Day 19
Begin: Jones Pt. Bay, Willsboro (NY)
End: Partridge Harbor, Westport (NY)
Today we awoke to some good sailing weather. There was a nice breeze coming from the south east. I decided that we should start sailing immediately to take advantage of the wind. Leila stayed below enjoying the sound waves hitting the bow.
I weighed anchor and raised the genoa and mainsail. The wind direction meant that we would have to zigzag back and forth on our way south. This turned out to be a good thing as we were able to see both the Vermont and New York side of the lake.
We sailed all day without stopping using the auto pilot. The wind stayed coming from the south, gradually changing to a south west wind. By late afternoon we were approaching the Narrows section of Lake Champlain. We would have liked to go over to the the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) and/or Vergennes but we decided not to go to LCMM because of the large waves in the harbor opted to pass by Vergennes as we did not feel like motoring for another hour and a half, plus we laked a depth sounder.
We decided to stay on the New York side of the Narrows in Partridge Harbor. I had read somewhere that this cove was hurricane proof and indeed it was, assuming you have a relatively shallow draft (~3′). Once through the small opening, the cove, with high walls on all sides, turns to the south. This means that for all wind directions, except northeastern winds, that waves would not be an issue. North eastern waves are not a large worry either as once any waves get through the small opening they would immediately be dampened as they spreadout. We took the only spot away from the opening, which was on the southern side of the cove. It was a bit shallower than the other part of the cove, but also had the best protection.
Leila and I went for a swim to relax and cool off. We also took the dingy for a paddle around the cove. We then went back aboard and had dinner and played cards on the back deck. It was a beautiful evening. As the bugs started coming out we decided to call it a night and we watched a movie and then headed to bed. All in all today was a great day. Beautiful weather, great sailing, and a good ancorage.
Sorry no photos today.