Lake Champlain Transportation Company

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File:Champlainferry.JPG
An LCTC ferry on the Burlington-Port Kent route

The Lake Champlain Transportation Company (LCTC or LCT) is a vehicle ferry operator that runs three routes across Lake Champlain between the US states of New York and Vermont. From 1976 to 2003, the company was owned by Burlington, Vermont, businessman Raymond C. Pecor Jr.,[1] who is chairman of its board.[2][3] In 2003, he sold the company to his son, Raymond Pecor III.[4]

Lake Champlain is the thirteenth-largest lake in the United States, reaching a maximum width of Template:Convert and depths of more than Template:Convert. As such, there is no bridging of the "broad lake" north of Crown Point, New York, and south of the Rouses Point–Alburgh–Swanton crossing near the Canada–United States border, though bridging of the lake near Plattsburgh has been proposed.[5] Approximately one million passengers cross the lake by ferry each year.

Service area

Service was originally provided at three points, listed from south to north:[6]

All runs employ 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).[7] Under the terms of the Maritime Transportation Security Act, vehicles and luggage brought on board some LCT vessels may be subject to search.[8] Most runs are considered quite scenic.[9]

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.

Charlotte–Essex

The Charlotte–Essex ferry is run year-round, but may not operate if there is heavy icing on the lake. This became a year-round route in 1998 and has operated year-round all but two winters since.[10]

Until the 1920s when the Champlain Bridge was built, this was the primary route for cross-lake travel.[11]

Burlington–Port Kent

The Burlington–Port Kent ferry crossed the maximum width of the lake and did not operate in the winter.[12] This crossing took approximately one hour.

The ferry last operated in 2019, and has not run since.[13]

Grand Isle–Plattsburgh

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. In 2001, the company spoke out against a proposed plan to build a bridge that would replace this route.[5]

Crown Point–Chimney Point

File:The Vermont running at Crown Point.jpg
The Vermont running at Crown Point. Cranes for the construction of the new Lake Champlain Bridge in the background, November 2010.

In addition, a temporary ferry operated by the company, for free at the expense of the states of New York and Vermont at a cost to the states of about $10 per car,[14] once operated from Crown Point, New York, to Chimney Point, Vermont. This 20 minute crossing operated 24-hours per day due to the removal of the Champlain Bridge due to structural problems and the construction of a new span.[15][16]

With the opening of the new Lake Champlain Bridge, this ferry crossing was no longer needed, so the service ended on November 7, 2011.[17]

The ferries used by the LCTC

Ferries currently in use

File:LCTC ferries 2.jpg
Plattsburgh, Cumberland, and (in the background) EWW

Ferries currently used by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company,[18] including six vessels that can run in ice:

  • The Evans Wadhams Wolcott (built 1988 to run in ice; 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 (built 1975; named after the former governor of Vermont and U.S. Senator)
  • The Grand Isle (built 1953; was overhauled in the 1995 and extended by Template:Convert; this vessel now runs in ice;[19][20] named after the Vermont town but running on the Charlotte-Essex crossing)
  • The Northern Lights (built 2002 to resemble the steamer Ticonderoga; used for public scenic and charter cruises under the brand "Lake Champlain Cruises."[21])
  • The Plattsburgh (built 1984 to run in the ice; named after Plattsburgh, New York)
  • The Valcour (built 1947 from WWII surplus; named after Valcour Island, site of a military battle; this vessel was the last ferry to be built on Lake Champlain and was constructed at the historic Shelburne Shipyard)
  • The Vermont (built 1992 to run in ice)
  • The Cumberland (built 2000 to run in ice; named for Cumberland Head, the specific location of the Plattsburgh ferry slip)
  • The Raymond C. Pecor Jr.,(built 2010) named for Raymond Pecor who ran the company from 1976 to 2004, father of Trey Pecor (aka Raymond Pecor III), the company's current president.[22][23] (Raymond Pecor is also the owner of the Vermont Lake Monsters, a minor league baseball team headquartered in Burlington.)

