We scouted the pond abut half way across and all the way down to the marshes along the road side and found a consistent 3″ of grey ice. The few patches of thick snow sheltered thinner ice, but there are not many of these and are easy to avoid. The hard frozen snow is fine, as is the thin un-bonded stuff.

This is the typical surface. If you’re quick, you could sail on only this, avoiding everything else, and have a fine day. Here, Jim is working on his fore hand.

This certainly looks less than appealing, but Dave Fortier has offered to lead us right down the middle. The glossy spots are 2″ of new black ice. The rest of the frozen stuff is fine. The snow in the left background should be avoided. Temps in the teens tonight might bring us another inch.

Fortier’s boat is set up on the ice, ready for the morning. Gagnon, Squibb, myself and who knows who else will be sailing tomorrow. Big snow storm Monday will put us back to square one, so come get it while it lasts. Plymouth Store lunch counter open till noon, but hot coffee, soup and pizza all day.