Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

I promise this will be short….i’m exhausted….i arrived as The Birches Resort north of Rockwood, Maine about 5PM on Thursday, just as 3 wind-reddened, eyes-glazed fanatics (bill, denis guertin, and his even-wilder partner-in-crime Frank) staggered in….they excitedly showed me a GPS showing 77.45 MPH and talked sketchily of the ruination of Franks new Whizz….that perfect storm….fast ice….strong winds…big unexplored ice….had brought on a collective ice extacy.

i spent a troubled night….did i want to sail with these kooks in the AM?…..maybe just skate?…too windy…..skimbatt?….too windy….I decided just to cruise with Charlie, Rambling Rodger, and any other sane souls….and finally i nodded off to sleep….In the morning, i awoke to a iceboaters heaven….the orange sun was rising above the distant mountains to the SE….i sat in the dining room with a favorite cup of tea….beautiful ice stretched for miles in the eastern half-circle….i sat there quietly sobbing….my senses were completely overloaded.

but i had decided to cast my lot with the crazed core group, but to remember the fundamental lesson from group motorcycling: ride your own ride…..never let the presence of the group blind your own instincts and wisdom….over breakfast Frank gave details of blasting into an unexplored pressure ridge at high speed….being ejected from his Whizz by flying hardware (without decapitation)….the plank being shredded, the cockpit now enlarged….etc….it gave me the what-could-have-happened shivers….

bill oriented us to the lake….i’ve sailed here three times from three different launches….each time i haven’t even connected with the previous area sailed…..its like eating an enormous cookie….you nibble the edges….the big hazard lay between Kineo, the big, brick-shaped island which dominates the entire lake….and the island just to its north….on the south side of that strait lies “hardscrabble” marked by a hazard buoy…otherwise the lake was crisscrossed by randomly changing pressure ridges of varying danger.

maybe later today i’ll tell about the amazing day we had together—6 boats—staying together….finding a ‘group wisdom’…..scouting dangers…then…..turning back onto known ice …..and ……putting the pedal to the metal as never before….

i’m sure bill joins me in being too exhausted and too blissed out to report tonight….but i wanted to post this map, in case anyone is heading to moosehead over the weekend:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en_US&app=mp&mid=ztF2YST1dLcw.kSj4jPw5GqBg

this is how the ice looks right now….bill says those little snow bits are inconsequential….best winds are today, thursday, and tomorrow, Friday…weekend might be good but who knows…lots of sun…bunch of us staying at The Birches…..www.birches.com

think ice….jory

Well, at least in iceboaters time. The forecast is clear of snow well into the future. Ice is six inches, clear marbly stuff with mature cracks. The limits haven’t be scouted yet, but there will be boats there tomorrow to complete the exploration: Frank and Denis, myself, Ramblin Roger and possibly Chad and Oliver. If anyone else plans to come, please check in. All are welcome to eat your lunch in Cabin 12 at The Birches. We’ll have a cone or flag on the shore indicating where to moor.

This view is near The Birches, where three of us will be staying. South, to the right a couple of miles, is the public boat launch at Rockwood which is getting plowed out tonight and will be the main launch area. There is a strip of brash ice between this view and the launch which extends across to Kineo and needs to be checked for crossings and quality.

The NEIYA will be holding Regattas all weekend, so come racing, come touring, come what may this is the only known ice in New England at the moment. And just to show how badly Mother Nature feels for screwing with us all season, the Big Winter Storm forecast to drench the entire northeast will miss Moosehead. Driving could be tough for some but just come early and leave late!

Rockwood on Moosehead Lake

Our spy in the sky Dave Godine had this to say: “Flew around a few days ago Moosehead had nice ice around Rockwood area, it really is the only lake around with decent ice.”

This confirms what we’ve been thinking, so as soon as the brutal winds and cold abate somewhat we’ll launch at Rockwood for a scouting expedition. We hope to have a solid report by late Thursday for those planning to make weekend plans.

The Portland Press Herald gave us some excellent publicity around last week’s sail at Sabbatus.