Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Nearly two weeks ago the temps in Maine dropped way down. At the same time the wind quit for days on end until all of a sudden we had black ice everywhere. The skaters were going nuts, as were the iceboaters, but for a very different reason. Sure, we can skate, but wouldn’t you really rather sail? One of the lakes to flash was Pushaw. By the time the wind drought ended there was four and a half inches. A great rainstorm reduced that to two and a half, but the temps dropped again and the wind returned. For the past five days the plate has grown to five inches. Clear, hard black ice. For two straight weeks. Amazing. And there might still be more.

The quality of this surface cannot be exaggerated. When you watch this video by Denis Guertin , see if you can hear the runners. There is an occasional click-clack, but mostly silence.

The warm temps of the past few days have only improved the surface. Today it was more like flying than sailing. Aside from that one pressure ridge, the entire lake was flawless. DN’s ran laps for a while but then gave in to the temptation of big ice touring.
Richard Gluckman from Greenwich Village came, Ramblin Roger from Maryland, Paul Chamberland from Albany, plus others from all over New England. Thanks to everyone who kicked off the 2024 season on Pushaw. The bad news, folks, is it’s all downhill from here: snow, slush, shell.
But, in spite of anther big rain storm Monday this ice might hold up and come out the other side intact. Stand by!

North end accessed today over healed pressure ridges. DN’s scratch racing. Over twenty boats from all over New England and one Rambler from Maryland. Couldn’t ask for finer conditions. As long as the weather and the human bodies hold up, there will be sailing. Hard Black ice now four inches.

Preparing Ice Boats at Pushaw Lake youtu.be

Thanks to Herb Crosby for the film. Sailing video under construction.

The ice is fantastic, and easy 10+. But the strong winds and warm temps began to work on the plate and a number of cracks morphed into pressure ridges, open and wet. Very difficult to cross. The Back Bay and south end is fine, but north and west of Dollar Island is a no go. Access to the north end today was impossible. But we had a great course around Oak Island up the to top of Back Bay.

The ice is super hard. Nothing less than perfectly sharp runners will do. There were numerous spin outs today. But, when the runners weren’t screaming for mercy they ran absolutely silent.
Boats are on the ice and sailing is on for tomorrow. The ramp is thin ice. Be careful. Potential for a proper course is limited with the forecast wind direction, but the course mentioned above is just about right.

Still five thousand acres of flawless ice, Pushaw grade for those who remember 2017. But, there are some caveats, disclaimers and small print.

There is a small pressure ridge at the approach to the big bay at the north end.

If you get across that, you might discover this wide healed crack, not far from the inlet and reported to be near a buoy. Hard to say how much ice will be on it by the time we find it, but be advised regardless.

Aside from the obvious point leads and random unknowns, the conditions promise to be epic for the next few days, possibly even into the weekend. Marks will be set, DN’s will be rounding them. Don’t let this one get away!

Late this afternoon, after a ferocious tropical onslaught, our plate popped out the other end in remarkedly good shape. 2.5” of hard black ice. A net loss of two inches. Small drain holes, as can be seen above. The surface is dry.

The forecast suggests Wednesday-Thursday will be the best days this week. Sadly, the weekend looks warm, and then rain moving in again. Friday might be ok, but until the entire lake is scouted we won’t know.

It might be completely un-sailable, but at this point there are a few folks planning to set up at Goulds Landing Wednesday morning. Ready? RSVP 975-6980 svp.

Do I actually need to tell you this is Pushaw Pond in Orono?