Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Your reporter missed all the company and big blasts of wind Easter morning due to Easter entanglement with a holiday dinner which Ramblin Roger came to. We were released from company around 3 and were on the ice by 4. The 20 plus boats were gone, most of the wind was gone, and we enjoyed a somewhat local Ramblin sundown cruise sailing back to the pits about 6, very pleasant.

Cheapskate newbie Ted Silar had been disappointed in his CS. He had a sail that appeared to have been tightened up with a hot iron, very flat indeed. It did not work, period. Flatness does not seem to improve CS windward or any other direction performance in Cheapskate. I loaned him my original very baggy sail. Instant transformation. He and Bob MacEwan, no longer a CS newbie, vanished off into an early snow squall and blew the whole length of the lake, five minutes to the narrows according to Bob, with more wind at the other end. The return trip involved a lot of hiking, a blast for both of them. Ted was totally carried away and claims he sailed all day for 7 hours. He has sailed all his life but nothing compared to this. When I talked to him Easter evening he was still all wound up. Likewise a call to Bob got a similar response.

I did point out that perhaps flying around at red line in a white out was not a great idea. They did sound thoughtful. The late Mark came to his tragic end in similar conditions on Chicky a few years ago sailing alone and unseen into marked open water.

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The only clue that spring might be here is the high sun and lack of brutal cold. Aside from that the wind, snow blizzards and miles of great ice could fool you into thinking it was still February. We had it all today: dead calms, big winds, full sun and total white-out. Boats were all over the lake for the first white-out, but three of us were in the south end around the islands when the lights went out. The wind came on strong and I high-tailed back to the narrows looking for a lee, relying on feel and the vague outline of a couple of points. I was thrilled when Jim Gagnon appeared out of the gloom, so I slowed down so we’d stay in sight of each other. Then the wind died, the sun came out, and Curtis appeared in the distance pushing Indigo.

Blowing snow is in the air but the sun is shining above. Could there be a little religion in the weather today?

Twenty-one boats showed up, ignoring the weather forecast and compromising with family over the holiday. In spite of the snowy start, which Fred Wardwell called “inconvenient”, boats were all over the place. The two Cheapskates made their own expedition to Muscongus Bay, and Dave & Doug set marks for the Maine States. Sadly, there were no takers for the race. Sailors seemed content to tear around in the snow and strong wind marveling at the wonder of nature.

Frank Able drove in from Florida last night and showed up this morning for his first sail of the year. He doesn’t look tired to me! Brother Bobby has a new J-14 and was ripping around easily in the strongest of gusts. Jim Gagnon is still out there, waiting for Ramblin Roger to get back from an Easter lunch so they can sail until dark.
Bunting and the Friendship Boys have their boats on the ice hoping for a window this week, but the forecast is bleak.

The good news is that temps will stay below freezing at night all week. Depending on what the precipitation does, we could be in good shape for next weekend. Eyes are still on the prize to our north; no singing woman of substance in sight…

Bill Bunting had a look at our launch site just a few minutes ago and reports the worse hazzard is the deep puddle in the parking lot. Bring rubber boots. The ice is still tight to the shore, and the surface consists of a mere two inches of slush. The plate looks flatter than it has been. Temps now are just above freezing with low twenties predicted. Should harden up just fine. The wind gods are feeling generous, offering more than enough, so the least we can do is be gracious, try to sail and stay in one piece. Looks like storm sails for sure.

The ramp isn’t even close to this condition yet, but even so we had a fine day sailing, March 2011, wet feet and all.

All DN’s in any state welcome to the Maine States!

The Maine State Championships will be held this coming Sunday on Lake Damariscotta. Skippers meeting and start at ususal time. Don’t worry about the forecast; it’ll be just fine.

The last post mentioned the great ice that Kate and Roger found on Champlain. See it and weep:

Kate says: “Thanks to Roger’s scouting we launched from So. Hero on Grand Isle at Keeler bay. Attached is a pic of our boats. The ice was amazing and the wind held all day. I recorded my fastest speed ever at 57.8 and we sailed 81.5 miles. We should have tried a little harder for the 100miles and the 60mph. Kate”

So, one can even have regrets in paradise!

And over on Sebago that day Lee fills in the details:

I didn’t relate all the April Fools day misadventures.
Two friends borrowed boats. Steve, a friend from since the 1970’s and Thom…well another friend from that era. Steve is a sailor. He’s also blind in one eye which may have contributed to the collision the two of them had inside the reef while Steve was getting the feel for Karin’s boat. Thom was sailing my boat and they must have hit fairly hard judging from the chunks of wood taken out of the boats. I inspected them thought things were ok and off they went again. Steves mast soon fell down due to damage to the shroud adjuster..easy fix.
It was later out in the big open lake when we’re were sailing quite fast ( I was a bit concerned about them as it was a stiff but steady wind) that Steve capsized in a gybe. I suspect now the plank attachments had been loosened in the previous crash. I’m repairing the plank and hull damage to Karin’s boat today where a runner sliced the side board and lifted a piece of the deck.
In the process of putting the hull and plank together and lashing everything so Steve could tow the wreck back to the beach my van keys must have fallen out of Karin’s pocket, something we discovered after several more hours of truly great sailing. It was after 2pm and the surface was starting to soften so sailing was not an option to go back and look for the keys..
And this is when Calvin shows up and drives his truck out onto the ice…we were all somewhat surprised when he just hot-rodded down the ramp then out onto the ice. After he drove all along the inside of the pressure ridge we were all slack jawed with amazement and some consternation when he pointed the truck at the open and very active pressure ridge and blasted across it at 30mph. The truck then proceeded to go all over the lake..at times it was a tiny black dot in the far distance…eventually the truck returned and again did the old flying jump maneuver, crossed the ridge, came up the ramp, and stopped in front of us, the driver grinning and his boxer in his lap looking quite pleased as well.
Here’s where things get interesting…
Thom said jokingly “Hey you see any car keys out there?”
I saw my chance and said hey are you willing to go back out and cross that reef and with some bravado he said he would be more than happy too. After explaining about the keys and telling him I was terrified at the prospect of going out he said hop in lets go…
So there I was sitting in the front seat of a pick up truck driving straight at the ridge I’d been nervous about crossing on foot…we got across with a big bang and a huge shower of water and drove around for a half hour trying to find the crash site which of course we weren’t able to do.
The whole time I could only think about having to drive back across the pressure ridge…and it wasn’t a pleasant thought I can tell you. I said to Cal how about I stand in the bed of the truck and maybe I’ll be able to see better. But really I was just hoping to increase my chances of surviving the inevitable catastrophe.
When we crossed the reef again it was with an awful crash as the back end fell through but with a huge lurch and bump almost ejecting me we continued on…Cal yells out the window “I guess we won’t be going that way again!”
At least I felt like now I wasn’t going to die.
But as we came to the ramp I was thinking geez I think we need to be more to the left and sure enough the truck broke through…gently and not far as we were over the lower end of the ramp now but on sun softened ice. I felt kinda bad for having suggesting going back out…but Calvin readily admitted he knew he was driving onto the ramp at the wrong angle.
No need to go on about the details of the rescue, a procession of workmen in pick up trucks and various gawkers and broken tow straps and too many cooks but in the end a front end loader easily removed the truck.

Calvin and his boxer finally drove off both grinning…in a well rinsed truck.
Lee
Ps I came home and got my extra keys..