ALERT VENUE CHANGE

The launch site for the Eastern DN Championship has been changed.

The directions to the new site are: Take Exit 23 off of I-93 Take Route 104 to Meredith, NH Take Route 25 to Center Harbor Turn left at the second light onto Dean Road (heading toward Sandwich) Travel approximately 2 miles, and take left on High Haith Road, which leads to the launch on Squam Lake.

Best regards,
Eben Whitcomb
Eastern Region Commodore
860-304-6319 (cell)

The Eastern DN Championship Launch Site will be the town of Holderness, NH Town Beach at Squam Lake, NH.

From I-93 North, take Exit 24 onto Route 25 S (towards Ashland/Holderness/Squam Lake). Follow Route 3 into Holderness. From Holderness, follow Rt 113 (Squam Lake Road). Take a right off of Rt 113 onto “Dirt Road” (this is the name of the road), leading directly to Holderness, NH Town Beach.

Sunday, registration will be at the launch area at 9am , with racing to follow promptly at 10am.

Best regards
Eben Whitcomb
Eastern Region Commodore
860-304-6319

The Eastern DN Championship will be held on Squam Lake in New Hampshire on Sunday, March 13.

I will post launch information Friday evening. Lake will be sailed on Saturday to verify site. Check the IDNIYRA web site, the NEIYA web site and hotline 508-481-1011, and the Yahoo Groups web site for updates.

Best regards,
Eben Whitcomb
Eastern Region Commodore
860-304-6319

Robbed from Yahoo Iceboats group but im sure that T will understand.

…and yet so far!

Sebago Lake was the place- ice was rough but not too bad, the skies were clear
and the wind was HOWLING on Saturday morning. Snow blowing everywhere, the snow
equivalent of dirt devils all over the lake.

Most sailors didn’t even bother to unload their boats but a few brave souls
ventured out to see what was happening in the main part of the lake- no
surprise when the report was that it was even windier further out from the
launch area.

One DN did bump a ridge and sustained some minor damage. Sailor was OK, boat
was fixed at Dave Fortier’s shop and flophouse.

Racing was not even considered for the day.

Sunday the forecast was for more moderate winds and 13 DN’s went out to the
starting line to find out that the forecast was WRONG!!! It was howling yet
again but it seemed like we could get some races in. Course was set, starting
positions drawn, boats on the line, the flag was up, and… a freaking EPIC
gust comes rolling through. It was impressive to say the least. Boats hiking
and bouncing around, sails making a ton of noise, and eyes bugged out behind
goggles all the way down the line. We decided to hold off at the last second-
Good call, it was out of hand. Everyone pulled pins and dropped the rigs on the
ice to save wear and tear on sails….

What a sight that was… Anyway the breeze never moderated and one or two
practice laps confirmed that things were too twitchy for racing. That said, it
was pretty exciting going downwind.

There was some minor damage to a boat or two but all bodies and souls made it in
safely. We didn’t get the regatta in (YET!) but it was a heck of a weekend and
a good time was had by all. Many thanks to everyone who showed up to race (esp
Bob Crinion and Art Samson from Nova Scotia), Henry Capostato for almost running
races and scoring, Eric Anderson and Eben Whitcomb for setting up the course,
and Dave Fortier for opening up his house and shop.

Keep checking the hotline, this season ain’t over yet! We are hoping to get the
Easterns and the New Englands in, and the Maine States are up for grabs too…

Best,

James “T” Thieler, NEIYA Race Chairman
DN US 5224
Newport, RI 02840

I want to thank all who came and enjoyed the Big Boat “sail- in” on Long Pond on Saturday Feb 12-13 2011.

Many of you got a jump on the fun by sailing on Thursday and Friday.

I was told  over 50 boats were counted at one point.

boats were coming and going all day from what I saw!

Winds were strong and gusty,and many boats had hardware issues. But most sailors braved the heavy winds and went for it!!!

Those brave souls who stayed until the end of the day (around 3:30 PM) managed to plow through the corn ice that showed up after lunch,Due to the ton of air that was available at the pull of the sheet line !

