But the mystery was short: t’was an iceperson’s grief
Gosh, I even was missing the snow
And the remedy too, just as quickly appeared
To that bright little pond I would go.

You see this pond is more than a pond
there’s a legend to it’s far-off sheen
And strangest to tell, though I’ve talked it up:
It’s a place I’ve never seen.

So I teamed up with two twenty-somethings
And we drove to that boulder-strewn gap
Where smugglers of old humped their whiskey
That speak-easies later would tap.

This trail is now closed, the sign shouted
We’d have a two-week delay
As I lingered a bit, unsure of myself
The gang was off and away!

So steeply we climbed through the mud and the rocks
Well-seasoned with fields of old snow
Where every ledge was a waterfall
Which gurgling sped below.

As the trail leveled off in an hour or so,
And the cover of snow was complete
From time to time we would bullet down through
And lose both our legs and our feet.

As last near the sky, at last near the sun
at a welcoming sign, we were pleased
so we quickened the pace, it was downhill from here:
we excitedly scanned through the trees

Now sterling’s a name for bright silver
but this pond was dark greenish-brown
but my prayers were nonetheless answered
half the surface was the whitest of down.

From ahead then I heard a splash and a cry
I knew they’d been shedding the gear
when I pantingly reached the pond’s rocky shore,
Two polar bears swam far and near

Hours later we came down to the welcoming road
We had won at the rolling of dice
and deep down I knew, though the months would be long
I would somehow survive without ice

There is nothing like a good spring picnic with fellow ice boaters (joined by several tolerant wives) to soften the blow of the end of one ice season, and to start us all thinking about the next. For the second year running we were treated to the gracious hospitality of Fred and Ann Wardwell at their wonderful Searsmont farm (once the home of Ann’s father, the notable Maine author Ben Ames Williams). Once again Fred and Ann were ably assisted by their daughter Martha Goodnow (also an ice boater) who traveled from her home in New Hampshire for the occasion. All the food provided by the Wardwells and by other celebrants was tasty and excellently prepared, and nearly all was consumed. Bill and Frank were sure to stock up for their road trip the following day, figuring that they were traveling on ice boat business. On that note, my wife Jennifer appreciated that one piece of her apple pie was considerately left for her to sample. Our sincere thanks to the Wardwells and to other contributors.

Once again we all admired Fred’s barn-full lineup of vintage industrial wood-working machinery, crowned by the mammoth band saw which created such a spectacle when Fred towed it home behind his VW from somewhere between here and a Lake Erie a few years ago. Fred has set the mark or the rest of us — one can never have too many ice boats, or too many tools to build and repair ice boats (or four-masted schooners, for that matter).

Also in the barn is Ann’s father’s magical summer gathering hall, which again was our meeting site. It was decorated for the occasion with numerous enlarged color prints of President Buchholz’s spectacular photos from the past season. They are available for any ice boating promotional event, and copies of any or all can be ordered through Bill. Jory’s hat was passed for contributions to reimburse Bill for his expenses.

The chief topic for discussion, regrettably but understandably, was the dismal subject of xxxcensoredxxx, a problem for which we have no ready solutions. Two years ago, following the advice of people who supposedly know about these matters, we incorporated the club as a xxxcensoredxxx, which presumably protects members from being swept up in a xxxcensoredxxx if another member, or the club, is being xxxcensoredxxx. However, club officers are not so xxxcensoredxxx, and the xxxcensoredxxx we purchased provides xxxcensoredxxx for them. Last year the xxxcensoredxxx nearly doubled, while the doubling of dues, to pay the original xxxcensoredxxx, cut our membership significantly. With the xxxcensoredxxx monster eating up all the treasury, the future of Lloyd’s wonderful and inimitable newsletter — which we suspect is why a number of our far-flung members were members in the first place — is placed in jeopardy. All members present were in agreement that this has left us in an intolerable situation. Between now and next Fall’s meeting the officers will conduct further research regarding options, beginning by contacting Mid-Western ice boaters to see how they are handling the situation.

The attendee who came the greatest distance was John Stanton, our web tech guru who has guided our growing presence on the Internet, and who, I believe, came all the way from Connecticut. The Mainers who came the farthest were Dennis Glidden and Peter Ashley, from York. The would-be attendee who tried but did not make it was Chris Conary, who, carried away by the spring weather, headed out on his faithless BMW which went dead in Union.

