Lake Champlain Transportation Company

The Lake Champlain Transportation Company (LCTC or just LCT) provides car and passenger ferry service at three points on Lake Champlain in the United States.

Lake Champlain is the sixth-largest lake in the United States, reaching a maximum width of 12 miles and depths of more than 300 feet, making the bridging of the "broad lake" impractical north of Crown Point, New York and south of the Rouses Point-Alburg-Swanton crossing near the Canada border. The ferry service allows convenient transport across the lake between New York and Vermont. Approximately one million passengers cross the lake by ferry each year.

Service is provided at three points, listed from south to north:
* Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY
* Burlington, VT to Port Kent, NY
* Grand Isle, VT to Plattsburgh, NY at Cumberland Head

The Charlotte-Essex ferry is run year-round, but may not operate if there is heavy icing on the lake.

The Burlington-Port Kent ferry crosses the maximum width of the lake and does not operate in the winter. This crossing takes approximately one hour.

The Grand Isle-Plattsburgh ferry is an ice-breaking route and provides 24-hour service year-round. The crossing on this route takes approximately 12 minutes.

Each run employs at least two double-ended diesel ferries, making the crossings in opposite directions. All ferries are capable of carrying large trucks as well as cars, bicycles, and foot passengers and are of a roll-on, roll-off design (although they can operate single-ended in the event of an engine failure).

During the summer, the company also provides dinner cruises and charters from Burlington as well as special runs that allow the watching of the Independence Day fireworks display at the Burlington waterfront.

The ferries used by the LCTC

Some of the ferries used by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company include:
* The "Adirondack" (the oldest, in-service, double-ended ferryboat of all time, named after the Adirondack Mountains)
* The "Champlain"
* The "Essex" (named after Essex, Vermont)
* The "Evans Wadhams Wolcott" (the "EWW", pronounced "E, double-U, double-U" and named after Lewis P. Evans, Jr., Richard H. Wadhams and James G. Wolcott, the founders of the modern company)
* The "Governor George D. Aiken" (named after the former governor of Vermont and U.S. Senator)
* The "Grand Isle" (named after the Vermont town but running on the Charlotte-Essex crossing)
* The "Northern Lights" (used for charter cruises)
* The "Plattsburgh" (named after Plattsburgh, New York)
* The "Valcour" (named after Valcour Island, site of a military battle)
* The "Vermont" (one of the newest ferries on the line)
* The "Cumberland" (even newer, named for Cumberland Head, the specific location of the Plattsburgh ferry slip)

Ice-breaking on Lake Champlain

During the winter, Lake Champlain ices over heavily, making ferry service on the long Burlington-Port Kent route impractical. The Grand Isle-Cumberland Head route is short enough to maintain an open channel and the distance to the Rouses Point bridge makes it practical for substantial motor traffic to use the ferry, justifying the difficulty of keeping the ferry service operating. The ferries used on this run are of the ice-breaking type; their hulls and propellers are reinforced to allow the boats to operate through thin or broken ice. By operating continuously, the ferries maintain an open channel throughout the winter ice season.

In the past, the ferries did not operate around the clock, but in winter time, a few runs were made through the night to prevent the ice from freezing solidly. Now, scheduled runs continue throughout the night.

References

* "Lake Champlain Ferryboats", ISBN 0-9623772-0-1
* http://www.ferries.com/gfx/fleet.pdf

External links

* [http://www.ferries.com/ Official website]