I awoke at 6:00 and turned on the portable heater, then crawled back to bed. When we got up at 7:15, the cabin was warm even though it was very chilly outside. It was suppose to be another bright sunny day, but instead we woke up to a dark gray day. I checked the weather app. We aren't getting cellular service, but Vergennes provides the boaters with free WiFi at the docks. Today's forecast called for sunny skies with NW winds of 12kts starting mid-morning. We decided to get on our way before the real wind picked up. We would eat breakfast on the way. At 7:45, we were headed the seven miles down Otter Creek to the lake. Once on the lake, the wind was blowing and the lake was beginning to kick up but the sun was coming out. We were cruising south, so we were comfortable with the wind and waves pushing us down the lake. We decided to pass our original destination of Port Henry (we'll go there next week) and go another 18 miles to Chipman Point Marina. The low temperatures for the next couple nights were suppose to be in the high 30's-low 40's and we wanted to be able to use our portable heater. We arrived at the Chipman Point Marina at 13:00. Like most marinas on the lake, they didn't monitor the VHS radio and we couldn't telephone them, since we had no service. Matt noticed a sign on the dock that read "Transients Welcome". That's us, so we pulled up to the dock and tied up. This marina which charged $1.25/ft(including power) is a unique marina. The marina is composed of two four-story historic stone warehouses, built on limestone outcrops directly on the lakeshore. The warehouses were built years ago to store goods awaiting passage by ship or to be picked up for local delivery. Now they are part of the marina. One of the old warehouses houses the self-serve Ship Store on the first floor. The boaters take what they want, then add the item onto their tab by putting a Post-It on the bulletin board. At the end of the week or two, they settle up. The second floor has the charming shower and laundry facilities. Later in the afternoon, I decided that I'd do a couple loads of wash. To get to the laundry room and shower, we had to go up steep stairs to the second floor. The laundry room consisted of one washer and dryer. The machine was large enough to accommodate my two loads of wash. It cost $1/load to use the machines which was again on the honor system. We could either put the dollar in a jar or we could add it to the"I owe you" board. The dryer was the hottest drier that I ever seen. In 15 minutes, most of the clothes were dried, even the heavy towels. The problem, I was warned by a liveaboard (Deb) doing her wash, was making sure that the clothes didn't fry. Finally, it was time for Happy hour on the back porch. As we were enjoying a glass of wine, Pat, the marina owner came down to chat. A retired nurse originally from CT, her and her sons now own and run the marina. For dinner, Matt made chicken lo mein. Trip Log-Day 129: 35nm, 5.5hour, Trip Total: 2035nm, 338.25 hours, 499 gal diesel Going up the steep steps to the 2nd floor to find the laundry and showers.
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We awoke to another beautiful day in Vergennes, so we decided to stay for another day.
Nothing much to say about today. Just another sunny day with temperatures in the high 70°'s and 35% humidity with great scenery. We spend the day relaxing and reading. It was a day to do absolutely nothing productive. Tomorrow, we move further south. Only eight days left on the boat before we head back to Florida.. It was another chilly night and we had electricity, so Matt got up early and plugged in the heater, then went back to bed. By the time we got out of bed, the cabin was 73°.
I baked muffins for breakfast which heated the cabin even more. While I was at it, I baked a batch of brownies for Matt. It was an overcast day, so it took a little longer to warm up outside. At 10:30, we ventured out and started on our list of chores for the day. First I hosed the mud off the bow pulpit, then we filled the water tank and drinking water containers. Our next task, was to take the dinghy motor off the dinghy and put my father's old motor on it. We wanted to flush it with fresh water before it was stored for the winter, so we took it for a ride to get a closer look at the waterfalls. The old motor is starting to have some problems, and will need some work next year if we want to have it as a backup motor. Back on Blue Moon, I scrubbed the dinghy until it was once again white, while Matt sanded and applied cetol to the teak. By 3:30, we were done for the day and were ready for a rest. We sat on our back porch and watched six large Canadian sailboats (35-45ft) come into the boat basin and tie up. There is a cold front coming through on Thursday and they are predicting a couple nights where the temperatures will be dipping into the high 30°'s and low 40°'s. This prompted us to rearrange our cruising plans so that we are at a marina/free dock with electricity on those nights. After happy hour, we walked up the hill into town. On our way to the restaurant, there was a couple sitting outside a restaurant eating who recognized us. She was the woman, Deanna and her husband, Paul that we'd met at Champlain Marina two weeks ago. They own a villa at Burnt Store and are moving to SW Florida to work. We chatted for awhile then went on our way to Park Squeeze for dinner. I had excellent mac & cheese topped with spinach & bacon and Matt had a cheeseburger and the rest of my meal. After dinner, we went back to Blue Moon and watched a movie. It was another chilly morning, but once the sun came up, the cabin heated up nicely.