Buchhholz and Frank Able were full of plans for a Sunday roadtrip to MA to pick up a partially finished Whizz fuselage and parts salvaged from a defunct skeeter to combine into Frank’s new ride — next season is already well underway! (editor’s note:) Bill and Frank clocked 600 miles on Sunday, picked up two partial boats, and Bill will begin to morph one into the other as soon as the work tide receeds. Stand by for project up-dates. As always, iceboat.me welcomes all manner of iceboat building and repair projects to share.

Respectfully submitted,
Bill Bunting

Also, don’t forget the CIBC meeting and potluck next Saturday, April 27 at Fred Wardwell’s.

And this is what the morning looked like: Did I mention we discovered a half inch of snow to add insult to injury?

How windy was it? It was so windy that at one point in the middle of the largest bays there was a shallow white-out of wind whipped ice pellets. The wind was scouring the surface of the smallest chunks loosening in the noon sun and just driving them in a blast-cloud.

Yes, that’s a pressure ridge hiding in the white-out. There were five pressure ridges between Greenville and Mt. Kineo, all easily crossed, some under sail once scouted by the first boat. The ice was very good, probably a 7. Peter Coward spent some time on a particularly fine plate doing speed runs while the rest of us were trying to keep our speed down! Denis Guertin’s brother, Yves, did the whole trip in a DN with a full sail and kept us amused with his gymnastics. He is an excellent athlete.

He nearly wore through the heels of a new pair of boots trying to slow the boat down!
Francois and Kate Morrone both busted stud plates, Denis and Lee both had rigs come down; the rest of the boats held together amazingly enough. Always tape your pins in heavy air. Steering pins included!

This is Mt. Kineo in the distance, our windward mark. The ice was as good as it looks in this picture. The roster: Warren Nethercote, Denis, Yves and Frank, Curtis Rinlaub, Lee Spiller, Bruce Brown, Kate Morrone, Dave Fortier, myself, and the hard-core bros Lamb and Coward.

The happy gang in the shadow of Kineo, too tired to set up a proper line. We sailed into this cove and all just coasted to a stop in a silent lull. There wasn’t a breath of wind in there, and it took some work getting back out with the little storm sails. But once around the point it was fifteen miles of delightful downwind sailing. We had to brave a reach every now and then but generally it was nice and deep. I did get way ahead at one point and thought I should beat back up to the fleet, but a couple of minutes of that was enough so I peeled off and continued sun bathing.

Aside from the ridges and the drain hole over which Denis unintentionally flew his windward runner there were no major flaws. If this is what we can expect from Moosehead in the spring, let’s consider cultivating our spies and make this an annual event. The one change we should make is to take Bruce Brown’s advice and have lunch at the turn-around.

Thanks to Curtis for the maps, Denis for the commemorative stickers, Warren Nethercote (8 hrs from Nova Scotia!) for finding the lodging, Kelly’s Bar for keeping us well fed and juiced, and Christian Jacques for scouting the ice last week which set this whole event in motion, and to everyone who had the faith to make the drive. Faith, after all, is just asking your heart to believe what your eyes can’t see and you mind can’t understand. It’s finally time for some well deferred boat maintenance, and maybe even a little gardening. And as you are sitting on the porch this summer sipping your gin&tonic, the ice cubes will be speaking to you: it’s not just mindless clink-vlink against the glass. What they are whispering to you is THINK ICE!

Seven DNs came to Sherbrooke Lake today, including Doug Gaudet from PEI. We still hadn’t sailed the Snelly Cup, so the Fleet Captains decided that today’s number of entries warranted sailing for the trophy. Special thanks go to Terry Hayward for taking time away from sailing his Isabella to be our race officer.

Winds were right down the axis of the lake so we sailed 2 laps of a 1 1/2 mile course. We started sailing on hard ice that gradually softened over the course of six races, but most people were able to use 3/16th inserts until the very last race when a few changed over to 1/4 inserts. The wind started at about 6 to 7 knots and built to 10-12 as the morning wore on, so that we had adequate power to overcome the softening ice. But wind strength varied across the course, so taking a flier could make you a hero or a fool!

