Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Who knows what Johnny Cash meant when singing about walking the line, or Glen Campbell about that guy from Witchita, but for us that line we walk is the one between wet and dry. No, not about Alcohol, that comes after, but between snow and rain. Where the line lands affects our very destiny as iceboaters. It means either a day at work or a day on the ice. The difference between night and day.

Graham Lake walked that line last night, giving a few iceboaters a restless night’s sleep. How close would the snow come? Driving there this morning was no better. Some stretches the shoulders are covered in fresh snow, and then not. But at last the lake: half grey, half white. Fair enough: we’ll take it. With a nice fresh North breeze five boats headed north, scouting and marking their way to the narrows at Fletcher’s Landing. They were proceeded by Skater Bob Lombardo who send back texts of hazzards. The narrows were wide open. This is the choke point for the current that runs through the lake, and it showed. And all that separated us from the northern part of the lake was a narrow sandy spit at the west end of the narrows. So the question was: how many guys does it take to carry a Whizz?

Four. No problem. the DN’s were much easier, especially Dave Fortier’s minimum weight boat. And why would we decide to do this? As everyone knows, the ice is ALWAYS better on the other side of whatever it is that’s blocking you.

And just to show that it is indeed the law:

The south end was scabby, bumpy, a grade 4 tops. Above, the grade goes through the roof. The fleet toured a few miles north to the next plate of less than wonderful ice and turned back to gambol here.They held a one lap race of two miles each way, carried back across the spit and retreated to warm cars for lunch. The temp never topped 15 all day.

After the late lunch, and joined by two latecomers, the narrow canals of the big marsh in the SE corner of the lake were toured at full speed. There were a few spots where the grass just couldn’t be avoided (you folks who sail Loring know what that’s like), but it was just like short track racing. Fast laps until the face froze and the sun went down.

Bob took this short video of the north end, but they don’t always come through on these posts:
Bill Skill

There are boats on the ice for tomorrow in spite of the light air forecast. Wednesday has weather moving in.

In other news, Memphramagog has frozen at Magog and presents what’s reported to be an exceptional plate of ice. More on that to come.

It’s a foggy day in Downeast Maine. We know that fog eats snow, but what does it do to ice? When last checked, Graham had 4.5” of good ice protected with a half inch of crusty snow. Light rain has likely taken care of the crust, now the ice needs to hang in there for another twenty-four hours before it gets cold again. More drizzle and fog is expected tomorrow.But Monday looks to be a stellar day. The entire lake is potentially sailable. Tuesday is looking good as well.

This is looking south, about halfway up the lake, taken last Monday, but a week is a lifetime for ice.

We’ll be launching from the south end boat launch ramp, just west of the dam. Take Eagle Rd off Rt. 180 a couple of miles north of Rt. 1a.

There are two known hazards: a tennis court size hole about 3/4 mile north of the dam, about in the middle of the lower bay. This will need to be marked. The other is a pressure ridge coming off the point on the west side of the narrows, about a third of the way north. It’s been crossed close along the east shore in some rough ice.

Again, all this could have changed but the only way to find out for sure is to show up. Please do not take off up the lake alone. The lake needs to be scouted.

Happy New Year, Happy Sailing!

Jory Squibb’s report from today:

what a treat….putting on your pajamas at 430 PM….when your body has glided over maybe 25 miles of perfect ice….and snow is predicted…so there’s a completion…your greed for more is in abeyance.
i swear the body has an ‘”ice appestat” buried deep in the primitive, reptilian brain which regulates the craving for ice. It works on both a weekly and seasonal basis. When we’re snowed out for a week or a fortnight; when, to quote a poem:

