I grew up fairly close to Lake Champlain but until last summer had never sailed her waters or even paddled out in a canoe.

That being said, I’d spent enough time exploring the bucolic farmland and quaint eclectic towns along the shores of this lake, stretching 125 miles from Canada south between New York and Vermont, that I had to put sailing Champlain on my to-do list.

So, when I found out that Navtours operates a sailboat charter base in Plattsburgh, N.Y. (one of the largest cities on the lake), it was all the inspiration I needed to set up a trip.