Sailing canal boat due in Medina on Aug. 8

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Lois McClure schooner has been delayed by closed canal

Courtesy of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

MEDINA – The Medina Tourism Coomittee has been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Lois McClure this summer, but closed sections of the canal have delayed the sailboat.

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, owners of the boat, announced an updated schedule for Lois McClure today and Medina is listed as a stop on Aug. 8. The boat will pass east through Orleans before staying in Brockport on Aug. 9.

Lois McClure is like a floating museum. The schooner is a full-scale replica of an 1862-class sailing canal boat, constructed by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont and launched in 2004.

The boat has done many tours along the interconnected waterways of New York, Vermont and Quebec. Lois McClure is modeled after two 1862-class canal schooners sunk in Lake Champlain, the General Butler and the OJ Walker.

Launched in 2004, Lois McClure serves as a regional ambassador promoting the shared heritage of Quebecois, Vermonters and New Yorkers. The schooner is named in honor of Lois McClure, who, along with her husband Mac, has been a major contributor to the sailboat and other worthy community projects in the greater Burlington, Vermont area.

For more on the boat and its schedule, click here.