Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Dave Fortier sent this photo of a ladle left behind at his lace from out recent meeting.

Any takers?

And by the way, who made that incredible beef stew, the one in the stainless crock pot? It was just fabulous! Come to think of it, this ladle looks like the one from the beef stew…

We might be getting close to ice time. Denis sends the forecast for next week which expects temps to drop below freezing in Ste. Aurelie on Monday and remain there all week.
Just sayin’. Passports at the ready? Anybody interested in making it a one-way trip?

We’ve received word that Fred Kircheis had a stroke in his sleep early Thursday morning. No news on his situation, but our thoughts are with Fred and his family, and wishes for s full recovery. Iceboating buddy Bruce Brown is helping with the details. Ironically, Rick Williams was scheduled to pick up Fred’s DN that very morning having bought it a few days earlier. Not sure if the two events are related…

Down at the Connecticut Ice Yacht Club, Joe Kolodej was seriously injured at work and a fundraiser has been organized by George Neysson. Lots of us build things and use tools, so its always useful to try and understand how these accidents happen. All the best from Maine, Joe!

https://www.freefunder.com/campaign/Kolodej-Fundraiser—CIYC Dave Danielson fills in the details:

I spoke with Joe for about 15 minutes the day after he got back home. Joe was at Cedar Island Marina in Clinton, CT. working on a Silverton 42. The boat was out of the water. He went below decks to do some welding believing the boat had been vented. When he began there was an explosion. He told me he wasn’t sure whether it was fuel or propane that caused it. He was able to get back on deck but the ladder had fallen away from the boat. Someone heard the explosion and came to help him. His right arm was badly damaged. He told me his hand was just hanging, his thumb wasn’t in the right place (his words) and blood was pulsing out of the arm. He was immediately wrapped up with boat yard shrink wrap to contain the flow and rushed to Yale/New Haven.

He told me the emergency room was full of doctors and nurses to stabilize him. There were 2 more surgeries: the first to determine the extent of damage and another to do skin grafts. He has pins in every finger on his right hand and has a pump hooked up to take care of drainage, I assume. He has a nursing service coming to the house as well and is on 2 kinds of pain killers and still not very comfortable.

I haven’t talked to him again yet; thought I’d let him settle in a bit. I don’t think he’s very comfortable recounting the incident. I know I wouldn’t be either. It sounds like he’s worried whether he will be able to use the hand and arm. He also sounds like he’s not sure what will happen from a legal standpoint, if anything; it’s still being investigated by the local police dept.

He’s guessing it will be at least a 6 months recovery period; probably what the doctors told him. That’s all I have at the moment. I’m really grateful to George for setting up the fundraiser. Joe might have rejected such a thing but I’m sure he’s going to need some backup funds down the road. I’m hoping that we can raise a large sum to take that worry out of the equation. And, at the same time, let him know his friends are with him on the way to a full recovery, if possible.

Take a break from the stress of election coverage and gaze upon this pastoral. Then take yourself quietly to bed, carrying the image carefully in your cerebral cortex. You will have a wonderfully peaceful night’s sleep dreaming ice.

This was taken by Denis Geurtin today just across the border in Quebec. Depending on the outcome of the election, there may be other reasons besides the ice to take up residence there.

We had a good turnout of 20 members from newbies just about to build to our senior member Fred Wardwell who says he has been iceboating for 89 years starting as a small child. New member Ryan Haskell and his wife Heather are about to build, they have daughters 8 and 10 who may get sidecared or he may build an Opti. He is an IT person and has finished the new webcam for the launch site at Damariscotta Lake that will have a time lapse record of each day’s weather. He demo’d that on his smart phone, very cool. Thank you Ryan.

Treasurer’s report from Jim Gagnon (P.O. Box 463, West Boothbay, ME, 04575) ; $2700 in the bank, annual expenses around $1000 at the moment. Dues are due for 2017, send $20 to Jim.

The board of directors are unchanged and they have appointed the officers of the club, also unchanged.

President Buchholz reported on our first 100 mile race, not 50 miles out and back as the big boats used to do on the Hudson but 12 laps around an 8 mail course up on one of the Canadian lakes, we could do it in Maine. The biggest problem for the skippers was counting laps.

Buchholz also suggested we try an orienteering kind of treasure hunt on ice, details to be worked out. Perhaps each skipper would put out a clue. Each clue, to be found in order, would have instructions to the next one. After the clues were laid out I guess every body comes back to home, perhaps eats lunch, and then each goes to the one they planted and the through the numerical sequence and off they go in all directions until they have found them all. The hope is that any iceboat could enter and everyone would have a good time sailing all over the place both in the before lunch setting clues and the after lunch trying to find them. Each skipper would know the location of the clue he set out but not know where in the sequence of clues his known one is. There might be some entertaining element of confusion. Who writes the clues?

The pres. has been designing wind breaker CIBC jackets and caps for purchase by members, contact him for details “hilltop@midcoast.com”. He presented complimentary jackets to the Treas. and Sec. and Web designer John Stanton in acknowledgement of their loyal services. We will add the duty of models to our job descriptions. We appreciate the gesture, they are nice jackets.

Buchholz pointed out that our web site “iceboat.me” is the club archive. There was discussion of possible use of these records of where and when we have sailed over the recent years perhaps along with instructions or GPS coordinates to launch sites. Here is a worthwhile project that is season and weather independent. Any takers?

We usually grill something for the pot luck lunch after the meeting but we forgot to light the grill before the meeting. As usual there was plenty of good food to eat anyway.

The next turn out will be on the ice. The traditional first weekend of December on Plymouth Pond might be a week or two later due to the mild Fall. Maine is in drought since summer, several inches of rain have not been delivered and the lakes are at the lowest levels in 50 years. Beware of never before seen rocks.

Secretary Roberts

He’s getting warmed up!

ODE TO NOVEMBER

It’s early November, the leaves are half down
Some folks have the blues, some soon will leave town

But an iceman’s keen memory brings up the years
when–against all the odds–this month banished our fears

By heading far North, or a longish cold snap
we rigged up the boats, and shot out on the black

This Fall I’ve been wondering, is there still strength to frig?                                                 can I hoist that tall mast? can I back up the rig?

There’s a grace in the quitting, before winding down
I’ll go traveling with sweetie, we’ll get out of town

So I wandered on over, to a wizard near-by
as you open his shop-door, you can’t guess what you’ll spy

There gleamed a new iceboat, so small and so bold
which he claimed he was building for a friend growing old. 

A friend who’s downsizing, yet won’t lay out in the blast
who’s fed up with trailers, but hates to come last

And just as the bait tasted sweet ‘tween my teeth
I felt a sharp hook, that lay buried beneath.

That wise man downsizing, who’s lightening the gear
I know him already: he’s standing right here!

A quick calculation: Sell this and sell that
I could have this new boat, and still die standing pat.

Would that free-standing mast–it looks good here on land-                                                 like others I know grow limp on demand?

Would she slither to windward, slicker than sleet?
Would she hike in a puff, could she harry the fleet?

November’s reborn now, the cruise ship’s on hold
I’m buying new gloves, lifting weights as of old

My obsession’s come back now, and the ending I crave:
Leaping–spread-eagled!–right into the grave