Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Lac Abenakis has recovered beautifully from the rains yesterday. Denis checked it today and found five inches of hard ice.

The lake is in the village of Ste Aurelie, just across the border from Jackman, Maine. The launch is on the east side of the lake about a mile from the center of town.

Denis reports a nice orange peel surface, with a wind forecast out of the NE, right down the center of the lake. Lighter winds on Sunday.
There is an inn in town called Le Morrilion which has a few rooms, a bar and restaurant. So far we’re five confirmed sailors. If you want too come please call me for more details. 207-975-6980.

Plymouth Pond should be coming along nicely, probably good to go early in the week. Please keep an eye on it if the rest of us are in Quebec. We’ll all come back for a Linc Davis Regatta!

While we’re waiting, and it won’t be long now, here’s a tutorial all about thin ice. Fascinating information, and a very good explanation on why not to drive fast on the ice.

https://youtu.be/VWwjhmd8_U4

Thanks to Denis Guertin for sending it in.

Here’s a good one from the stern steerers of Wisconsin:

https://iceboatorg.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2023-season-newsletter-WSSA.pdf

Enjoy!

Thunder Bay Ontario is a large bay on Lake Superior. It’s known in the iceboat world as the place where the ice is first in and last out. Here in Maine when we think we’re a big deal for sailing into April, the Thunder Bay spring season still has no end in sight.

Mike Madge is the man on the ice up there. He has fifteen days sailing so far this season. You might have met Mike on line during the pandemic when he held a series of excellent interviews with the who’s who of the iceboat racing world. He got to scheming with David Frost in the off season and they decided it would make sense to hold a scratch racing regatta the week before the Great Western Challenge. A tune-up for the tune-up kind of thing.
They pulled it off over the last few days, with two full days of racing. Smooth black ice, big wind, moderate temps. By all accounts just about as good as it gets.

Mike had set the course, and perhaps five or six DN’s ran back to back races on both days.

The Western Challenge is this coming weekend in Hutchinson, MN so if you feel you missed out on the early ice in Ontario, Minnesota will have to do. Last year the Western Challenge had over seventy DN’s.

Thanks to Paul Chamberlain, DN 5700, for the photos.

Lake Abenakis is looking very good. Five plus inches, orange peel surface.

Rain forecast today, with a touch of snow to follow. Denis will check it late Thursday when that all has ended. Might be good to go on Friday and Saturday.
Got your passport?