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 grants totalling approximately $600,000 were used under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program to reduce emissions by the ferries.[24]

Decommissioned ferries

Some of the ferries that have been used by LCTC in the past:

  • The Adirondack
  • The Champlain
    • Built in 1930. Also doubled as a charter cruise boat for large groups under the brand "Lake Champlain Cruises".
    • Scrapped in 2022[27]
  • The Charlotte
  • The Essex
  • The Mount Marcy

History

From about 1820 to 1850, approximately five horse ferry crossings operated on Lake Champlain.[28]

The Burlington Bay Horse Ferry shipwreck discovered in 1983 in Lake Champlain is an example of a turntable team boat.[29][30] "Horse-powered ferries like the one sunk in the Bay of Burlington, Vermont, had reached their heyday in the 1830s and 1840s. Eventually, in the 1850s, the steam boat took over and the days of horse-powered ferries quickly came to an end."[31]

A brief history of the vessels owned by the Lake Champlain Transportation Co. from 1948–2010 is available online.

Ice-breaking on Lake Champlain

During the winter, Lake Champlain sometimes ices over, 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.

Charitable donations

Template:Update section Lake Champlain Transportation is the largest contributor to the Pecor Family Foundation, contributing over $250,000 in the tax years 2006–2008. The foundation makes large contributions to such charities as the American Cancer Society and United Way, and to educational institutions such as the University of Vermont and Champlain College.[32]

See also

References

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External links

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Template:Burlington, Vermont Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ New ferry named for Shelburne resident Template:Webarchive, Shelburne News, Tue, Nov 9th 2010.
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ WHAT'S DOING IN; Lake Champlain by Judith Yarnall, The New York Times, June 2, 2002.
  7. ↑ Lake Champlain Ferries Template:Webarchive, a review from Frommers, The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Random ferry searches constitutional, 2nd Circuit rules, Allbusiness.com, December 18, 2006. Describes a civil rights suit in which LCT was a defendant.
  9. ↑ WHAT'S DOING AROUND: Lake Champlain, by Marialisa Calta, The New York Times, September 20, 1989.
  10. ↑ The Job That Comes and Goes: In the pilothouse with Lake Champlain's ferry captains Template:Webarchive by Tom Gresham, Adirondack Life, July/August 2007.
  11. ↑ Essex on Lake Champlain, by David C. Hislop, Jr., p. 35.
  12. ↑ Finding Renewal in a Waterfront Renaissance, by Marialisa Calta, The New York Times, September 30, 2007.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Bridge is costly, but ferry is more by Nick Reisman, Poststar.com, May 18, 2010.
  15. ↑ Temporary Lake Champlain ferry service begins, Boston.com, February 1, 2010.
  16. ↑ Essex County, N.Y. Board of Supervisors Minutes, February 1, 2010
  17. ↑ New York State Dept. of Transportation.
  18. ↑ History of the ferries owned by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company 1948 – 2005 Template:Webarchive
  19. ↑ Photo of the Grand Isle running in ice.
  20. ↑ Grand Isle running on ice; photo on LCT website Template:Webarchive.
  21. ↑ Lake Champlain Dinner Cruises by Maryellen Cicione, Travel Tips, USA Today.
  22. ↑ Lake Champlain Transportation adds ferryTemplate:Dead link by Matt Sudkowski, Burlington Free Press, November 10, 2010.
  23. ↑ LCT takes delivery of new ferry for northern crossing, Vermont Business Magazine, Nov 8 2010.
  24. ↑ Grants – Award Status: NORTHEAST STATES FOR COORDINATED AIR USE MANAGEMENT INC.... Sub-Award 2241-LCT – LAKE CHAMPLAIN TRANSPORTATION COMPANY Template:Webarchive, July 11 – September 30, 2010
  25. ↑ HISTORIC SHIPS TO VISIT – LISTED BY TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT , nps.gov.
  26. ↑ Ferry company scraps historic boat, Adirondack Explorer.
  27. ↑ Two longtime ferries on Lake Champlain are being dismantled., Burlington Free Press.
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Guide Star: Pecor Family Foundation, Burlington, Vt., IRS 990 Forms. (registration required)
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