No racing today- Serious fog issues- The meteorological kind, not the kind a sailor can experience after a big night out- although some may have been dealing with that as well-

How foggy? Lots of head-scratching on the way in- At least one boat parked on a random beach in front of some guy’s house- No injuries or mishaps but enough waiting to make us nervous.

Last night was the opening ceremony- All good, did I right at the hotel- Flags projected on the walls. Very cool! Oliver was out flag bearer- You can see in the photos that he remembered to remove his hat but of course forgot to se t the beer down.

Estonia is awesome! Nice hotel, nice people, nice town (goes back to 1200’s) and food and rooms are cheap!

That it for now- Your authors eyes are not staying open….

Stay tuned ! T

James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler

Things are looking a lot better than the past two weeks. The snow has melted down and refrozen leaving a variety of surfaces.

Here is what we know at this point.

Herring Pond Plymouth, MA
Sailed all week as reported on the hotline (508) 377-6100. Always check with locals for know and developing hazards.

Chickawaukie Pond Rockland, ME
Tried and true year after year the snow has melted down enough to be sailed again throughout the week. There are rumors of campfire cooked baked beans and corn bread. Check The Chickawaukie Ice Boat club for details http://iceboat.me

Lake Ronkonkoma, Ronkonkoma, NY
No Suffolk county did not secede from NY and join CT but the Long Island guys sail with us and always welcome ice travelers. It was sailed all week and the Long Island Championships will be held this weekend Check their website for details. http://www.iceboatlongisland.com/ The race chairman has requested that participants fill out the entry form and bring to the ice. Form here

Hudson River Barrytown, NY
The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club has put the mighty Jack Frost on the ice and she will be accompanied by the Rocket hailing from the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club as well as many other period and newer classic. This has been described as being an epic and historic event and looks like it will not disapoint. If you have not seen the Jack Frost sail it is an unforgettable site. Here is your chance to see two last of a breed crafts sail along with a full accompaniment of stern steerers. For details http://hriyc.org/current.html

Long Pond in Lakeville Freetown MA
Caution Caution Caution! Has not been sailed but will be scouted tomorrow by a group of people. More info when scouts report back

Lake Champlain Shelburne VT
Possible grand ice but no promises whatsoever and may be best to go after the reports are in.
Some people will be scouting tomorrow Again this ice has not been scouted so please only venture out with people that know the area. This could be our our best opportunity for BIG ice. Another dark cloud is on the horizon, but who knows.

See you on the ice,

John Stanton
NEIYA Secretary

Safe travels, fair winds and speed to T, Eben and Oliver representing the NEIYA at the DN Worlds.  As of this morning the location has not been selected.  For updates check IDNIYRA Europe and I will call out any major updates on the right side of the home page as well.

People have ventured onto Cape ice as well as mid coast Maine and out on Long Island.  Check the Hotline and the CIBC for details.  Not the best but it is what we have. While we wait to venture out onto this or some soon to be discovered black ice of Shangri-La, let’s take a look backwards.

Thanks to Dave Wilkins for sending the vintage photos with retouching by Bill Converse.  They are thought to be taken on Damariscota circa 1930-40.  Can anyone from Maine authenticate?  They may have been originally done on glass plates.  Any photo historians out there? 

I know there are some architects and engineers amongst us who might disagree but these boats look to be at least inspired by the flying buttresses of Notre Dame or other grand old cathedrals.

Check out the sloop rigged boats with forward steering.  A forerunner to the modern Skeeter, perhaps?  Thoughts from old and newer sailors leave a comment below.

There are a literal who’s who of rigs lined up all in one place. Lateen, Gaff, sloops any others?

Lloyd Roberts is promoting his lateen rigged cheapskate and I understand plans will be published soon. Could we one day see a wonderful assortment of rigs on the ice once again?

Below is one upcoming event and some far from exhaustive additional info feel free to add your favorite historical ice yacht links in the comments.

Historical background Ice Yacht Presentation
Saturday March 1st 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Monmouth Boat Club, Red Bank, NJ
http://navesinkmaritime.org/Events?eventId=847203&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Monmouth Museum Maine ice boat article

The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club trustees of the Jack Frost and other vintage stern steerers http://www.hriyc.org/

Remembering the legacy of our past,

John Stanton
NEIYA Secretary

As everyone knows we have been in a melt and watch, thaw and freeze phase.

