Nearly two weeks ago the temps in Maine dropped way down. At the same time the wind quit for days on end until all of a sudden we had black ice everywhere. The skaters were going nuts, as were the iceboaters, but for a very different reason. Sure, we can skate, but wouldn’t you really rather sail? One of the lakes to flash was Pushaw. By the time the wind drought ended there was four and a half inches. A great rainstorm reduced that to two and a half, but the temps dropped again and the wind returned. For the past five days the plate has grown to five inches. Clear, hard black ice. For two straight weeks. Amazing. And there might still be more.

The quality of this surface cannot be exaggerated. When you watch this video by Denis Guertin , see if you can hear the runners. There is an occasional click-clack, but mostly silence.

The warm temps of the past few days have only improved the surface. Today it was more like flying than sailing. Aside from that one pressure ridge, the entire lake was flawless. DN’s ran laps for a while but then gave in to the temptation of big ice touring.
Richard Gluckman from Greenwich Village came, Ramblin Roger from Maryland, Paul Chamberland from Albany, plus others from all over New England. Thanks to everyone who kicked off the 2024 season on Pushaw. The bad news, folks, is it’s all downhill from here: snow, slush, shell.
But, in spite of anther big rain storm Monday this ice might hold up and come out the other side intact. Stand by!