Hilary was energetic, so rather than just sit she sometimes tried casting. The Hudson River was heavily polluted but had been cleaned up considerably by the time we started sailing. Much credit for that should be given to the sloop "Clearwater" and the environmental activists who sailed her up and down the river for many years. The main polluters of Lake Champlain were a paper mill on the New York side, towns which had imperfect sewage systems and farms where animal wastes and fertilizers were washed away by rain. We considered Hudson River and Lake Champlain fish OK to eat.