Two days of record warm gale winds in 50’s, both temps and speed melted inches off stolid old Chicky so that moorings put out when the ice was 4-5 inches came to the surface and the whole moored fleet ended up on the beach.
Two hours later all were remoored, some covers rewrapped, and order was restored thanks to yeoman labor by John Eastman who ended the exercise by stepping in a drain hole and getting more soaked than he had been from rain and sweat.
A few large drain holes persist (1/2 inch ice cover Fri AM) around the mooring and beach area. the gale Southerly winds drove the melt and rain water down the lake to do the holes, fishing holes out to 2 feet! All should be healed Saturday or marked. much of the rest of the lake was scouted Fri before breakfast and NW winds. A lot of the lovely ice in Eastern portions is marred by scars of healing puddles leaving varying washboard too rough to skate on, rattly for ice boats with intervening patches of velvety 10 grade ice. The surface improves toward the Western sheltered parts of the lake and the Southern bay, nice stuff.
There will be a Winter Carnival at the public beach this weekend, launch your ice boats at Lloyd’s beach at other end, 140 Porter St.

The lead ballast does work, however structural stresses will increase proportionately, beware of too much of a good thing. I thought the Gambit sail on the Super DN was the nuts for cleaving through snow drifts, until the fuselage broke.