Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

As the sun was going down and the last trailer hauled up the ramp, a clutch of DN’s could still be seen in the near bay milking every last puff of the dying breeze, The wind was on again off again most of the day. There were big holes in on the northern run; we’d be hiking one minute and pushing the next. The DN racers set up a scratch race course and managed a few laps every now and then, but where else would you rather be that on a big plate of ice with good friends waiting for wind?

And while we’re waiting why not lay down on the ice looking for interesting angles?

There’s always time to meet new people and try to convince them that this sport makes perfect sense. We didn’t get much dissent from this little sport:

There’s great ice coming in all over the place. The next good day in sight for local ice is Wednesday, with winds around 10. Pemequid Pond looks like a good possibility. The south end will be checked tomorrow morning and we’ll post a final call here if it’s a go.

The NEIYA got in six races with fifteen competitors to complete the New England Championships for 2018. Stand by http://www.theneiya.org for final results.

The rest of us continued our exploring and match racing the six miles top to bottom.

This was a fascinating feature of ice crystals, the only thing like it on the entire lake.

Sunday’s forecast is for light winds. Boats are still on the ice, so if you haven’t yet gotten a slice of this lovely lake this might be it. Good wind forecast for the middle of the week and then rain next weekend. Great ice is popping up all over, though. SW Maine and Wentwoth in NH are showing some lovely black ice. Get it while you can!

The south end is indeed a bit rough, especially with fifteen knots and gusting. But once you get past the pressure ridges, passing behind Dollar Island, and get into the north end the grade goes from a low five to a very high eight. The ice is hard hard hard, so be sure to show up with sharp runners. There was a skim of snow in the morning, but as soon as the wind came up it blew off in great clouds.

Because the ice was invisible below the scudding cloud it felt like flying a Sopwith Camel in 1917, scouring the depth of the mist for the lurking Fokker. Above, the quality of the surface in the north end.

DN racing is ON for tomorrow. The NEIYA plans to hole both the New England Championship and the Eastern Championships. The hazzards are serious. Do NOT leave the pit area until you know where the plate is safe. This not just a declaimer. This is about saving your boat.

Beautiful ice features, and not as bad as it looks. Show up and play!

Pushaw has recovered from the weather scattershot of the previous week. Bob and Carl skated it yesterday and today, top to bottom and crossed the lake three times. Bob reports that the surface is wind whipped in places; enough to irritate a skater but not a hungry iceboater. Best ice is in the north end, above Twin Islands. There are three depressed pressure ridges which need to be located, checked and marked. Goulds Landing is in fine shape, no issues there.

No other hazzards were seen. Ice is about 5″, very hard, and growing. Bring sharp runners. The wind forecast for tomorrow is about what it was today, which is nil. Friday looks fabulous, as does the weekend and into next week. Boats will be setting up at Goulds Landing Friday morning for checking, scouting, marking, racing, sailing, eating, socializing, welcoming new sailors, and everything else we do when turned loose on great ice for the first time. Hope to see you there.