We had breakfast and were picking up the anchor by 8:30. Our destination was Vergennes. We needed to pick up the part for the freshwater pump at the post office. As we cruised up Otter Creek, we thought the water level looked lower than it had been when we were last here, a month ago. When we arrived at the dock, we could tell that there was about 2 ft less water. There was only one boat at the free town dock so we pulled up to the dock in front of it. Once secure, Matt connected the power cord. On this free dock, we can stay up to 48 hrs (96hrs per calendar year). Next on our agenda was a hike uphill to the post office where we retrieved our package that had been sent there General Delivery. After Matt showed his ID, we had the elusive part in our possession. Back on Blue Moon, Matt went to work as I sat by waiting to assist as needed. He got the waterpump out and replaced the new part on the pump with little problem. Now the hard part... while I laid on the floor with my head in the engine compartment and held the pump in place, Matt reached into the depths of the engine compartment and screwed the pump to the wall (it sounds much easier than it actually was). Once that was in place, he hooked up the plumbing and the electrical wires. When he turned the pump on, it wouldn't turn off! After spending an hour trying to solve this new problem, he noticed that Pedro, from Shurflo, had sent a pressure switch which was for a larger pump than we had. So Matt call Pedro, who instructed Matt on how to adjust the pump pressure (which is normally down in the factory). Matt needed was to adjust two screws using an 5/64" allen wrench and of course, that size allen wrench was missing from Matt's tool box. So we walked 1.3miles uphill to a hardware store to get that size wrench. On our way to the hardware store, we passed an ice cream shop that we recalled served huge portions of ice cream, so we stopped and indulged. After our ice cream, we continued our trek to the hardware store where Matt bought the allen wrench. There was a Shaw's grocery store next door. We plan to eat on the boat only 4-5 more dinners but we did need a couple items. As we were walking back to the boat, a man in a convertible, Micheal, offered us a ride back to our boat. He didn't look like an ax murder, so we happily accepted. Back on Blue Moon, Matt was anxious to finish the pump repair. It was difficult to get access to the pump and to see what we were doing. It was more difficult to get a 5/64"" allen wrench into the right wholes and to turn it the correct amount. But after an hour and much frustration, Matt got the pump working...it now was turning on and turning off. It's still not adjusted perfectly, but that fine tuning can be done on another day. We can use it now! After a beer (or two or three), we took showers and ordered a pizza from Luigi's Restaurant. Three phone calls and almost 1.5 hours later, our pizza arrived. The Town Boat Basin is only .7 miles from the restaurant, but the driver couldn't find it, even when I gave them directions. Plus he never apologized for the delay. We ate our cold pizza on our back porch while enjoying the view of the waterfalls. Trip Log-Day 126: 11nm, 2 hour, Trip Total: 2000nm, 332.75 hours, 499 gal diesel It was little to cool for us last night. I ended up sleeping in my sweats. When we awoke this morning, the temperature was 52° outside and 57° inside.