Nothing like a face full of snow ice to end the day with !

Some of us enjoyed sailing on Sunday as well. The day stayed cloudy and the ice had smoothed some from the prior warm afternoon. We had excellent winds and the ice stayed good all day, never going soft. By 2:00 PM winds got really crazy as a slight storm front came through the area, it was actually starting to snow  a little. We decided to pack it in before we broke anything.

Even with rough ice conditions and heavy gusty winds, I hope that all of you who came to the event enjoyed your  weekend and the gathering.

One very import note here I would like to make:

We did have one bad crash. A maine DN sailor found an open lead by one of the islands, and sailed in to it. The sailor was injured, 911 was called and EMT’s arrived quickly. He was taken to the hospital to be checked out. His boat was brought back to the pits by members and taken apart and loaded on to his vehicle. We were told that he will be ok, and did not have life treating injuries. He did suffer with a broken lower leg in this accident!

All club members were very concerned about his condition and we hope he is ok, and recovers quickly.

Please remember to check with the locals before venturing out on any lake or pond you are planning on sailing. Always be aware that ice is forever changing and moving. I know that over 5 NEIYA club members were telling sailors of known hazards. It is very difficult to tell everyone at the ice. Many people were coming and going all weekend. On a lake over 1700 acres, it is almost impossible  to find every bad spot on the ice. We saw pressure ridges changing by the hour, and lifted plates of ice on the main sheet that appeared by the afternoon?

Remember, there is always thin ice somewhere!

On a happy note : It was nice to see all of our fellow maine and Conn sailors join us here in South Eastern Ma,I enjoyed all your company,and a chance to try out other sailors boats by swapping with one another, was fun!!!

For myself, It was a very enjoyable few days of conversation,laughter, hot dogs on the grill, good friends and sailing.

I logged a max speed of 56.3 MPH for Saturday and sailed 37.6 miles in the ice cat. Over the whole weekend, starting on Friday through Sunday I sailed over 150 plus miles.

Thanks to all my fellow Ice Sailors for a very nice first Big Boat “Sail-In”.

Safe Sailing & Travels.

Vice Commodore

Brian Langleyh

The primary site for the New England’s will be Nasons Beach, Sebago lake, ME. Based on the weather we don’t think Watuppa will be sailable

At this point, Sebago seems to be the most likely location to weather the warm weather. There is about 12” of ice, The top layer is hard snow ice, with some snow patches remaining up to ¾ of an inch. . This should be gone by Friday given the warm weather. There is a possibility of rain there on Friday, less the 1/10th of an inch. Hopefully the snow ice will allow it to drain without creating drainholes. It will have to be carefully checked Sat Morning. If we can’t race sat, we will race Sunday. This is admittedly a risky call weather wise, but it is all we have and the season is getting late so we are going to go for it.

Registration opens at 9:30 Am at the Launch site

Start Time: 10:30 AM if conditions warrant.

A minimum of 3 races must be completed to be an official regatta. If 5 races are completed, competitors can discard their worst score. There is no Maximum number of races.

Last race will start no later than 30 min before sundown. (5:01 PM Eastern Standard time).

This is a NEIYA event and all competitors must be NEIYA members. (Membership forms available on site, dues = 10$)

Competitors must have liability insurance coverage of 300,000$ (usually a homeowners or renters policy), and sign a waiver prior to racing.

Directions: Launch is Nason beach off of Rt 114 on the east side of Sebago lake on the main body of the lake. Race area will be determined on site.

Check back for a Friday evening update, before starting travel, we will update if necessary.

Drive safe and pack your slush runners.

Eric Anderson Commodore

Jim “T” Theiler Race chair

As of Thursday Afternoon

Forecast for Sebago Lake Follows from Noaa.gov

Forecast for Fall River

Tonight: Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Southwest wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Friday: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 51. Southwest wind between 6 and 13 mph.

Friday Night: A slight chance of showers before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 33. West wind between 10 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 39. Windy, with a west wind 14 to 17 mph increasing to between 23 and 26 mph. Winds could gust as high as 46 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear and blustery, with a low around 21.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.