Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Scott and Stacey took a trip Down East today looking for ice. What they found wasn’t quite ready, but it did freeze after all the snow so it was fresh, untouched and black.

Scott estimates it at about an inch this morning. Cold temps for the next few nights will easily grow the plate. Tuesday promises a medium breeze out of the north, right down the lake. Access is a couple of miles down a dirt road, mildly rutted. The lake is Mofang, a ways beyond Ellsworth off Rt. 9.

Anyone interested in a sailing expedition on Tuesday?

With the spring-like weather we’re having it brings to mind Loring Landsailing VI. The spring regatta is scheduled for May 9-14, Tuesday through Sunday. Details to follow, but this is just so you can put it on your calendars now.

Big sky, big asphalt, great racing.

Plenty of parking.

Never a dull moment.

Meanwhile, back in what’s passing for winter, temp forecasts for the week look promising. Later in the week some lakes that were open during the recent snow might freeze, and the ice that did survive might re-surface.
Please keep your eyes on the ice and share what you find.

Best of luck to all the DN racers at the Western Regionals on Lake Kenosha, WI!

The light air filled in nicely and held until mid afternoon. The sailing was excellent for tuning light air skills, the lake offering a nice upwind downwind orientation. It would be an excellent site for a regatta with great access, shallow water and no nearby hills to mess with the wind. It freezes well before Pushaw, and maybe even Plymouth for all we know.

Looks like we’re back to a holding pattern again, hoping the snow will seed the open lakes, and then temps will drop. If it gets cold again Damariscotta might freeze. We’re into January after all. Is a little ice too much to ask?

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There’s not a lot of acreage, but what’s there looks pretty nice. Ideal for light air:

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Just to the east of Pushaw lays Perch Pond. It’s a mile long by a half mile wide. Right now it has six inches of hard ice and no obvious flaws. Pushaw has similar ice but with a few big open holes, easy to see, and some runner sized ones that vary between full thickness and no thickness. Basically, land mines. With temps above freezing all night they will not heal.

So, with a light north wind forecast Perch is the Place. Snow appears to be on its way later in the week and will cover everything, so this will be the last chance for a while. Rain overnight might leave the plate wet, but probably won’t affect its integrity.

The ice on Pushaw today. Very nice stuff.
Exit 193 from I95. Kirkman Rd to Poplar Rd. Launch at Sewell Park.