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After a 3:40 a.m. start from
Oakville, Ontario just west of Toronto, Uncle Al
took the route recommended by CAA: 401 east to
Cornwall, cross into the States onto Route 37 and
then 11 south of the St Lawrence River, south on
I-87 along the west shore of Lake Champlain to the
Port Kent exit where the series of dots across Lake
Champlain turned out to represent ...
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... the
ferry above..
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Luckily,
it was only a brief 10-minute wait for SHADES
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... before
she was ensconced aboard the Champlain ...
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... in
time for the 11:15 departure.
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It was a
lovely morning to be out ...
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... on
the upper deck ...
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... of
lovely Lake Champlain.
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Just over
an hour later, we were ready to dock at our
destination ...
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...
Burlington, Vermont ...
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... a busy
vacation spot with lots of car traffic in and around
the town. A few miles later however,
..the traffic thinned right out as SHADES continued south overland towards Vergennes and Button Bay. |
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The
early arrivals got the best launching conditions at
the rather rustic ramp, a mile south of the Button
Bay campground. Thursday afternoon saw sunshine and
light, steady breezes as (l to r) Tom Graefe
(W9668), his brother Dave, Tom Erickson (W275) and
Tony Krauss with Mary Abel (well off shore coming in
in their Tasar) arrived off the Button Bay beach
that would be home to our boats for the Rally.
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| No
time
like the present for single-handing as Tom Erickson (l)
heads
out for a little sail, soon to be followed by Tom and
Dave Graefe (9668). Meanwhile, the Tasar team (r)
prepares to make a landfall. |