Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

As iceboaters we know that conditions can go from great to not, overnight. Let’s just say that if you think a lake is good enough to drive there and check it, then bring boats and buddies just in case. How many times have we discovered excellent conditions, planned sailing for a couple of days hence, allowing for that spot of insignificant weather to pass through first? Probably countless.

This time it was a half inch of damp snow that was packing itself into dense drifts as we watched. That’s blowing snow on the far shore, and often it would engulf us. It was supposed to be rain, or the snow track would miss it, or any number of wishful weather scenarios. We didn’t think it would be THIS windy and THIS cold, so discretion being the better part of valor we retreated to skate a small sunny swamp hidden from the wind with four inches of ice over 6″ of water.

But then wonder of wonders, Wessarunsett in Skowhegan was nearly completely frozen, not getting taken apart by the wind. That must mean there is significant thickness there.

The edge is open, but out just four feet there was 1/2″. It needs to be a lot more than that to hold up to the winds today. And why wasn’t this plate destroyed last week the same way Pushaw and Plymouth were, all within meteorological spitting distance from one another?

Take-away of the day: if it looks good: do it. Be Bold!

Check out this footage from the Nite Regatta last weekend on Lake Puckaway, Princeton, WI. Does ice this good actually exist?

https://www.facebook.com/InternationalNiteIceboatClass/videos/4780789051995830/

Lake Parlin, near Jackman, is ON for tomorrow and Wednesday.

Last time we sailed Petit Lac Lambton, Frank went through the ice and had to swim a couple of times to get to the shore. But today, we had a solid 4-5 inches of very smooth ice with the same «ice cow patties» that you described in Jackman. The wind was just perfect and we sailed all day with our full rig, even if at some point, we thought about changing for our DN rig. But we didn’t….!! Ice was hard, and we both realized that we needed some runner sharpening before the next sail.

Boats are out of the ice, but still in Lambton. We plan to sail there again Wednesday after some possible mixed rain and snow tomorrow.

As the old saw goes: “there is always ice somewhere”, and indeed there are two lakes near Jackman with sailable ice. Jackman, the Switzerland of Maine, is a delightful hour and a half from I-95 at Fairfield. Right in downtown Jackman is Wood Pond. We’ve seen this for years on the trips to Quebec but it’s usually snowed out. It has recently been snow covered, but made a half-hearted recovery and is 3-4″:

Once past the thin snow alongshore the ice clears out and we have lovely plate of smooth hard ice punctuated by what can best be described and ice cow patties. They can be sailed over but they are too crowded to sail around: skates and a skim bat were ok, an iceboat would be better, but bumpy. The big mountain just out of the frame to the right messes with the wind.

Fifteen miles before Jackman is Parlin Pond, a long skinny thing that runs along the road for a few miles. Lee Spiller stopped here years ago after our second day on Lac Joli was snowed out and skated the entire pond.
It had a much better recovery and the cow patties are thinner and fewer of them. The snow in the photo is thin and semi-bonded. The ice is 8″:

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This is much better than it looks. There is a very small boat launch just at the entrance to the scenic turn-out as you approach the lake, at the south end. The edge is punky and planks will be required.

There is weather moving through tomorrow. It looks like some rain followed by snow. How much is unknown. If it survives, Tuesday and Wednesday are the best pick of the week. Here’s the web cam so we can all see it and either weep or whoop.

http://www.jackmanmaine.org/maine-webcams.php

Dear Pushaw Lake held great promise until the recent tropical onslaught took it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUZ597kh9bk

As Bob Lombardo, who took the video, said: “If it wasn’t so spectacular a sight, it would have been depressing.”

There is hope in Jackman, however. Stand by for an ice report late tomorrow.