Just the other day, we were bragging to the locals that we acclimating to their weather and becoming hardier. We no longer needed to wear a sweatshirt when it was 80°. I guess we haven't toughened up as much as I thought. I miss the Florida heat (not so much the humidity). We have twelve more nights on the boat with ten of them at free docks or marinas. We had planned it this way, so that we'd be able to plug the portable heater in and keep us toasty warm at night. By 9:00, the inside and outside temp was 73° and rising. At 10:30, it had warmed up to "shorts weather", so we headed outside to work on our boat projects. As Matt shined all the stainless steel, I washed the bimini and the flybridge cover in the lake, let it dry then packed the bimini away for the winter. Two sailboat neighbors came by the chat. One was Alan Griswold, from Burnt Store. We had met him two weeks ago. He had his wife, Julie, with him today. The other boaters were Rick and Helen. She lives in Glastonbury now, but is originally from Newington. She knew the Hanburys (my aunt, uncle & cousins) and all about Hanbury construction and House of Hanbury. We were done with today's chores by 1:00. Since we have no internet, we spent the remainder of the afternoon reading and playing the uke. A lot of reading is getting done on this trip. After happy hour, Matt grilled chicken and corn on the cob while I made a salad for dinner. Tomorrow, we return to Vergennes, where we hope to get the part for the freshwater pump. It was chilly 61° this morning, when we awoke, but the sun was shining and it gradually warmed up. We have one more day of "jeans weather", then the forecast it for warmer weather until next weekend. Can't believe that Labor Day weekend is next week. This summer has flown by.
After breakfast, we headed to Burlington Boathouse service dock for pumpout and water. By 10:00, we were headed down the lake to Converse Bay. We arrived there about noon. Converse Bay was one of the first places that we anchored at when we first arrived on the lake. Then, it took us five attempts to get the anchor to catch. Since then we've learned the ways of the lake. We found a place that was protected from tonight's predicted NW-N-NE winds and dropped the anchor in 22 ft of water. It immediately caught. Once settled in, we got the Fleetwood wax out and applied two coats to the places that still needed wax on the topside. I would like to wax the back porch area, but that can be done on a windy day. Today, was a sunny day with a very light breeze and the temperature of 79°. A perfect day for doing boat chores. With that chore completed, we spent the rest of the day reading, napping, playing the uke and relaxing. Trip Log-Day 124: 14nm, 2.5 hour, Trip Total: 1989nm, 330.75 hours, 499 gal diesel Yesterday afternoon, the part for the freshwater pump finally made it to my parents' home in CT. The plan was for them to send it to Vergennes Post office-GENERAL DELIVERY and we would pick it up on Monday when we got there. But nothing ever goes as planned. Due to a mix up, they sent it via FedEx to the post office, instead of sending it through the USPS. Now, we were concerned that the post office wouldn't except it. Matt compared it to having a package from Sears, delivered to Macy's for customer pickup. So at 7:00am, I called FedEx. It was too late to change the shipping address, but the company rep said that FedEx would deliver it the post office. Although she didn't know if the post office would accept it. Then I called the Vergennes Post Office and talked to Eric. After explaining the whole story to him, he said that he would keep an eye out for it and call me "when and if" he saw it come in. At 7:30am, we gathered our laundry and headed to shore where the shuttle bus was waiting to take us and our laundry up the hill. We went to the same laundermat that we had used last week... the one next to Dunkin Donuts. We put the laundry in the washer and went for breakfast. With a Dunkin Donut next store, we almost looked forward to doing the laundry. While at the laundermat, some of the locals told us about the Champlain Valley Exposition taking place in Essex Junction, a 30 minute bus ride away. It sounded like it would be fun to go to. By 10:00, we were done with the laundry and headed down the hill to the dinghy. Back on the boat, we stowed the clean clothes then waited to hear the status of the pump part. Meanwhile, Matt contacted Champlain Bridge Marina and scheduled Blue Moon to be hauled out on Sept. 8th, the day before we leave. This way, we can take a look at the boat's bottom. At 1:30, we received confirmation from FedEx that our part had been delivered. I called the post office to confirm it and told them that we'd be picking it up on Monday. They had no problem with that. With that issue taken care of, we went to the fair. We caught a bus going to Essex Junction which dropped us off at the entrance of the fair. It was opening day and we were there when the doors opened. The Champlain Valley Expo was a larger version of the Berlin Fair, but smaller then the Eastern States Exposition. We saw all kinds of animals, both farm and exotic. We enjoyed a show called Mutts Gone Nuts and pig racing. They had antique machines on display including an old Maytag washing machine which was working. We saw cows being milked by machines. That was something that neither Matt nor I had ever seen before. Plus, we were able to ride a three wheel standing scooter around the Exhibition Hall. It was a fun afternoon. We didn't want to be riding the bus at night, so we had dinner at the Church Street Tavern in Burlington. I had French onion soup and a salad, while Matt had baby back ribs. Tomorrow, we continue our trip south. A day at the Champlain Valley Exposition
We awoke to another beautiful morning. It's starting to feel like Fall up here. There's a crispness in the air.
