We scouted the ice, sailed and set the course and the wind has been ordered. All we need are a few good sailors willing to get their teeth rattled out. Surface estimated at Grade 4. Thickness 18″ and the launch ramp is RoRo.
Launch at Gould’s Landing. Start at 12:00 sharp. Skippers meeting at 11:30.
Looking north.
Looking south.
Big wind forecast. A better map will follow.
After scouring the state for a decent surface we’re placing our bets on Pushaw. It will be scouted in the morning and the results posted here as soon as we know.
Thanks to Denis and Frank for putting this together!
Looking to the weekend, both Pushaw and Kezar Lake appear to have fairly good surfaces and the forecast for both places is colder than what we’ll have on Damariscotta, with the best cold at Kezar. Big winds due north called for, which meants its coming right down the lake. Could be epic conditions for the I00 Mile Race.
Expecting pictures and a report later this morning.
It was pointed out today that we need to give James Lamb a finish position because he towed Milo Fleming across the finish line. It was Milo that brought this up.
This puts James Lamb in 10th with a time of 1:36:30 and bumps Ralph Ferguson to 11th.
Bryce Geele is W-20, not 21.
That done, a small fast group toured the lake today in a very strong breeze. The wind was south, which measurably changed the lake’s sailing dynamics.
The river section runs N-S, so short tacking down and then running back up was amazing. And doing it in tight formation with skilled fast sailors just added to the joy. We stopped for lunch to savor the place.
There were a couple of shifty, challenging lees but when back in the broads it was full speed, bent mast sailing. We set marks for scratch racing, ran laps to exhaustion and then tucked back into the back bays for light air technical sailing. It’s a magnificent lake to give us such a great variety of conditions.
The ice softened by 2:00 to full bore slush but with the big wind it was wonderful following behind another boat watching the ice pellets peeling off the runner into a big bow wave.
Marginal conditions for the foreseeable future. Rumors are tickling about Champlain and Canada, and now it’s time to start watching South Twin and Moosehead. Be ready!
I didn’t capitalize hardway on purpose even though 6 intrepid iceboaters, including CIBC members, sailed a challenging route from Brewster Beach to Center Harbor and back, the most challenging part, on Sunday March 1. Ann Row, Charlie Sylvanius, Sterling Sykes, George Williams, Eric Lewis, and Lee Spiller departed Brewster Beach at 11 am and arrived back around 5:30 pm after many adventures along the way .
The ice was rough or very rough. The wind was gusting in the 20’s from the west. That only 3 of the six boats were broken was darn lucky. One broken shroud tang, a hull plank separation scabbed together with wood screws (which lasted the length of the lake), a delaminated plank as a result of deep shell ice, oh, and one sailor went into a sunken pressure ridge and got wet enough to inflate his life vest..he was reluctant to share the details.
The rough ice was a challenge and the strong winds added to the stress on boats and sailors. The pressure ridges were active and changed noticeably during the day. One boat was towed in from the Broads to Wolfeboro Bay but the small fleet stayed in contact and as a result reached the pits after sunset with no one left behind.
Lee Spiller
Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club 