08/12/2026
⚓ Fair winds and following seas, Captain John. 🇺🇸
“Those we love don't go away; they walk beside us every day.”
💙⚓🇺🇸 In Loving Memory of Captain John Porter 🇺🇸⚓💙⚓ Fair winds and following seas, Captain John. 🇺🇸💙
The Fort Ticonderoga Ferry has lost one of its own.
Captain John Porter passed away over this past weekend after a lifetime closely tied to this Ferry and to the waters of Lake Champlain.
John worked at the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry for more than 50 years and served for decades as one of its Captains. Think about that for a moment. For more than half a century, through changing owners, changing crews and changing generations of passengers, John Porter was part of this Ferry.
The Fort Ticonderoga Ferry has been crossing Lake Champlain since 1759. Institutions with that kind of history endure because generations of people take responsibility for carrying them forward. John Porter was one of those people.
He knew this Ferry, the docks, this crossing, and Lake Champlain in a way that can only come from a lifetime spent here. Hundreds of thousands of passengers crossed safely under his watch, many never knowing the name of the Captain at the helm. That was simply the job, and John did it for decades.
We have lowered our flag in his memory, but we would also like John's connection to the Ferry to remain long after the flag is raised again.
In his honor, we intend to dedicate the pilot house of the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry as the Porter Pilot House, with a permanent brass plaque commemorating Captain John Porter and his more than 50 years of service.
Long after all of us currently working on this Ferry are gone, we hope another generation will walk into the Porter Pilot House, see his name, and ask who Captain John Porter was.
And someone will tell them.
Rest in Peace, Captain.
Fair Winds and Following Seas.
Captain John Porter
Fort Ticonderoga Ferry
More than 50 years of service
