Ticonderoga

Anchored below Fort Ticonderoga, N43 50 W73 23
(08/13/05) Ah what a pleasure. Today we had our first real sail since Sandy Point NJ.
This morning we started 0800 stepping the mast and re-rigging everything. It went very well, no major snags. However, it was very hard work, and we didn't finish until 1300. We may be getting used to hard work in the heat and humidity, but it's still yucky.

The only thing that really didn't work was my labeling and protection of the wires that run inside the mast. Before unstopping I carefully labeled each wire showing where it came from. I also protected the bundles of wires with duck tape so they wouldn't be exposed to the weather while the base of the mast was on deck. I still had a vague feeling that it would go wrong. I was right.

I didn't reckon with the strength of the duck tape glue. By the time I got the duck tape off, three of the very fine wires were broken and several labels were pulled off. Darn, another day another lesson learned. Oh well, with time and patience and I'll get all the wires mended and back where they belong. Next time, I won't use duck tape.

Anyhow, by 1400 we were out on the lake. It is a beautiful clear day, there's a slight breeze, the lake is beautiful and Tarwathie loves sailing much more than motoring. Libby breathed a big sigh of relief when we stopped the motor. The silence was deafening. We see the eastern slope of a nice mountain ridge to the west. Two weeks ago, we were viewing the western slope of the same ridge from Schaffer's boat on Lake George.

We're anchored right at the foot of Fort Ticonderoga, looking up at her cannons. A year ago we took the tour of the fort and looked down from above. Across the lake is Mount Independence and two years ago we toured that. I guess you can say we're in the heart of home territory.