The final voyage of the 2014 season began on September 17. I left the Essex Marina on a Thursday afternoon to take advantage of a weather window that was supposed to close Friday afternoon. The bad weather was going to take the form of high winds, so I wanted to be clear of the big water before it arrived. I spent Thursday night in Cole Bay (about 10 miles south of the marina) and made Chipmans Point Marina by noon on Friday. The timing worked out great. They dropped my mast for me and I was on my way south within an hour. A few miles south of the marina the lake narrows and starts winding around making the passage downright mellow,even in high winds.

The southern third of Lake Champlain is mostly bordered by marshland providing a rich habitat for all kinds of winged creatures. Great blue herons are particularly fond of the wealth of good fishing and lack of humans. :-)

Eagles also find the area hospitable. Heres a juvenile bald eagle expressing his irritation at my passage.

Fun with animation

And here's that eagle again

After a very eventful day I made halfway through the Champlain Canal to lock 9. Spent the night tied up there and finished the journey to the Alcove Marina in the morning