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| Bob and Bill duking it out on glassy Damaiscotta |
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| Saltonstall Photo |
The ice above is the sort which haunts our dreams. Bill, in the forground, wants it clear
to all, that he is not behind Bob, but lapping him.
Welcome to Maine Ice Sailors
This website is for all who enjoy the ice in and around
Maine, including iceboaters, skatesailors, skaters, and bystanders
We use it to post ice conditions and brag about our times
on the ice, so others may be inspired to get out on the ice.
Use these buttons to write or read ice reports:
WRITE REPORTS READ REPORTS
| Dickie pushes the limit on Plymouth |
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| Cam Lewis Photo |
Plymouth pond, shown above, because it is shallow, inland, and at a higher altitude, often
freezes first
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Early Cases of Ice Fever Noted
Nov 10, 2008
Ice Fever, that seasonal affective disorder, has been cropping
up among club members: Pete Ashley
excitedly reported skim ice on an
abandoned bucket in his back yard. Bill Buccholz tried to skate on
the ice in his
rain barrel with mixed results. And the mildness of
these past days adds that deep primordial fear: Maybe this year,
winter
will be called off!
Perhaps tomorrow's ice party down at Dave Fortier's will bring
the fever down. It will
certainly add padding and insulation for
those upcoming frigid adventures. But the fever could worsen. It
might even
require that desperate lancing of its pustule: a CHERCHER
LA GLACE road trip. Such road trips have the added advantage
of
getting the "hunter" out from under the watchful eye of the
"gatherer" and her eternal quest
for his further civilization.
These road trips try to improve on the four main necessities of
early season
ice. 1. More latitude. that means go north. 2.
more altitude, which is an easy way to go north, since every 1000
feet
of altitude moves you 600 miles north. You could be in northern
Canada simply by looking for ice on Mt. Washington's
summit! 3.
Less depth of water, because it's easier to freeze shallow ponds,
and 4. No wind at the time of freezing.
This, as we all know, is a
total crap-shoot.
One inspiration for me are the Vermont nordic skaters, who keep
their
hungry eyes on Sterling Pond, near Stowe, Vermont. You can see
them skating on it (eat your hearts out, lads) on November
11 of
last season! here's the picture:
http://nordicskater.com/
What's more they kibbitz with each other
about it on:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTNordicSkating/ So we Mainers can
get some high-tech spying without
having to travel 5 hours.
For CHERCHER-ing closer to home, our beloved Maine Gazetteer
gives the altitudes
of ponds in little blue letters, and a few of
them up northwest of Farmington look promising: Mt. Blue has a pond
at
1171 ft and Tumbledown Mt. has a tiny pond at almost 2800 feet.
These would both require a pretty good hike with gear
in a backpack.
Hmmmm.... And who knows if there's cell phone coverage in case of
trouble?
Most inviting, though,
are three ponds east of Mooselookmeguntic
Lake: Long, Round, and Sabbath Day Ponds, all at about 2300 feet and
close
to the road. Hooray! let's wait for the 20 degree temps of
Monday night, gas up the Volksy, and see what happens. One
way or
another, I swear this disease is curable!
the ex-treas.
9:59 pm est
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| John Bianchi DDS loves a good hike |
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| Saltenstall Photo |
"Hiking" means driving the boat hard enough to raise one runner. If you look
carefully, you'll see that John is moving away from the camera and raising his starboard runner.
This ice is on Sebago Lake, which is one of our most fickle and
fascinating playgrounds. It is 'black ice'. Newly formed, it is transparent, and often emits a melody of
sounds: zings, pongs, etc. Ice Music, we say.
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