Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Newport, VT. The cooling temps in the forecast suggest that the ice will remain hard. We will be getting there around noon on Friday and plan to sail all weekend. Accommodations at Newport City Inn and Suites, 802-334-6558.
Big iceboaters dinner party planned for Saturday night. Hundred Mile Race to be called on if conditions allow. Good winds will give times in under three hours. There will also be an attempt to sail north to Magog, but big pressure ridges often prevent this. Come prepared.

Launch at 44.998n x 72.197w. It’s just south of Eagle Point, where the road skirts the lake, about five miles north of Newport. Ramblin Roger drove his van on yesterday, so it should be fine for trailers. The ramp softened a bit at fifty degrees, but he still managed to drive off. (Ice fishermen use this access so be sure to keep it clear.) Temps aren’t supposed to get above mid thirties so that shouldn’t be a problem this weekend. Based on what we’ve been sailing on around here in marginal temps, the nights below freezing should give us a splendid surface on the twenty-four inches of ice.

Ramblin Roger just popped up on the big lake. He drove right onto 24” of ice with a hard surface at Derby Bay on the American side. The forecast for the weekend looks excellent, and would be a good venue for the Hundred Mile Race. I have a similar report from the north end at Magog. North winds on Fri, Sat & Sun are perfect for a long race on this lake. Will have a confirmation of the north end soon.

This could be our best chance for a Spring Fling. Will boats from all over New England converge if the ice pans out?

For those of you who don’t golf, the Birdie is an excellent shot, and a game played one under par. We scored a Birdie on Megunticook this morning by getting there early, sailing by eight a.m. The overnight temps were just under freezing, but the cold dry air seems to have evaporated away most of the water/melted slush and left us with a nice smooth surface of hard ice.

The air continued to blow all day, although by about 1:00 the runners were finding slush in some of the narrow straights and alongshore. The ice out in the broads stayed hard much longer. Must have something to do with the radiant heat of the land warming the plate. The drain holes had two inches of ice over them, which back in November would have been really good, but today it was just ok. It must have been the snow falling into them on Sunday that super-cooled the water as we haven’t had that much sub freezing in the past two days.

Jory, Bryce and I made a couple of trips to the north end, rounding the sauna and looping Lamb’s Folly. The sauna bay always has a great charge of wind in it, and the floating sauna makes for a dramatic leeward mark. Thanks, Cam, and I do hope we keep you entertained!

Where to next? Damariscotta didn’t wet out so well from the last snow, but we’re getting rain tomorrow which might finish the job. Moosehead is starting to bear keeping eyes on. Maybe it’ll come out of this warm stretch ready to welcome us.

Megunticook and Chickie both have wonderful, hard surfaces this morning. They might last till noon, who knows, but as soon as the wind comes up we’re going to sail on Megunticook.

Frank and Denis found some joy on Lac St. Francois over the past couple of days:

We waited for the wind all morning, but it was really dead. So we skated to check the shell ice spots of yesterday, and they were all 2’’ thick. Except where I went in yesterday!!! (he found a 10″ deep shell puddle which he described like a cartoon character running off a cliff: it’s fine until he stops running, there’s a pause, then down he goes!)
We secured a large plate, maybe 2 miles x 4 miles, where we could sail without any hazards. The wind raised at 13:30, and it was the perfect wind for our full rig. Even un bit too strong at times. We stopped at 16:30 as the snow began to fall. It’s supposed to turn to rain tonight, so it may improve the surface by filling some frozen drain holes.

I’m going back tomorrow, and if we can’t sail, then I will repair my plank. “