I didn’t capitalize hardway on purpose even though 6 intrepid iceboaters, including CIBC members, sailed a challenging route from Brewster Beach to Center Harbor and back, the most challenging part, on Sunday March 1. Ann Row, Charlie Sylvanius, Sterling Sykes, George Williams, Eric Lewis, and Lee Spiller departed Brewster Beach at 11 am and arrived back around 5:30 pm after many adventures along the way .
The ice was rough or very rough. The wind was gusting in the 20’s from the west. That only 3 of the six boats were broken was darn lucky. One broken shroud tang, a hull plank separation scabbed together with wood screws (which lasted the length of the lake), a delaminated plank as a result of deep shell ice, oh, and one sailor went into a sunken pressure ridge and got wet enough to inflate his life vest..he was reluctant to share the details.
The rough ice was a challenge and the strong winds added to the stress on boats and sailors. The pressure ridges were active and changed noticeably during the day. One boat was towed in from the Broads to Wolfeboro Bay but the small fleet stayed in contact and as a result reached the pits after sunset with no one left behind.
Lee Spiller