In spite of the dire wind forecast for today, a breeze did build in a few times. But the rough surface killed all momentum in the lighter puffs. Just away to the north lay a plate of grade ten ice that could be sailed in a whisper. It was too far to go in the light wind, and too complicated to de-camp. The only launch on that stretch of lake is DN only, and that’s a bit of a carry through the woods.

It’s no wonder there are no takers for an early sail there tomorrow, ahead of the coming rain. Nice breeze, warm temps, perfect ice. That’s the plate that got away. We won’t be seeing the likes of that for a while.

Here’s the latest from Magog. Thanks, Jacques, for sending this in:

As of January 4, 12h30.6 inches of solid ice.
Grey orange peel surface, no defects.
With the wind, the quarter inch white dust of yesterday has formed half inch fluffy patches on 50 % of the otherwise perfect plate.
Wind 6 knots today.
Jacques Charbonneau.
KC4992

Denis is going, anyone else?

Meanwhile, from Mike Acebo, the Long Island iceboaters are seeding the lake again, hoping for a good harvest:

In an effort to get things rolling a group of OIYC met at noon on a 53 degree New Years Day to seed Hallocks Bay in Orient with ice. We paid tribute to Bob Reeves (his birthday is today and he would have been celebrating 82) for fostering ice boating on Long Island with history, boatbuilding, introducing folks to Skimmers, teaching skills and being a true to heart Club Commodore through the years. He is missed.Peter, Doug and Carol, Karen, the Club ice hot dog chef Linton Duell and I did our best to fill the Bay with the Spirit of ice.
A bit of OIYC past sailing: https://vimeo.com/254116894

“Ice has a social life, it’s changeability shapes the culture, language and stories of those who live near it”.
Robert Macfarlane

xx