Scenes from a Lake Champlain Houseboat Adventure | Little Outdoor Giants

The Hero’s Welcome dock in North Hero, VT, with the houseboat docked for the afternoon.
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.