Bill and I had equivocated over Denis Guertin’s video of his spade bit swirling a full inch of slush before it labored thru 2″ of solid ice…..not reassuring!…..this was countered however by an ice-hound’s imperative….we absolutely must stand on frozen water….we absolutely must bash axes against solidity….or die….

we rolled into the tiny crossroads of Saint Aurelie, Quebec at 1030, where Denis appeared by cellphone-aided serendipity within a minute. The day had become deeply overcast and–gasp!– snow was falling…our spirits were high but worried….this was certainly a long shot! Lac des Abenaquis is Denis’s Plymouth Pond: about the same size, very shallow, and not surrounded by mountains. We explored the east side by road, but the watery margin was too wide to cross. On the west side, however, you could take a wide step onto the white snow ice. We carefully walked out, hearing the comforting barking sound of moderately solid ice, without the tinny zippering of sub-2″ ice. Everywhere was almost 3″ of solid ice with 1/4″ inch of dry, unbonded snow….amazing how slush can solidify overnight cooled by good ice beneath.

we walked to the middle of the lake, bashing Bill’s long axe. With a moderate swing, the blunt end rebounded. With effort, however, it went through. We remembered Lloyd’s saying, “if the axe goes thru, you will too!” In the middle of the lake was a lovely 7 knot westerly with occasional gentle gusts to 10. Hooray! Let’s go sailing!

we three excitedly set up. Bill was setting up “Cool Tool”, Lloyd’s beloved super-DN, now converted back to a DN. He couldn’t find a clevis. I set up Icywood, finding numerous semi-important problems I had procrastinated. Denis set up his “Parad’Ice” with the wrong mast. no problem!… his giant trailer contained 4 complete iceboats! we pushed out of the lee of the pits….

and there….there…there, dear buddies….the magic resumed….as Bill said, it was like the 7 intervening months had never existed….this day connected right up to last April. Surprises were ahead though. My new jam cleat grabbed my mainsheet unbeknownst, and in the first puff, over I went. Tarnation!… luckily captive inside a still-intact iceboat, I gingerly lowered myself down the 5′ to the ice….and ruminated on Lloyd’s fierce hatred of cleated sheets.

Using some frozen-in blue chlorox bottles at the south end as a starting line, we organized two races, blasting down the full length of the lake, turning where the leader (always Bill!) chose to turn. I found that by turning at the same time, I could lead the pack half way back to the start. You can cruise all you want, but nothing beats a match race for an adrenalin rush.

It was now about 1PM, so we stopped for a snack and–sure enough!–the wind went light. We hurried back out, but I was having trouble winding up my heavier boat in the intermittant 4-5 knot air. Frustrated, I traded boats with Bill. to save face, I claim that Lloyd’s sheet, going through the boom, laiden with sticky slush, did not properly sheet out. I began a long slow hike, which grew to the tipping point….and there, I made a soft-water sailor’s mistake: I continued to try to luff to windward, when I should have strongly borne off. Over that beloved beauty went! my second capsize in a single day! I fell down to the ice like a log from the intact boat, luckily without fractures. Bill’s first concern, he admitted later, WAS NOT FOR HIS FRIEND’S SAFETY!

I was bruised in many places, but the boat was unhurt, so we made the best of the dying wind. We noticed that Denis’s buddy Frank had gotten off work early and set up against the odds. Denis was going to stay to keep his brother-in-law company, so he helped Bill and I decommission for the return. Tuesday was almpst surely windless so, with many good-bys and handshakes, we left these two warm and faithful friends.

back home, i limped across the threshold with two duffel bags, and gingerly lowered a bruised and aching body into the first chair. Brenda added up the day’s reckoning: a 14-hour disappearance. 8 hours of car immobility. a scant 2+ hours actually iceboating…probably more yakking than sailing….. many insults to a 74 year old body. …. i shook my head….she just doesn’t get it….on the inside, was a deep smile immune to any reckoning….against all odds, Pearl Harbor Day had brought a dreamy date with my other lover….

Here’s how you measure time:

We do things a bit differently than the folks in Minnesota. We find obscure little lakes in the middle of nowhere, watch the conditions ebb and flow, and then pounce. Lake Abenakis, in Ste. Aurelie Quebec was ready to go last week, then was hit with snow, and now the recent warm spell has melted the snow. There’s an inch of slush over the original two inches which is about half frozen today. Temps tonight are at about freezing. There’s no guarantee, but we think the combination of cold from the two inch plate, at freezing air temps, and a little breeze will finish the job by morning.

The big push to attempt it tomorrow is the wind. By Tuesday, when it will absolutely be solid, the wind has gone. Same for the rest of the week: a big high has just parked itself there. But it might be great for the skating crowd, but as you can see, it’s not the usual sheet of glass-black ice.
So, anyone up for the Eastern Challenge? Up through Jackman on US 201, cross the border and hang a right.

What Outlaw really needs instead of the upside down high aspect storm sail 2.0 is a Cheap Skate nice low aspect long boom Sunfish rig carried high enough to clear the roll bar, not much higher really that the over the sitting skippers head rig of the Cheap Skate. The magic of the Lateen rig would solve the center of effort steering problem, especially in heavy air when a deep luff is carried in the forward part of the sail moving side and forward thrust well aft. As a bonus the hiking moment would be reduced, probably to never hike at all.

Lloyd

The snow has indeed fallen on Lake Abenakis. But there is ice under it, and with the weather being above freezing as much as below, a surface could develop. We’ll know more when our Ice Ace checks it on Sunday. For now, it’s the only game in town. Plymouth is just barely hanging on.

But in other development news, Scott Woodman has reached way outside the box for his new storm sail inspiration:

Rumble seat Skeeters are notorious for poor steering habits, and Outlaw was no exception. But Scott shifted the plank and mast step, re-cut the sail, and managed to get her to handle very well in moderate conditions. But flying the storm sail moved the center of effort forward and the dreaded lee helm returned. Not what you want in high wind conditions.
So here we have Storm Sail 2.0. As much sail area as possible is kept aft, and the forwardmost patch is cut away. Personally, your editor thinks it’s thing of abstract beauty and should be mounted on a weathercocking pedestal somewhere along Route One for all to wonder about. During the off-season only, of course, because Outlaw will be in full time service all winter, come what winds may blow!

The ice on Plymouth Pond that Bryan Hitchcock found for us last week managed to survive the warm weather over Thanksgiving. The edges melted in places but they are now buttoned up again. By walking very lightly we were able to get thickness samples from the old ice of about an inch. There were slivers of open water in the distance.

Chances are she’ll survive the pending round of warmth and come out the other end set to freeze thick.

Meanwhile, reports from Quebec are infiltrating the border with news of 2″ of black ice. This lovely plate is just starting to get de-flowered by freezing rain, and to complete the utter degradation will be blanketed Thursday in 5-8″ of snow. Why do I share this stuff? Tis a far, far better thing to have lost at lust than never to have lusted at all!