Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Bill Bunting reports at noon Friday that there is 1 1/2 inches of dense snow lying on but not attached to the ice surface. He can make snow balls of it, it is not styrofoam. “It would be sailable if there was wind”. The sand and grit in parking lot has resurfaced (and will likely be tracked into pits).

The wind forecast for Saturday is modest in the morning, becoming light and variable in the afternoon with temperature around 40. Sunday has 10 MPH wind forecast, still 40 ish. Monday still warm and “breezy” with rain possible in afternoon.

Some of us will set up Saturday morning hoping to sail before wind dies, expecting to sail Sunday and Monday until it maybe rains Monday PM.

So that great ice sheet is still there, the snow might get slushy or disappear leaving wet ice. Lets do it.

As an ice bat sailor or enthusiast, you probably get some value from this web site. The Chickawaukee Ice Boat Club maintains iceboat.me for the benefit of all, and to do it’s part in promoting and supporting the sport. That said, the CIBC is a membership organization and relies on the income from dues to help with this mission. This includes, for example, snow plowing at boat launch ramps, buying marks and cones, and planks for access to the ice when the edge rots out, and the running of this web site.

Mailing out the newsletter is another one. Lloyd Roberts puts out the newsletter, complete with a roster of club members so you can call anyone, anywhere to search for ice. It comes a few times a year. The latest issue is about to come out and will include a free packet of eight iceboat post cards from the archives. If you haven’t paid dues yet this year, now is the time. If you are a follower of this blog, come sailing, but are not a member yet, please take a moment and send twenty bucks, cash or check, to:

Jim Gagnon,Treasurer
PO Box 463
West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575

Thanks, and Think Ice!

Addendum:

It has been suggested that in my New England Champs write up I should have included the Big Picture, not sure what that really means, I will do my best.

One of the things that I forgot to mention in my original version is that I hit the leeward mark on Saturday, and for whatever reason that was not recorded on the results. When that was discovered on Tues? the results were recomputed. That was a big change in the results for places 4 through 8 because we were all so close in points. I was now 8 points richer, and that took me from 4th place to 8th! I must remember to record my finishes while on the ice just for such occasions, as I am getting older if you know what I mean.

We did have a nice place to stay at Paul Gervais Saturday night. and him being a local he knows where the popular eating places are. We gave Guy Polyblank a call and he met us at the restaurant that I cannot recall the name of. It was difficult to find a place to park , but we did. We got a table, I ordered too much food, and we talked about iceboating I am quite sure. The food was good, as was the company. We finished up, Guy went back to his hotel, and Eben, Paul and I went back to his place. Back at Paul’s place we watched the Patriots game until we could not keep the eyes open any longer.

We were up in the morning plenty early, Paul made a pot of coffee, and we all took care of business if ya know what I mean. We had toast and banana with our coffee, packed our gear, and hit the road back to the launch site. There is a good store/bakery close to the launch site that has good breakfast sandwiches, and of course more coffee, so there we stopped. Then it was to the launch site. From here return to the original version.

Cheers, Dave

Doug and Wolfie had one more winner. This, from Doug:

“Nuances. Though one could say that the last few days on Damariscotta were pretty much the same, (sunny warm and glorious), if you think about it, there was variety – periods of dark clouds and even a few minutes of flurries prior to the Whizz race, for example. Each day was spectacular in its own way. But there were nuances.

Today was no exception. The boat ramp was now blocked by slabs of ice three feet high. Wolfie commented that trailers wouldn’t be able to get on. I found quite a lot of frost on my boat, some of which was melting in the the sun. The temperature on the lake was 27. Apparently the frost covered the lake as well because in no time there was a fine film of water on the surface which made for extremely fast sailing in the light to moderate air. At no time during the day were we unable to sail. Even the new guy in the Skimmer was flying effortlessly. For some reason the lake itself became very loud, as lakes sometimes do, emitting a non-stop chorus of whale like sounds.

Linc Davis sailed over for a chat on skates and kite-wing. Soon the temperature was 38, and the sweaters came off. I gathered up the cones and somewhat ineffective prototype marks before heading home. Wolfie found a chair from out in the middle and took it home. And now it’s wait and see.”

To view the Cheapskate video from the last post, go to the web site and get it there.

There are still a couple of boats on the ice, but snow forecast to begin late tomorrow will likely send them home. The SW wind today turned on right as forecast and blew 10-15 all day Bright sunshine, warm temps and the ice just keeps getting better and better. The Cheapskates were out in force and were reported to have had a small regatta. No results in yet. Even the Lockly Skimmers got going nicely in the strong steady breeze. A trio of boats went down the SW Arm all the way to the usual dead end narrows:

We post this same photo each time we go here, looking forward to the day we can get through and go all the way to Damariscotta Mills.
There’s an amazing fish ladder there, and the alewives run up the ladder in the spring is not to be missed. From the salt marsh just below, the Damariscotta river flows to the sea. The river has become famous in recent years for it’s oysters. There are a number of producers, and the flavor is absolutely unique. Of course this year, now that we’ve salted the source with a number of boats and sailors, next season’s harvest might be a bit bitter.
Along the Arm on a small island were a camp of ice fisherman with a roaring fire along shore. What a treat to sail through the plume of woodsmoke and take deep drags of it. The SW wind was blowing right up the center, so we short tacked up the few miles, and then went down in long sweeping gybes. Absolutely some of best sailing, especially considering we couldn’t get down here at all last year.

This has been one of the most fabulous runs on Damariscotta Lake in a long time, and over a holiday weekend, no less. Thanks to Mike Acebo for coming all the way from Long Island and getting some major ice time. Please forgive the old harp, but if you don’t get it while the gettin’s good, you surely ain’t gonna get it when it’s not! Drive the car.

One glimmer of hope for Maine is South Twin. It has wet out and froze well. Snow forecast there is about 50% as of now. Temps will be just about right. Fill up the tank and stand by!

The New England results were dropped from the last post, so find them here: 2017 New England Championship Results – DN North America