10F at 10 AM Chicky patches of shiny granular grey ice and white hard snow. The snow is up to 1 inch thick with underlying punky frozen slush 2 inches thick, wet slush a couple of inches, and black ice 3-4
inches under it all. Shiny parts hard 2 in. frozen slush, back of axe bounces off this but sounds hollow. The hollow is slush and water and then black ice 3-4 inches thick I think. I did get through it and total thickness 8 inches when it all get welded together solid.

The snowy stuff would be hard to sail through and seems to be 1/2 of the surface. This may change with sun and warming daytime temps later in week. This stuff is skatable on the shiny parts with fortitude. Ice for sailing grade 0.25. I only went out 2-300 yards from my beach at North end. There may be new thin ice at other end.

Merry X Mass, Iceman