Hey Gang- Big day for NEIYA members Eben Whitcomb and T. Thieler as we head off to Siberia for the big regatta on Lake Baikal.

The boats were shipped from Oldenburg, Germany a few weeks ago following the European DN champs and are rolling across Siberia on a truck as I write- almost 40 boats in two containers on one big truck. Pretty impressive! Hope the drivers have plenty of coffee and Red Bull…. With a little luck they should get to the regatta site about when we do.

Will try to send updates etc when we can.

See the regatta website for updates and more info here:
http://www.baikaliceyachtracing.eu/Baikal_Ice_Yacht_Racing/Home.html

For info about Lake Baikal click here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Baikal

Here’s a few pics of the trip so far- the shuttle to the airport, NYC skyline, wrapping the bags, and the departure board….

Meanwhile keep an eye on the CIBC site for all kinds of great reports and write-ups and sign on the to LRIBC reports for even more! Sounds like the season ain’t over yet!

Think ICE!!

Lake Damariscotta Sunday. Launch at Damariscotta Lake Farm. Skipper’s meeting PROPMTLY at 11:00, first flag at 11:30. Conditions are nice, weather should be excellent.

Details at https://iceboat.me/

Check it out gang! See CIBC site for details-

WordPress.com

So it sounds like there might be some options for sailing this weekend, but it all depends on what happens with the snow today. I’ve heard positive things about Mempremagog, South Twin and the indefatigable Dammriscotta might be back in play. Team Maine is going to be out looking and Dave is going to try to hold the Maine State champs on Saturday.

If anyone finds a regatta level piece of ice on Saturday, tell me and I will call the Doc Fellows on there for Sunday. I know it will be a late call but we are up against it here.

Oliver Moore
NEIYA regatta chair

Paul Tropea sent in this heads-up:

Still up in Mainiac country,4 days so far of a HYUGE ice sheet 14″ thick, some a little bumpy, but, who’s complaining, plenty of wind, lots of company on the ice, plenty of places to stay, loges, cabins, motel. Temperatures LOWWW, warm fireplaces and hot food at the launch site, “The Birches” loge. Hope to get a few hours in tomorrow before the rain. Very much worth the drive.

There’s talk of an event at Damariscotta this coming weekend. Check the Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club site- winds predicted at 16mph, temps at 11 to 24 degrees. There’s lodging at the launch site, which also has a friendly clubhouse RIGHT AT THE SITE. Lodging is also available at The Blueberry Fields Bed and Breakfast, about 15 minutes drive.

Come up for a last hurrah this season.

James “T” Thieler
12 Channing St.
Newport, RI 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler

From the CIBC gang….

At least a couple of us will hit the lowish grade ice (maybe smoothed somewhat by two days of sun and wind) on Dammy Monday in the face of modest forecast winds in case this is the end of season. Not having wind whistling in the rigging will be a pleasant change. Late AM at the Damariscotta Farm circle launching at the beach. Perhaps a sunny tolerably warm picnic on an island too. Don’t give up.

Buchholz reports that due to high winds and cold temps the 100 mile race is called off for today. But they will be enjoying survival sailing with frequent warmup stops at the lodge. Stay tuned to https://iceboat.me/ for details. Think ICE!!

Our own Bill Buchholz took a little trip west recently to compete in the big ISA regatta out in MN.
He is far too modest to toot his own horn too much so I’ll do it for him and say congrats on a second in the C-Class. Great to see a NE guy out there mixing it up with the Western gang!

Check out his typically awesome write-up on https://iceboat.me/page/2/

Well done Bill!

Looks very good on a short walk out past the ramp. Ramp is tight and drive on. Ice is 6-7, aside from occasional snowmobile tracks.
Race start time moved to 11:00 Sunday. Bring hand and foot warmers, and storm sails.

Stay tuned to CIBC site for details!

Maritime Championships ON for Lake Mush-a-Mush, Nova Scotia, Sat/Sun Mar 4/5 2017

The NIYC’s Maritime Championships will be sailed at Lake Mush-a-Mush this
weekend.

PEI got snow last night so PEI’s Brackley Bay, which looked so promising
yesterday, isn’t sailable. Both Mush-a-Mush and Sherbrooke have been
checked and Mush-a-Mush has the better surface, albeit only 6.5 or 7/10.
Sherbrooke has some ‘launching ramps’. :-( Drain holes that chased us off
Mush-a-Mush on Tuesday already have two inches of black ice on them and will
get thicker today and tonight, so the ice should be safe tomorrow. The
forecast is for brisk but sailable winds. Bring your speed sails and sharp
runners!