“you couldn’t sail, you couldn’t skate
and harsh words passed,
‘tween man and mate”

then a deep hunger prevails.
So today, on lovely Silver Lake, north of Bucksport, none of us could bear to go home until the weak winter sun was touching the trees, and our shadows had lengthened beyond sight. And that appestat was sighing: …well….
There were a dozen skaters, 4 skim- batters, two iceboaters, and a lone kick-sledder…all lapping up that essential food, fearful of the fasting ahead. Today, I remembered my old motto: never leave beautiful ice! I don’t know if that means you should sleep on the ice; but you should remember the regrets you will have if you haven’t maxed it out.
i wanted to send you a picture, but nothing would serve: Silver Lake must remain, like our first time on Pushaw, in some legendary fairy-land. I had heard that almost all the hazards of my time there three days ago had healed, so i set out on a confident circumnavigation, stopping to yakk with Bill and Guy and eventually exploring with them the last unexplored mystery: “ SE bay”. There, facing the sun, snacking happily, with my back to the reedy tussock-grass, what a treat to hear bill’s exquisite iceboat-cum-art object screech around the corner and glide into the reeds, soon followed by Guy in the pirouettes of skim batting. Truly, is there a realm beyond heaven?

hours later, finally heading toward the pits at 130, semi-exhausted, (self-propulsion is indeed taxing)….still… no way was i heading to that repulsive parking lot: AROUND AGAIN! this time i took more breaks, even started a nap in SE Bay, when the resident Beaver poked up thru his breathing hole in the grass just behind my head, took some raspy breaths and woke me up. You couldn’t sleep anyway; had to glide.
Eventually… as the sun was sinking lower…iceboaters/skimbatters were gathering to yakk in Middle Bay…. and …near the launch, a royal gaggle of folks were comparing extasys before heading home.
This lake reminds you of Megunticook….about the same size…and richly variegated ….this freeze reminds me of the seasons on Megunticook….about one in 5…when the lake, in spite of its chaotic mini-climates…freezes as a unit and—magic!- we are all kids let out of school
When will the snow come tomorrow? could it dodge little Silver again? Could the Higher Power grant us just one more day? Quien Sabe?
tired but fondly, jory

Four inches of smooth hard ice, microscopic dusting of snow. Skimmed holes now have 2.25” of ice with a tad more expected by morning. Some of these healed holes have pine branch markers. There is a long semi-healed crack which you need to locate before you can safely sail this lake. Check in before you go out. Excellent forecast, excellent ice. All that’s needed now is excellent company.

On Graham Lake in Ellsworth there is the same plate of ice. It’s been scouted around the perimeter with a few crossings and appears to be in great shape. If there will be DN racing that will be the place; either an NEIYA regatta or scratch racing. As usual this time of year things happen fast. There are two possible launch sites, but the south end near the dam (gulp) is the best launch. There was a little water seeping up around the edge, but the plate is fine. A short plank will be helpful. Be sure you access this site from Rt.180. If you wind up on the wrong side of the dam you’ll need to drive around.

The forecast looks pretty good for a nice stretch if we can dodge a few white bullets midweek.

It’s not unreasonable to ask for a White Christmas. The song has sold millions of copies and snow on Christmas has become the gold standard for the holiday here in New England. If it snows on Christmas then all must be right with the world. But as iceboaters, are we willing to trade “all being right in the world” for multiple plates of black ice? And even better than black, that lovely, smooth glass-like re-surfaced stuff for which Pushaw, in this club’s collective memory, set the bar for perfection a few years ago.

This is Silver Lake, in Bucksport. Three and a half inches everywhere, six in the bays and coves, of which there are many. Have a look at a map. You can sail everywhere. Well, could have. That White Christmas thing seems to be coming around mid-day tomorrow, right after that long lazy breakfast punctuated with the opening of gifts. It looks like it’ll be with us for twenty four hours. What pops out the other end is anyone’s guess.
Graham Lake, just down the road in Ellsworth, looks like this today:

It was tempting to keep this photo a secret, just to avoid breaking the hearts of our southern sailors waiting for the word to come north. Thanks to Bob Lombardo for this.

But back to Silver, which is new to us iceboaters. The launch is excellent, and the close, intimate sailing would be about like being in the Damariscotta River all the time. Small marshy hummocks to round, tight narrows to short tack through, and just enough open space to let the boat run. The possibilities for hide and go seek are legion.

and if you really want to push it:

Please forgive your ice-stoned correspondent for going on and on like this. If it makes you feel any better, we did have a major failure. The light and variable forecast was blown out the window by a fresh Wester. We could have had boats on this magical plate and sailed ourselves silly. As it is, we’ll have to get by with “all’s well with the world”. Not a bad trade-off, but still.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all some black ice.