Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

(lee spiller on androscoggan photo credit unknown)

I hope others are enjoying this inquiry about the tension between the lone wolf following his bliss, and the worry and sometimes grief that his behavior can cause the group. It’s a subject which our iceboat club has discussed and anguished over, for as long as i’ve been a member.

And Bob Lombardo, part of that amazing skating duo, Bob and Karl, who are just finishing their 55th day of the season, responded:

Do either Karl or I ever skate alone? We both do, but I have to say I am more inclined than he, to skate alone. I know it is not smart but I require “alone time”, that is just the way I am. I have even skated on rivers alone and that is really not a good idea but usually that is when the ice is good and Karl is not able to go.

Jory responds….There’s a need for clarity and authority in us that wants this discussion to end with clear rules. “Membership in our club, the CIBC, requires that all members wear claws and floating, cold-proof clothing when on the ice at all times. We also prohibit solitary activities on the ice. Offenders are subject to warning and eventual dismissal.”

As I look back at what I’ve posted here over the years….the times i’ve waxed a bit “cosmic”…the times that even this failing mind has not forgotten…. they were often times of group activity….but perhaps a quarter of them were alone or semi-alone activities…alone in the beauty of wild space….sacred space i sometimes say….without these times…these precious times…my interest in the ice community would still exist, but it would be very much diminished…. club rules, encouraging the facile judgement of another’s behavior, while trying to fill in the valleys of risk, would have chopped off the mountains of joy…. so i’m glad we’re not regulated….i’m glad we’re staying in undefined, open space…

That said, in these past days, i’ve seen important areas to improve: It’s important to have strict rules for racing, and for all boat encounters. It’s important to share knowledge about safety, and to speak up, in a kindly way, about its lapses…It’s important to take new-comers under our protective wing….and above all, the lone wolf must find a human voice… must strive to communicate in spite of the fear that communication will nix adventure…really….you can have your cake and eat it too…

if you’re with others, you can tell them what you’re doing, why and how….you can listen to and take in their concerns…and then… you can thoughtfully act…not as a defiant loose cannon…but as a confident contributor to the community…which is stronger for each diverse, creative member….if something then happens, it has a different feel…there still will be sadness….grief….but the feelings are less conflicted…more positive….though we may have disagreed…on some level we understand, and are connected.

John went for a drive on the ice in his mini van this afternoon. He reports hard surface with some puddles. This was when it was forty degrees. Tonight it will be in the mid-twenties so it should be excellent tomorrow. I think this will be the end, so it’s soon time to remove those ear plugs and let the fat lady sing.

The Yankee fleet from NJ might be there. If you want to go, call around and see who else might be interested. This reporter can’t make it. Access is still good at the marina. The Birches will be closing Monday for the rest of the winter.

We’ll have our meeting and Pot Luck at Lloyd’s this year, Sunday April 10. Arrive mid morning to mingle and air out narcissistic dirty laundry. Meeting at 11:00 and lunch to follow. 140 Porter St, Rockport, ME 04856

Slight chance of sailing this weekend, we’ll post it here tomorrow.

We left our boats on the ice after the Super Deluxe Saturday on Great Pond. We listened to the weather reports and there were not really encouraging wind predictions, but we had big ice and cold temps predicted for another day. Jim Gagnon and I with our super DN’s, Fred Musser and Bill Bunting with their Nites, and Ben Fuller with Tipsy left our boats on the ice for the night. Jim and I agreed that there was no hurry in the morning considering the light air predicted. Calling each other when on the way to the ice was the plan.

The next morning Jim was the first to hit the road and he gave me a call just as Meet the Press was finishing up. I had wanted to watch that because Mitt Romney was a guest and I wanted to hear him explain and back up his Trump editorial of the day before that was pretty spot on and so was his Sunday morning explanation.

When I got to the launch site, a few others were there and rigging up so I got to it as well. Ben Fuller was there with Tipsy, tearing down if I remember correctly. John __ and Jimmy Mathieu showed up with their DNs. Jim was the first Super DN to head out and we all were close behind.

As we were setting up a gang of snowmobilers started to show up. We were not watching that to closely, but they sounded like they were drag racing from a spot adjacent to the boat launch area as far as they could go until they were stopped by the same pressure ridge that was a hazard to us iceboaters. Their machines were VERY loud and annoying, as was the smoke from the exhaust! I sure am thankful that they continued dragging for just a few hours, and I am so happy that they did not choose to cross over the ridge to where we were sailing.

At first the wind was light to nonexistent, so we were doing a bit of relaxing in our boats catching a bit of snowmobile exhaust on the occasional breeze. Eventually the wind picked up a bit and we were able to sail to the north end of Hoyts island to where the second pressure ridge was. The wind was blowing nicely and slowing down was not quite necessary as the ridge had flattened nicely. Jim and I sailed to the other side of the island just a bit then decided to sail back to where the others were, and that was a wise move as the strong wind did not last much longer, so avoiding the possibility of a very long walk. We all sailed around near the south end of the island and had a great time. I was happy to have remained on the ice for another day.

At 1330-1400 we decided to head back to the launch as it was Sunday and we all had to load our equipment for our drives home. Some of us loading boats onto trailers, some onto roof racks. We all help each other when necessary and that is another of the great things about iceboaters. I believe that Fred was the last to leave after Jim G. and I gabbed with him for a while about how much fun the weekend had been, and if the ice would last with the warm weather that was predicted etc. I had a 10 min ride to get to my niece’s 2nd birthday party. A nice party with lunch and CAKE before my ride home.
What a Super Deluxe Weekend!

Dave
US4690

This one from Fred Muser chasing Bill Bunting on Great Pond last Saturday. If you look closely at the end you’ll see Tom in the distance loose his mast. https://youtu.be/pk_h8YwaO5o

Denis caught the front seat DN up close on Plymouth Pond last week: https://youtu.be/zx9FbwNukEw

And if you are really bored at work this week there are more videos at iceboat.me. No predictions yet for next weekend, but we’ll be checking…