After breakfast, we picked up the anchor. There were no weeds on it, but we did have a bucket full of clay attached to the anchor. We motored up Willsboro Bay and crossed Lake Champlain to Burlington. After grabbing a mooring ball in Burlington, we went to shore to pay. We then went to get another Raspberry Creemee (ice cream #31), which we shared. It had been a week since we were off the boat, so we needed to take a walk and get some exercise. We walked all over Burlington... uphill and downhill. In the evening, we returned to shore and went to Ken's Pizza & Pub where we had a very good dinner. Trip Log-Day 122: 11 nm, 1.75 hour, Trip Total: 1975nm, 328.25 hours, 499 gal diesel When we awoke this morning, a strong west wind was blowing. Stronger than had been forecasted.
We had breakfast and then had to decide what we wanted to do today...stay or go. After weighing the options, we decided to stay another night here. It is windy, and we have water & beer, so why leave? That will make five nights here. In a few days, we will be heading further south on the lake where there is no internet service. Today, is the beginning of our cellphone billing cycle. We decided to go back to our regular $3/month and pay for 1Gig of data ($10/week) as it is needed in the next two weeks. Plus we plan to be stopping at several marinas where we'll have access to their WiFi services. Later in the morning, Matt called Shurflo (since Pedro hadn't called us). He spoke to the warranty department and explained about our frustration that we were experiencing getting a new pressure switch for our 7 month old and with Pedro. She found out that the part was shipped yesterday and gave us the FedEx tracking number. It will be delivered to my parent's home tomorrow and they will mail it to us. We are going to have it mailed GENERAL DELIVERY to the post office in Vergennes. This is the first time that we've tried doing this... hope it works. We felt better knowing that the part was on it's way. Five minutes after Matt got off the phone, Pedro called to tell us that the part had been shipped. We also whiled away the day reading and playing the uke. It was too windy to work on the boat. During happy hour, the winds increased as a squall passed north of us. Two boats out of eight anchored here dragged and needed to reset their anchor. One small power boater brought up a bunch of weeds on their anchor that was almost a large as the woman on the foredeck. For dinner, Matt cooked up breaded chicken and garlic fettuccini shells. We plan to move on to Burlington tomorrow. When we awoke this morning, the sun was shining and there was no wind. It was so mild that we could have our breakfast on the back porch. In the past few weeks, the mornings have been too chilly to do this.
The forecast still called for wind, but only 15-20 kts and then rain later in the day. The winds prevented us from working on our boat projects, so we just hung out and read. Matt called Pedro from Shurflo regarding the freshwater pump. For a week, we've been managing our water by using the breaker switch to turn on and off the water, but it hasn't been fun. Pedro told us last Monday that he was sending a new pressure switch for our 7 month old pump. He lied. The part hadn't been sent to us. He said that they didn't have that part available. But he didn't bother to get back to us and let us know the status. Today, he said that he'd try to locate one and would call us back. That was at 10:30 and at 6:00, we still hadn't heard from Pedro. Matt also tried to contact the company that we bought the pump from, Baron Marine out of Miami. He left a message and no return call from them. So we'll wait and until tomorrow to follow up. At 5:00pm, the rain did come but with no wind. Since it was raining, it was a Soup Day. So we had soup and salad for dinner. While we were eating, a squall came through. We moved inside to finish our meal. Outside, the winds picked up to 25+kts, the rain was pouring down and the visibility was only a couple hundred yards. Two sailboats were resetting their anchors during it. Fifteen minutes later, all was calm again. |