After an overnight excursion to Partridge Harbor, I decided to take a look at nearby Otter Creek and the town of Vergeenes. The creek enters the lake a couple of miles north of Partridge and is navigable for the 7 miles between Champlain and the water falls in the town of Vergennes. The town has two docks,free to visitors, with running water and electrical hookups. One of the docks is on the site of a historic ship yard employed by the Americans to build a fleet to fight the British during the war of 1812. The falls were harnessed to power the shipbuilding efforts. The Saratoga was built there in a mere 40 days.
The Chart below shows my route from Partrige Harbor to the entrance to Otter Creek. The only safe approach to the creek is from the north. East and South of the entrance are very shallow shifting shoals. The creek itself will accommodate drafts up to about 6 feet. Having said that, there are plenty of spots, especially around sharp bends, where sediment accumulates and creates grounding hazards. These areas are well marked on the chart so with an eye on the creek and an eye on the chart the trip up the creek can be totally uneventful. The Town of Vergennes is at the end of the Creek marked on the chart with the yellow arrow.
After I made it past the shoals at the entrance to the creek I turned around and snapped a shot of the entrance. Just beyond the entrance you can see the narrows of the lake bordered on the west by cliffs rising a couple of hundred feet straight out of the water
The view forward, up the creek. Beyond shoals you've got to look out for partially submerged branches like the one dead ahead. :-) Most of them are harmless, but a few are really mean and you can't always tell the difference.
Click on the picture for video
Most of the creek is bordered by farmland, but every once in a while you come around a bend and find a cluster of quaint little cottaqes
At the end of the journey I tied up at the town dock with the falls and yacht basin in the background.
Click on the picture for video
A closer view of the falls
To keep boaters from spending the summer tied up at their dock, the town sets some limits.
