Now that I have the first sail of the season out of the way, the question came to mind of how much actual sailing time is required to say that you did indeed sail? I skated Lake Wentworth on Tuesday, a little snow/rain came through Wednesday/Thursday and setup occurred on Friday with howling winds. An exploratory sail happened with my super DN and storm sail. Running loose sheeted I made several runs up and down one side of the lake. This probably took maybe 20-30 minutes. Shakedown run was good but winds were building so I parked the rig. I think I would have considered that a short but definite sail. Saturday I had a rehabbed vintage DN that I wanted to test drive. With no wind to speak of, I figured I could at least do a push test. However, as the telltale began to flicker, I thought perhaps it might be enough to move on the rough ice. After getting my sprint training, a zephyr came up and I made 3 runs of about 1/2 mile in length. Another little puff gave me 2 more. Not bad I thought with an untried heavy rig and a totally flat sail. The question is, did it qualify as a sail? How far or how long, does one need to be moving under wind power to qualify as a countable day of sailing? I recall one day at the end of last season where after pushing out of Wolfeboro bay, I managed a 1/4 mile run with one tack and almost made it back to where I started. Since no one else moved under wind power, I was told that indeed I had sailed. No one can dispute that a day of racing or completing the Hard Way indeed qualifies. But how about when everyone is rigged and the teaser gets you out just far enough so the “walk of shame” back to the staging area has to occur. This may be followed by a repeat scenario the next hour and so on throughout the day.
Regardless of how you want to qualify a day of sailing, you can simply state that you had a day of ice boating. This covers all the bases no matter what occurs on the ice. Even if the boat doesn’t get set up, it qualifies as a scouting trip. If there is no wind it, becomes an on ice tuning clinic and information exchange meeting. It may even turn into a food fest once the grill comes out. The end of the day watering hole can still be counted as part of the experience, wind or not.
As the season begins, may you have smooth safe ice, adequate wind, and great companionship whether it is a day of sailing or a day of Ice boating.
Season’s Greetings to all.
New England Ice Yacht Association 