and lets water in if you are going up (first few locks going south) or lets water out if you're going down. The boat rises or falls as if in a large elevator, up to nearly twenty feet. Once at level, he opens the doors in front, and you exit at the new level. Lock keepers are friendly and helpful. They seem to relish the company.

There is a a lot of barge activity currently. There is dredging below lock 8, and several times we are delayed at the locks. As a result, we don't get as far as we had hoped. Lock 4 also closes at 5 pm, so at 6:30 when we arrived, we made fast to the wall before the doors of the lock and spent a quiet night.

On the way through the locks, we met another Vermont boat, Mañana, and her owners, Nile and Linda Schneider traveling down to Florida and the Bahamas as we are. We travel together through the locks.

Day 3 43.7nm. Stillwater, NY, to Catskill, NY.

We passed the last 5 locks fairly easily, delayed only twice--once by fog in the early morning at Lock 4, and once by mechanical problems at the Federal Lock in Troy. Otherwise, the cruise down the Hudson was fairly smooth, and a clear sunny day warmed us.  

Luna, waiting out the early morning fog

The river is tidal below Albany, and our speed varied with the tide. According the the master of tides, (Eldridge), tidal cycles follow the rule of 12ths. 1/12 of the tidal flow occurs the first hour of the cycle, 2/12's the second hour, 3/12's the third and fourth hours, 2/12 the fifth hour, and 1/12 the 6th hour, when the tide changes. Our speed went down to 5.7 kts during the middle part of high tide, but rose to 7.2 kts during the mid part of the falling tide.

Luna's little diesel blurbled happily the whole time. We were Bogey and Katherine Hepburn cruising the river in the African Queen. Nonetheless, we were glad to arrive at our destination, the Riverview Marina in Catskill where Mike, the owner, met us after hours, checked us in, and made arrangements to step the mast in the morning. We tied up at the dock for the night and gratefully had a shower.

The commander at the helm on a sunny day on the Hudson River