Dog Days

Willsboro Bay
N 44 23.936 W 073 23.529

I've been delinquent regarding posting blogs for the past two days. The truth is that the extremely hot temperatures and humidity robbed us of most of our energy.

We sailed down to Willsboro from Valcour on Tuesday in very light winds. We aren't used to sailing on Champlain at this time of year. We are more used to the September/October weather when the winds almost always blow and are often strong. So be it.

One thing didn't change: Ferris Rock. Lake Champlain is fairly deep. Most parts of the lake range from 150 to 400 feet deep. That means that one does not expect shoals out in the open waters. Ferris Rock is an exception. It must look like one of those hoodoos from Bryce Canyon Utah. On the charts, it appears to be a chimney of rock about 10 feet in diameter and ending two feet below the surface. All around it, right up to the edge, the water is 200 to 120 feet deep. Anyhow, for the 35 years that I've been sailing on Champlain, it seems that every time I sail past the central part of the lake, that Ferris Rock is dead center on my intended course and thus a cause for alarm. It is like the proverbial tree stump in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Impossible to find if you're looking for it, but the object you stub your toe on every time when you're not paying attention.

Yesterday we had dinner with our friends Bob and Carol and their son Phillip. It was great to see them again. They are long time friends. Phillip, who we have known mostly as a child, is now grown up. He works for CAL ISO and he is working on his phd. Today, Thursday, we'll go sailing with them. Hopefully there will be a little wind. After that, we'll head to Burlington for the weekend to visit with our daughter Jennifer.

One thing we did accomplish (actually Libby accomplished) yesterday, was to clean and wax Tarwathie's hull. She had built up the hated brown mustache along the water line that all East Coast cruising boats seem to acquire. Worse, there was no recent wax on the surface so the mustache would reappear within a week of laboriously cleaning it off. This time we put a liberal coat of wax on her and hope that will improve things. Waxing from the work platform of a hard dinghy is awkward.

By the way, these are the weeks of Canadian vacations. It is surprising to note that down here 90% of the boats fly Canadian flags and the boat owners speak French. Lake Champlain is a jewel. A paradise for sailors. If the Canadians appreciate it more than its American owners, the credit goes to the Canadians for being smarter.