My axe gave up chopping at 12″ on Megunticook today. The hole did not fill with water, even though the ice was not super hard. The surface is a nice uniform grey without any hazzards in view from my vantage point at the west end of the South Broads and could have been sailed today. I did test the waters on Chicky this morning, with Lloyd watching from the beach like a good parent of an errant child. By 10:00 it was forty degrees and small puddles were starting to form but the surface was still hard enough to handle the gusty NW wind with plates.

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.