The sun sets over New York as we lay anchor off Juniper Island for the evening.
Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants
In the summer of 2016, photography duo Little Outdoor Giants (also known as Dom Casserly and Jarrod McCabe) set off with friends on a Lake Champlain houseboat adventure for the May/June 2017 Yankee feature, “Slow Boat on a Big Lake.” Here, they share a collection of bonus images from their Lake Champlain travels, with text and captions excerpted from their handwritten journal.
The Hero’s Welcome dock in North Hero, VT, with the houseboat docked for the afternoon. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants
LAKE CHAMPLAIN HOUSEBOAT ADVENTURE
Goal #1: Make Great Work. Goal #1.5 Catch Lots of Fish.
Sitting here at the historic Basin Harbor Club in Vermont, we are on the “blue houseboat” hailing from Chipman Point Marina. We are looking forward to this trip as a photo odyssey, a skills-learning expedition (how to drive a boat, drop an anchor, navigate, read charts, etc.) as well as a real vacation. So far, we already feel like we’ve learned a lot and been out of our comfort zone, and that we’re gonna find tons of picturesque, quaint, storybook moments.
Just to start the day at Chipman Point Marina was like a movie set come to life. The marina sits at the bottom of a steep hill sloping down to the water. Lake Champlain down there is so narrow it looks like a small lake. You can see the mountains of the New York side rising right up out of the water. There are sailboats, motorboats, and houseboats all docked at the floating wooden docks, a gravel walkway leading to an old slanted yacht clubhouse that looks like it used to be a stately munitions building from early American history.
Then we meet Chip himself! He is like a modern-day pirate, a big strong guy quick and to the point, but so friendly. He goes over the boat with us after we load it all in. We learn to operate the radio, the helm, the batteries, the bathroom, how to drop anchor, how to use the charts, and where to use safe anchorages along with suggestions on what to see. He warned us today the winds might cause high seas and said good luck! And sent us on our way!
See more from Little Outdoor Giants here: littleoutdoorgiants.com.Mickey Maynard, possibly the most sought-after fisherman on the lake, spent some time with us sharing lake stories down at the Plattsburgh, NY, Marina. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsElizabeth takes it all in while floating through the high stone cliffs of Ausable Chasm in New York state. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsThe Independence Day weekend reenactment at Fort Ticonderoga on the New York side of Lake Champlain. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsSummer in full swing at North Beach Park in Burlington, VT. We passed this scene on the way to Charlie’s Boathouse. You get a great view of the beach from the bike path. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsCharlie himself, of Charlie’s Boathouse. Follow the bike path north out of Burlington and you can’t miss this place. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsJudy Caldwell of Holderness, NH, reads a newspaper at Hero’s Welcome General Store. She’s en route to visit her mother in Canada, and always stops in. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsNikki Talcott, in her second year working at Malletts Bay Marina, pumps gas for our houseboat. With family in Colchester, VT, she has grown up around boats on the lake and is a self-described “lake girl.” Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsLemuel Palmer fishes for white perch just below the falls in Vergennes, VT, with his friend Bill “Fish Hawk” Dutton. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsSome great bass fishing on the lake. We ate a lot of fresh fish, including panfish like yellow perch, pumpkinseed fish, and bass. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsElizabeth, happy as ever, as we row our way back to the houseboat from Valcour Island on the New York side of the lake. Summer evenings on the water in New England are priceless. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsThe sun sets over the New York shoreline as we lay anchor off Juniper Island for the evening. Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants
Have you ever spent time on Lake Champlain?
Heather Marcus is the senior photo editor for Yankee Magazine. She works closely with the art director and a large group of contributing photographers to tell our stories about people and place in a compelling way. Living and growing up in New England, she continues to be inspired by the communities, the landscape, and the wonderful visual opportunities the region affords.
