Ice-hungry iceboaters, from as far away as Peaks Island, gathered on Boxing Day on Lake Megunticook…..ahh….actually we were NEAR Lake Megunticook, only 1.4 miles away…. in “iceboat central”, Bill’s workshop…..there we were iceboating away to our heart’s content….you see, Bill has a very inclusive definition of iceboating, which involves doing ANY iceboat-related activity….in this case we were iceboating/talking……outside a light snow was falling STRAIGHT DOWN…..so there was little interest in moving our iceboating over to the lake….

Especially strong commitment to the sport was shown by Curtis, who lives on an island off Portland, and keeps beautiful “Indigo” on a trailer in a garage on the mainland. Also present were Bill; Lloyd, who I noticed had come sans iceboat; myself, also of little faith, having come to rescue an enmired trailer; and Dirk, a friend interested in iceboating. We all agreed that this season, though starting late, will surely last until May in recompense…

Thanks to astute spying, and strong determination, we’ve been able to have intense and full seasons every year, in spite of increasingly-shy ice; yet often there is a lingering fear that, at last, this season will be the season that never was. By now, 8PM, the snow outside is 3″ deep, which really eliminates anything local.

But a few calls have netted this news: Paul Gervais, from the Champlain area reports equally depressing conditions, with lots of snow and crust and now more snow. However, Ron Buzzell actually set up boats today on Sunapee in a blizzard which totaled 3″ and 4-6 true believers are arriving there tomorrow to see if there’s any joy to be had. Winds are predicted 5-10 mph tomorrow, but better (10-15) Saturday….so I hope to call Greg Cornelious, (who is coming up with some of the Mass. gang) during the day tomorrow and see how they’re doing.

Lucky for me, my daughter Chloe, before jumping on a boat delivery to the Caribbean, has inadvertently, I’m sure, left behind a nice bottle of Napoleon brandy….sooooo…i’m being unusually patient with developments….so, ice buddies, let’s rally the faith and THINK ICE!…..jory

aboard 81′ “Sincerity” built 1928, fully reefed, going 9 Kn. reaching across a 25 Kn. Easterly two days out of Antigua, BWI.