by Art Cohn We’ve had a lot of rain lately and so our trip through the southern end of the Champlain Canal was faster than we had calculated, with the current from the Hudson River adding about 2-knots to our speed. As we rounded the wall at the junction of the Champlain and Erie canals, which was also the junction …
The Lachine Canal: Montreal’s Answer to the Rapids
by Art Cohn Montreal is an island and historically the point at which travelers moving up the St. Lawrence River had to circumnavigate the rapids, which barred their passage west. This dynamic place in the river made Montreal the city it is today. However, by the early 19th century the city’s location and its requirement to transship goods also became …
Captain’s Log, Part 2
by Roger Taylor Kathleen and I rejoined the Lois McClure on June 18th at St. Albans just in time to get underway for Rouses Point. It was blowing a strong breeze out of the South, and, by the time we were ready to cast off at about 11:00, it had backed just enough toward the East to let us ease …
Rouses Point
by Isaac Parker The sounds of church bells from the nearby St. Patrick’s Church announced the arrival of the Lois McClure to Rouses Point. After a long day battling the waves and wind of northern Lake Champlain, the Lois had finally arrived outside Gaines Marina. At first, we tried to thread the Lois along with the Churchill through the immense …
St Albans
by Art Cohn Returning to St. Albans Bay is always like returning home. I lived in Fairfield, just east of St. Albans, for 25-years and still own land on French Hill in St. Albans town. I began my career as a diving instructor at Hathaway Point teaching classes at Camp Kill Kare, a Vermont State park. It was at that …
Fort Edward
by Art Cohn September 23, 2011 We left Mechanicville and headed north to Fort Edward now confident in our ability to combine the Urger and Lois school programs. Fort Edward is one of those important junction points where the cliché about “location, location, location” is well illustrated. Its position on the upper Hudson River and to waterways leading to Lake’s …
Life Aboard a Tugboat
by Erick Tichonuk Followers of our Ships’ Logs know one amazing benefit of traveling these waterways are the incredible people we meet. When traversing the New York State Canal System we’re in constant contact with the folks from Canal Corporation. They’ve made our sometimes arduous travels more enjoyable in countless ways. We’ve come to know many of them well, from …
Mechanicville
by Art Cohn September 18, 2011 The first stop of our revised “Farm, Forest and Fishery Tour” was Mechanicville, a beautiful waterfront community on the Hudson River-Champlain Canal. Like many other communities along the canal corridor, the towpath canal used to go right through the center of the town just uphill from the river on what is now Central Avenue. …
Coming home to Shoreham
by Art Cohn Shoreham, the beautiful town of rolling hills, orchards and farms was another great destination for our Farm, Forest and Fishery Tour. Having ridden out Hurricane Irene at anchor in Vergennes, we left Otter Creek on a swift current and headed for Shoreham. The YouTube video of this is well worth the watch. On the way to Shoreham …
A Visit to Shelburne Shipyard
by Art Cohn August 6, 2011 We receive so much support from the community that we look for opportunities to acknowledge that assistance. Recently, while traveling the lake at the start of our Farm, Forest and Fishery Tour; Sailing for a Healthy Land and Lake, we had an opportunity to visit the Shelburne Shipyard and thank a marine sponsor that …