Primary launching site is at Howard Garland’s house, 320 Aulenbeck Point Rd,
Lunenburg County. As usual, directions from the Armdale Roundabout:

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Armdale+Roundabout,+Halifax,+NS/320+Aulenback
+Point+Rd,+Blockhouse,+NS+B0J+1E0/@44.5685495,-64.356108,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4
m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5a2193b8bfe623:0x178afb87f495e85b!2m2!1d-63.6200052!2
d44.6416953!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5763ca54bfaf23:0x8a1548436018aba9!2m2!1d-64.531581
!2d44.481356

Please remember that we are launching from private property and accessing
the site via a private road, so be respectful.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow. First start is scheduled at 11AM. We
will have the skippers meeting at the starting line before the first race.

Thank you to Howard and Doug for ice checks this morning.

Warren Nethercote

President, Nova Ice yacht Club

Sailing Instructions for the Maritime Championships

Rules:
1. All races will be governed by the Racing Rules of the National
Iceboat Authority (2015 edition); the Official Specifications of the DN Ice
Yacht; the Notice of Race, including any amendments to the Notice of Race,
(except as any of these are altered by the sailing instructions) and the
Sailing Instructions. The Sailing Instructions can be modified at the
Skippers Meeting.

The Race Course:
2. The Race Course will be three laps of the National Iceboat
Authority INLINE Course. With the agreement of competitors a race course
may be reduced to two laps.

3. Marks will typically be orange tetrahedrons; the Darling marks
will be smaller than the Windward and Leeward marks, but may be omitted for
small fleets at the Race Committee’s discretion.

4. After finishing, competitors are to return to the starting
area by sailing around the starboard end of the starting line, as
illustrated, to reduce the possibility of post-race collisions.

NIA_NIYC Inline.jpg

Daily Schedule:

5. The first race on any given day is scheduled to start at 1100.
Subsequent races each day will start as soon as possible after starting
positions are available, but a yacht shall not be required to start sooner
than 15 minutes after finishing.

The Start:

6. The starting signal shall be the rapid lowering of the
starter’s arms (or flag) after he/she raises his arms (or flag) to signify
the preparatory signal. If the start is to be delayed after the preparatory
signal, the starter will slowly lower his arms (or flag).

7. In absence of a starter, the participant in starting position
number one will announce the start, first by asking all competitors “Ready?”
and then, after acknowledgement, counting down slowly, “Three, Two, One,
Go!” Competitors shall not start before the “Go” command.

The Finish:

8. The finish of the first boat will be indicated by the display
of a flag at the leeward end of the finish line, near to starting positions
1 and 2. When a flag is so displayed the Bart rule is in effect. The flag
will be displayed until all yachts have finished.

9. In absence of a race committee the competitors may observe and
subsequently record their own finishes or the competitors may choose to
employ the Maine starting system, as follows

a) The competitor drawing start position 1 for the first race, or the
winner of the seeding race, shall be the starter and will also record
leeward mark roundings and finishes for the first race. Other competitors
will start in their initially assigned positions.

b) The winner of the subsequent race will be the next starter, and so
on, except that if the designated starter has already fulfilled the role
he/she shall be replaced by the next highest finisher who has not yet been
starter. The previous starter will start in the assigned position of the
current starter.

c) Competitors shall be awarded average points for races in which they
were starters.

Scoring:

10. For the Maritime and Nova Scotia Championships the IDNIYRA
scoring system applies with the following modifications:

a) Three races are required to constitute a series

b) There will be a maximum of 12 races in a series

c) If four to seven races are sailed there will be one discard; if
eight or more races are sailed there will be two discards.

In addition to the Century Race on Moosehead this weekend there is a chance of some DN racing on the far side of the St Lawrence…. Scouts are out and about (or “oot and aboot” as they say) and we should have some reports soon. Stay tuned and Think ICE!

Hello All- This season ain’t done! This event was a big success last year and it looks like round two could be even better…..

Moosehead Lake is shaping up nicely for the weekend. Sunny with winds in the 20’s on Saturday, sun with winds in the teens Sunday. Reports from locals on the condition of the surface, along with web cam images, indicate it will be good enough. The rain falling today will hopefully drain out or evaporate before the temps plunge, reducing chances of shell ice forming.
The 100 mile race will start at 10:00 Sunday. Launch at The Birches, Rockwood, ME. The Birches has one cabin open for Friday, and a lodge room for both nights. Moose Mt. Inn has two rooms open for the weekend.
We will be on the ice Friday by noon and will post an update on conditions then.
Keep an eye on https://iceboat.me/ for info.

James “T” Thieler
12 Channing St.
Newport, RI 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler