Thanksgiving is a time to re-connect with old friends. The best friend of iceboaters is early season black ice. It’s the faithful return each year of this magical, mysterious stuff that keeps us focussed on the fun to come.

Plymouth Pond has three inches along shore, out about 100’ where there is an obvious transition to 2”. There are other obvious thinner areas down to an inch, but no open water anywhere. The three inch plate tapers down to 2 1/4” as you follow the shore heading south.

It’s a very skatable stretch, and it might be that one could work down into the marshes along the shore. There is a small, thin plate in this band of three inch ice as you begin to move south.

So, what would you rather do tomorrow: go shopping or skate Black Ice?