Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Chickawaukee was the hoped for plate over the past few days, but today lt looks like Megunticook has better potential. Chicky might grade at a 2, but Megunticook rates a 3.5. It won’t be any worse than some of the crud we sailed at Tunk. Megunticok has more water in the upper layers which will freeze, whereas Chicky has drained and evaporated leaving styrofoam.

There will be a course set up and DN’s racing. Not sure if there will be an official regatta; that will be a last minute call. Just to either whet your appetite or keep you at home:

Looks like the moon as seen from a mile up.

This is as encouraging:

Launch at Bog Bridge. As can be seen the the final shot, the pits can be driven on. Those ruts will be hard in the morning. Take care.

How wonderful that after such a long drought we get two fabulous sailing days on a weekend. Saturday came with a dusting of snow and greater wind than forecast, and by Sunday that snow had begun to drift up and compact. Fortunately there was more than enough wind to blow through. Ideal conditions on an interesting lake for racing, touring and exploring.

A fleet of DN’s from Mount Desert showed up. They are good sailors and we look forward to luring them ashore for a regatta some day. As it turns out, that’s where the next good ice might be. Keep Friday open for possible racing.

John Hanson’s new Mini Skeeter had her maiden voyage. The boat was started as a high school project but never finished; John bought the frame and completed it. Note the low sail number. They are now well into the hundreds.

His best buddy took her for a spin. An eminent competitive yachtsman, he lit out after the first DN he saw and was attempting to reel him in when he sailed into the water. We don’t know, but some people think sailing in soft water is natural and that’s probably just what he thought. Aside from a bruised ego, no harm done. The water was poured out and the boat returned to service.

Considering how much water we had and the number of boats, only one swimmer’s not bad odds. Have a look at Mike Young’s track for the day and see if you can figure out where the water was:

The ice was good up to the edge so staying clear was simple for most everyone.

l

On the map, the narrow tracks on the west side indicate short tacking up that side between the shore and the sea. Sometimes you’d be in the shade of tall trees riding the lift along the rocks.

Tunk is a beautiful and wild lake. There are no camps there. One benefit is that the ice is very clean. After two days hard sailing the runners showed no wear. It’s one of the deepest lakes in Maine at 220′, the reason it froze so late, missing all the early snow. Actually, having the middle open made for a nice element, like a big island that doesn’t block the wind. Doing laps around it was part of the great fun.

Indigo’s new owner Larry Mazoway had a new rig built and some other modifications and we are happy to report she sails splendidly. The worst of her nasty habits have been corrected.

Thanks again to Bob Lombardo for getting Tunk scouted and firmly on the radar. Photos kindly sent in by Jeff DiBelia, Greg Askins and Shaun Pinkham.

And the water:

The nice grey ice received 3/8″ snow last night, some of which began to blow away. The wind came on stronger than forecast. The middle of the lake is an archipelago of open water but can be circumnavigated with attention paid to the occasional pressure ridge. The fleet made the bottom of the lake in a wonderful stitching of shallow, fast gybes. Jeff pulled in a few moments later in his 50’s DN.

The lake is completely undeveloped, and getting down here felt like an expedition. There was a tribe of natives around back of this island with a fire going and fish frying. They were friendly. The lake continues another mile from here, but the snow appears to be too thick. We may try again tomorrow.

Boats are on the ice, and there are enough competitive DN’s there to warrant setting a course tomorrow, so it will be done. Drive on pit area.

The grey in the background is soft, cold water.

It’s a bit touch and go with the snow in the forecast but a few boats will set up in the morning and see what can be made of it. If the snow is minimal, then Sunday will be the better of the two days, with more wind and some full sun.

Trucks are parking on the ice, so there’s no reason we can’t drive trailers down the ramp and find a clean place to set up.

With conditions across New England so poor just now we need every iceboater’s eyeball on the forecasts and web cams, and butts in the car taking boots to the ice. This is a collective exercise. Thanks to Bob Lombardo for keeping us up to date on Tunk.

We all can agree this has been an unusual season, but have you noticed what a winter of light air we’ve had? Ice surface notwithstanding, it seems the forecast has days in a row of light and variable. Let’s hoe March comes in like a lion and out like a banshee!

Down beyond Ellsworth, one of the deepest lakes in Maine has been the place to skate for over a week. The ice last weekend was super black, and then the ice storm on Monday dumped ice. It leveled out to a nice grey surface and the skaters are still touring. Some of the cracks and open leads from earlier have healed. The big open hole in the middle is still there. It appears right now that tonight’s snow will miss it. The wind forecast for the weekend is very good.

Hopefully we can get a couple of iceboaters to have a look at it tomorrow and then make a call for the weekend. It’s not a big lake and the access is still a question.

Sorry to bombard you with three posts in a row, but things are happening quick and we don’t want to miss any opportunities.