Monday was a bonus day all around, payoff for the thrilling terror of the ice cold high wind weekend. When your correspondent first pushed off on the lovely grade 8 ice of Pushaw, it was really enough just to cleat the sheet on a close reach, and poke along at a slow jog. But once the others came out, it was back to the sheet and a long race to windward and the north end of the lake. Pushaw is oriented NW-SE, so it’s an ideal up-wind downwind lake for the usual winter wind. It will be a great venue for Whizz Regatta 2018. We had a warm-up heat just to be sure:

Jim, Kate and Ramblin Roger wanted a bit of glory, too:

The bottom photo give the best impression of the ice. Like the best we had on Damariscotta, but the entire lake. James Lamb came back in from his initial sail all thumbs up and called it “champagne sailing”. Guy and Jory came late; we saw them on the way back down but just couldn’t bear to stop.

Back on Damariscotta, John Brisson showed up with one of the recently completed boats from last year’s MIT DN building course. He brought four first time sailors with him, all of whom were treated to near ideal maiden sail conditions. Tom Nichols got his new boat nearly dialed in and just needs one more day to nail it. Pat Heppart beware. Bill Bunting and some others sailed until the wind tapered to nothing in the afternoon.

Speaking of tapering, the conditions of the last fortnight would indicate a fat lady. Brutally cold and windy last week at Moosehead, a bit less brutal this weekend on Damariscotta, and then a gentle going to sleep of the wind at thirty two degrees and a hot sun. What a perfect way to taper the end the season, and for many that was it.
But we see cold temps persisting, which will keep the ice. Once this snow slushes out and re-freezes we could get a few more days, even a One Hundred Mile Race…