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Whitehall to Essex, NY
The starts of as a rainy day with light clouds over the marina. It has rained earlier too and the boat is wet and damp. New challenges we are facing while entering the lake region and going into the Canadian waters. Our sewer system is not allowed in those waters so some adjustments need to be made to accommodate these regulations. We are also using the pump out station of the marina to prepare ourselves for the protracted period of time while navigating in those waters.
Our friend and dock master is very helpful in accommodating our needs and supplying us with some needed adapters for the new process of discharge. All is set and we are on our way through some prestine
Now we are in areas where there is no house and no boat in sight, just water, trees and mountains in the distance. The water level is so high that all the trees along the river are standing in water. With the fog lifting and the clouds subsiding the calmness of the morning presents itself in mirrors on the surface of the water around us.
We pass by Ft. Ticonderoga standing proud on top of a hill and cliff looking over the oncoming traffic from south and north. Good strategic point, I’d say!
Slowly but surely as the canal widens we are closer and closer to lake Champlain. As we approach the lake we go under the bridge connecting the two states, NY and Vermont at the Crown Point Ft where the beaut6iful statue of St. Frederick overlooks the magnificent lake Champlain.
The afternoon has become a bit choppy and windy on the lake as we push our way through towards Essex. The scenery is beautiful and the air smells so clean, not to forget the clean waters of the lake. It is so refreshing to be in such a serene setting! Just about lunch time we have reached our destination and are surprised to see what we see. Most docks of the marina are under water and the navigation to our designated dock is very tricky to say the least. It’s like threading the needle through the eye. Capt. Tom succeeds in getting us docked safely and soundly. These pictures will give you an idea of what we had to encounter in this marina.
A lovely lunch was a great reward that followed all the troubles of the day! The Essex Inn is quite a pleasant surprise in this small town of Essex.
A nice walk after lunch and after dinner as well gave us a better idea of this quaint small town and it’s inhabitants.
Statuesque trees crown every street and each property while the blooming ones fill the air with the sweet scent of their blossoms. The wind has laid down and it is a peace filled night.
May the next day arise even more magnifiscent than today!
Schuylerville to Whitehall, NY
We have by now passed through 5 locks and have 6 more locks ahead of us! It has been a long day and the nature of this environment makes it a slow and tedious ride. At the same time it is very enjoyable too for we are passing through pristine country every inch of the way.
Schuylerville is our stop for the night. It is barely a town but it has a marina with power and water. Pretty place and unique docking for the Contessa. She is seems to be communing with trees today.
Tomorrow morning as the arise and the fog lifts off of the river we gently depart from our resting point and move onward towards Whitehall, NY. There are 6 locks ahead of us and just outside the 12th lock lies Whitehall Marina. It is a transient marina welcoming all that pass through here on their way to lake Champlain or back from the lake region.
As we pass each lock there are particularities to each one of them whereby the principal is the same. Up to lock C8 we have been rising some 140 feet and once the plateau was reached we started our descent. On this section of our trip we encountered a lot of dredging work going on asking for idle speed and caution.
We passed by cornfields and cow pastures, abandoned barns of which one was slowly descending into the river, yet it had a for sale sign on it.
Just as we reached the C12 lock and emerged 16 feet lower on the other side which will lead us into Lake Champlain we were engulfed by torrential rain fall. For tonight we are staying at the Whitehall Marina where Joe had to perform some fancy maneuvering of the boat to accommodate the beautiful Bernadette that needed more power. It was scary for me to watch and partake in but thank God it all worked out fine and the boat was situated safely looking into the opposite direction from before, being north.
Whitehall as we learned was quite an important city in late 1700 and 1800. It is the birthplace of the US Navy. Benedict Arnold created his own fleet of 12 navy ships that were manufactured right here in Whitehall from local lumber by craftsmen from Rhode Island, Newport and Main. The famous Saratoga vessel is preserved in the local museum and has it’s own honorable place of rest. The magnificent mansion built way up into the Severe’s mountain was the home of a man by the same name that created the dam system and made the Hudson navigable. The transportation of goods coming from Lake Champlain and the local regions of the Hudson and Upstate NY were now transported via barges on the river in some areas pulled by mules and horses from land. Many pleasure boats and transportation for travelers was now available by boats as well. That was the time when this area’s economy was at it’s high point. The remnants of those times gone by are still present in old buildings now mostly vacant but still show their old glory. 
contessagoesnorth 