While we wait, browse through the big batch of pictures taken at the DN North Americans by Joanne Kennedy. Hailing from Northern Alberta at one point the frigid cold did not discourage her from snapping some great pictures.

Her full outdoor body of work can be viewed at http://www.joannekennedy.net. If you like something let her know.

The white stuff is melting so it wont be long. Till than sailing pictures will have to do.

The full album (340 pictures) is available for your viewing pleasure here or click image. As well as a few I pulled out below.

2014 DN North American’s Plattsburgh, NY Photos by Joanne KennedyJoanneKennedy.net

Score card for NEIYA member pictures. I think I found them all but check the album to be sure.

US5469 – Oliver Moore
US4487 – Chad Atkins
US5224 – James “T” Thieler
US5193 – Eric Anderson
US4512 – Stephen Madden
US5022 – Ed Adams
US5492 – Dave Buckley
US4775 – Eben Whitcomb
US500 – Richard Crucet

Looking forward to when we sail again this season,

John Stanton
NEIYA Secretary

Jeff Soderholm sent over some pictures from yesterday on Long Pond in Lakevile MA. They didn’t get much sailing in but i’m sure all can attest that it was better than not going.

Jeff thanks for the onsite reporting. This may be the only sailing in all of New England. Your making many of us jealous.

“We had a narrow window to sail between waiting for the wind and the arrival of the snow. Once the snow started we had to vacate quickly due to the poor visibility and hazards caused by the recent rain.”

John Stanton
NEIYA Secretary

We had some sailing today in lakeville but it is absolutely dumping the four lettered “s” word right now. So it looks like we are the other four letter “s” word out of luck to get a regatta in tomorrow. Try again next week. There is plenty of ice out there we just need some love from the weather for some late season magic.

Till next time.

Oliver Moore

Steve and I have done a quick walk on long pond in lakeville ma. The ice looks surprisingly good. Could even be very good. Still haven’t scouted fully for hazards but the next 8 hours may be our only shot at sailing for the foreseeable future.

No official regatta but we should have some scratch racing.

We will see what this snow does for racing tomorrow.

If you can make it come on down.
Launch is at the south east end at the boat ramp.
Again remember that this is unchecked ice so exercise extreme caution.

Oliver Moore

So here we are.

Thursdays weather has dumped a foot of snow on everything north of Boston and wet out everything south of the Mass Pike. But we have more snow coming.

I walked Snipatuit pond in Rochester today and if it firms up tonight there is a chance it will be sailable tomorrow, but I am not confident enough in it to call a race on there. We are going to take another look at it tomorrow and scout it if safe. If it is doable and somehow the weather guys have it wrong and it survives to Sunday we will race the Doc Fellows. Those are some major "ifs". I will post again Saturday afternoon with another update.

There are other potentially sailable spots in Costal Mass and any and all information is helpful so please send in you reports.

Please remember and be aware that the current conditions are a recipe for extremely dangerous ice. Make sure to use extreme caution this weekend and please stay safe.

Oliver Moore
USA 5469
NEIYA Race Chair

As Race Chairman Oliver said yesterday “We don’t know where. We don’t know when…” We may not know about this weekend but do know that there will be sailing again real soon.

The only thing I know for sure is that four sailors found there way to the ice on Ashumet Pond in Falmouth, MA yesterday (2/12). As relayed by Bill Converse. The breeze was light. The ice was rough with some snow cover. The breeze came in toward the end of the day helping to power through the mess.

Brian Langley, Steve Madden and Jack Ericson on Ashumet Pond

Brian, Steve, Jack with Bill Converse behind the lens on Ashumet Pond

Recent snows bypassed the Cape and may be our next destination. We all want more ice time. Whether for thrills or pre Gold Cup (Poland) preparations, there is never enough ice time.

Ice scouting and checking is a thankless job and without it there would be no sailing for anyone. More on the scouting process from Eric Anderson in a couple days. Help out and report conditions to the hotline (508)377-6100 and press 1.

Stay resolute. Be vigilant. Let’s find some ice for everyone to enjoy.

Sail fast, sail safe

John Stanton
NEIYA Secretary