Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

The long shot paid off. After pushing around chasing light and variables, the sun came out and the wind came up. Aside for some partially healed puddles the entire lake was fabulous. The biggest puddle was right in front of the pits, which Roger marked with sticks and flagging. Not the smoothest recovery on record; Pushaw 2016 sets the standard for that, but with the wind at 10-14 SW we rattled our way down to the south end and into the river. Back up gave us a fast non-stop deep reach all the way to the bits. The wind was very strong at the top of Muscongus Bay. Oddly, we found only one drain hole. It had about an inch of ice on it, but that was it. What we didn’t know was whether we’d find any more skimmed puddles, so it was a bit tense.

One bit of protocol I’d like to remind everyone of is the custom of asking about hazards. Each skipper has the responsibility to find out as much as he can about what’s out there. You should NEVER show up, jump in your boat and go without asking around first. Even if you see other boats out there. If no one knows anything than YOU need to go scout it with the others who don’t know nothin’! This has happened before, and it puts others at risk who need to come haul you wet ass out of the drink. These are the preventable accidents. There will always be those spots no one knew about until it’s too late, but that’s the chance we take for the sublime experience of exploring a big frozen lake in an iceboat.

Thanks to Roger, Jim, Bunting & Musser, Wolfie, John and Dave Godine for making a great day out of thin hope.

There’s a very slim window between this wet-out and the next snow. No one knows if it will be ready for us, but ready or not here we come.

Sailing tomorrow and possibly Wednesday morning before the snow. Ramblin Roger sent this shot of Dammy on his way home, but then decided to stay for just a couple of more days

Deane Williams sent in a report late last week about this little pond just off I-84 in CT. The MIT gang was itching for weekend ice and took a chance on this unknown plate. In spite of everything else in New England having some degree of surface issue this spot seems perfect. Thanks Deane!

“Five students and two researchers from MIT went to Batterson Park Pond. The pond did not suffer the negative effects of snowfall that many of the surrounding lakes suffered. The four boats from the MIT build-class were used. Two of the students had never sailed an iceboat before and were instant fans of the sport.

Three other boats were present. A wing-foiled boat (Joachim, Surf and Turf, you can see in the background of this photo) and two other DN’s.

There were many ice fisherman that had bored holes in the ice with small mounds of ice spoil alongside their holes.

It was clear that this pond has not been sailed before as many of the locals descended onto the landing to find out ³what you call those things². It was clear by the smiles that the iceboats were welcome additions to the pond¹s scenery. All enjoyed a beautiful day of sunshine, wind, and clear ice.”

Light snow, rain, and now wind leaves us with a coarse pebbly freezing slush and a few gentle drifts/slush 1-2 inches deep. This can be easily cured by some rain, perhaps Sunday. The coarse pebbles alone would be very draggy. The NW wind with cold front seem to be blowing the snow away so the drifts may disappear . This does not look hopeless, just slow.

It’s not often we see A Skeeters racing in the East, so kudos to the Connecticut Ice Boat Club on Bantam Lake for putting this together last weekend. Let’s do it again soon!

CIYC – Bantam CT. Congratulations to all who raced in the 2018 Lloyd Young Regatta last Saturday. We had great ice conditions and strong SSW winds.
Hi-Rig results:
Tony Bosco scored first in the Hi-Rig series followed by Rich Batista in second place. George Neyssen blew out the clew on his mainsail just as Tony was about to pass him at the windward mark, which forced him to withdraw during the second race. At that point he was in the lead position after a win in the first race.

Just for the record, that red fish house is NOT the other mark. Bantam’s small, but not that small. Tony Bosco, below.

Lo-Rig results:
Fred Greis won first place in the Lo-Rig series as well as first place in the J14 class followed by Mike Acebo in his J14. Dave Danielson won first place in the Nite class followed by Al Horrocks in second place. Special thanks are in order to Bob Lee and Ted Bent for helping me with the Race Committee duties. We had a terrific day!
Bill Caddy Commodore