In this charming video, at 4:45 they learn why that might not be such a good idea.
Meanwhile, Pushaw got less than an inch of snow yesterday. There is reported to be about seven inches of ice.
If there is less snow and more rain on Wednesday we could be back in business. Not a lot of cold coming, but Friday and Saturday look hopeful.
Thanks to Denis Guertin for putting this show together:
|
And an added bonus of this mystery iceboat sailing down a long river high in the mountains:
|
Five DN’s competed today for the coveted Linc Davis Cup, the club’s oldest and most cherished cup. It was tight racing with the lead in the standings quite fluid right up to the end. Wind NW 8-12, perfect for good old Plymouth Pond.
Results:
Jeff Roseberry 1,3,1,2,1 8
Dave Fortier 2,1,2,1,2 8
Tyler Vroman 4,2,3,3,3 15
Guy Polyblank 3,4,4,4,4 19
If we were playing Poker then Guy would have won with four of a kind, but this is iceboat racing so last year’s Linc Davis champ came back to successfully defend his title.
The ice was incredibly hard and everyone took turns spinning out at one mark or the other. Steering was weight forward, or else. Full sun, low twenties and the great breeze made for an epic opener on Plymouth. Our challenge is to hold this Cup on the first black ice on Plymouth; last year we couldn’t.
How hard was the ice? This poor runner, above, tried so hard to hang in there but just kept hopping along. This track extended for about a hundred feet approaching the leeward mark.
In addition to the racers, a couple of Whizz, a Mini Skeeter, Cheapskate, Pocket Skeeter and a classic DN rounded out the fleet. Perhaps a half dozen or so skate sailors zipped around as well. To top it all off, towards the end of the day a gang of ice fishermen pulled up towing an ice shack on a trailer, smoke already belching from the chimney, proceeded to drill some holes and settle in. You might say that a good time was had by all.
And for those looking for a little reflective moment, tuning in to the beauty of a wild little pond, there is always driftwood gazing along the far shore:
The plate will be great until snow on Sunday. More pix and video to follow!
We have an iteresting pair of plates here. There is the three inches of older stuff, just like the ice at Perch, and then 2” of new black ice. The black ice covers the majority of the pond.
Where grey meets black.
Looking back towards the pit area. Tomorrow is warm and windless, but Thursday night is supposed to be cold enough to build ice. Winds Friday are perfect, so it’s tempting to call ON the Linc Davis Cup if we have the ice.
Let’s leave it like this: Regatta is called ON pending final ice check Friday morning. If all is good, first race starts at 11:00.
FLAG IS UP!
With last night’s cold snap many local lakes have flashed. South end of Dammy has half an inch, parts of Chickie are in, and Pushaw has begun to recover.
Half inch at Vannah Rd. over a gravel bottom.
Just alongside Pushaw is it’s sidekick Perch. Perch has a wonderful plate, now at three inches and growing. It is a bit smaller than Plymouth with great access. We sailed there last year for the first time.
The wind doesn’t kick in here until Friday, and looks nice for the weekend. Same forecast for Plymouth, so tomorrow we will have cleats on the ice and report.
Flagstaff Lake in Eustis has long been a tease, 26 miles of meandering lake with islands, rocks, points and narrows. Generally it’s snowed in but this is shaping up to be a less than normal winter. As tempting as it is from initial reports, have a look at this amazing video to see if you could navigate it in an iceboat. Even if you didn’t get wet you most certainly could get lost.
Also, the temperature is forecast to be -4 Thursday morning, just as the wind picks up.
So, looking at Plymouth or Perch Friday and through the weekend. Stand by for Plymouth report.
Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club 