Doug Gaudet showed impressive speed upwind and down in the first two races, and led the series until the penultimate race, but as the wind built he lost his upwind speed margin – although he was blistering fast downwind all day. Going downwind was a challenge. It was easy to forget how sticky the ice was: gybing to too deep an angle would lead to near immediate stalling of the sail and loss of speed. There were lots of place changes, upwind and down.

photo: Terry Heyward, with a little bit of Dick Tracy in his genes when he decided to take pictures standing next to the leeward mark!

Bob Crinion won the championship in the end with consistency all day. Although Bob had but a single win, against two for Art and Doug, he was the only boat able to discard a third. But he was only a point ahead of Art Samson, and another one ahead of Doug Gaudet. Tyler Garland got the bad luck award of the day, first breaking a forestay, and then having the hound fitting fail on his mast.

We had our 6 races in by 1PM, and then retired to Howard Garland’s deck to bask in the sun and tell lies. This spring iceboating is wonderful!

Warren

DN 3786

The most fun was to launch the windward runner from a mound of hard snow and set it into a long easy hike. Even as the ice softened and we switched to slush runners, these mounds would still provide lift-off. The wind built nicely to a steady 10-15 from absolutely nothing. There’s not much that tries the traveling iceboater’s faith more than watching limp flags and straight smoke mile after mile. But it held all day, and outlasted us. Have a look at Denis’s video to see what we were sailing in; it really wasn’t as bad as it looks. As a matter of fact I believe that we risk becoming ice snobs. Sure, smooth ice is nice, but blasting around in sprays of slush, the boat all squirlly, and trying to stay powered up is an absolute blast. (I know, I said that last week…)

This is Mount Kimeo, a major landmark on the lake. It can barely be seen from Greenville, but will be the windward mark if we can pull together enough people for a Hard Way. Winnie Hard way rules will generally apply. Send me an e-mail directly if you want to come: hilltop.

This is what you’ll be seeing, and I think the surface will not be any worse. The only pressure ridge we found was small and easily crossed. We did not sail the proposed Hard Way route, so we will all be doing it for the first time. That’s one of the Hard way rules that won’t apply. The launch ramps at both Greenville and Rockwood are excellent with drive on trailer access. It’s about 15 miles as the crow flies.

So, put away the potting soil, get your survival kit together, and help inaugurate the new Northern Hard Way. The way it’s going, by the time I’m Stu Nelson’s age we’ll be doing this on Hudson Bay!

The edge is rotten of course, but the 14″ on the main plate remains. I guess the point of the story is to never assume anything when considering ice. Or, better yet, against all logic assume that the sailing will be great. And don’t forget the slush runners!

Tomorrow to Moosehead!

We are working our way into April sailing. Local temps next week will dip back into the 20′s at night which might give us another day or two on Megunticook.

Thursday AM, temp high 30′s, no sun, 5 inches punky ice at beach easily penetrated on third swipe of axe b ut still held me up, propabkl not tomorrow.

Late Spring sailing on Chicky is always limited by access. Public beach is gone. Lloyd’s lawn is slithery and beach will be gone shortly. Ice along Rte 17 seems to be up against steep rocky embankment and is tempting. I am very wary of that edge as it gets a lot of reflected warmth from the sun shining on its Western face. The water is deep there right up to the shore.

Go to Canada.

I sailed nine laps of an imaginary course, then realized how much fun it would be to actually have TWO boats, so I called Brian Lamb after checking Megunticook and he’s game for a bit of sailing tomorrow. We plan to be setting up by 8:00 in Bailey Cove. It’s plank access only in there, but I have not checked Bog Bridge for access.

Meanwhile, things are looking good for racing in New Brunswick this weekend. This from Warren Nethercote:

Bob Crinion reports hints of good ice emerging from beneath the snow on Mactaquac (Fredericton). So there is a possibility of some spring sailing this weekend, albeit constrained by family Easter commitments. If ice conditions are confirmed we will follow up with another message.

I will give an update tomorrow afternoon and possibly Friday morning, and am hoping that today’s rain followed by the forecast cold weather will give us some sailable ice.