Checked out Lake Winnipesaukee this morning. 12-16” of ice with rough surface. Very few hazards ie fish holes and slush under the snowy areas. Worth an investigative sail if anyone wants a last hurrah. Some light snow predicted for tonight

One of the most common questions over the past couple of weeks and throughout the year, has been simple: “Where’s the ice?” and “Where can I sail?”

For much of the winter the answer has been frustratingly consistent: it’s under the snow. Thick ice has been there all along, but buried and difficult to access.

But things are changing

Moosehead: Drill Baby Drill

To get a sense of just how much ice has built up on Moosehead Lake, take a deep breath and hold it while watching the full video below. The auger just keeps going and going. Here is the direct URL https://youtube.com/shorts/LUedwtFlGog

Bill Buchholz and the crew in Maine have been closely monitoring conditions on Moosehead. The ice is clearly there, and with improving surface conditions the “ready to sail” call is coming. Stay tuned and be ready to hit the road.

Thanks to Bob S.’s son for capturing the Moosehead auger video.

Weekend Options

For those looking to sail sooner, a few locations are currently being checked or sailed:

New Hampshire

Sunapee
Crews are actively scouting and may already be sailing depending on surface conditions.

Winnipesaukee
Charlie S. checked Wolfeboro Bay and reports there is plenty of ice in most places and considers the surface to be rough but sailable.

Maine

Damariscotta Lake
According to ace ice observer Bill Buchholz (iceboat.me), boats will be sailing there today.

Moosehead Lake
Still in a holding pattern for now, but the ice thickness is impressive. If surface conditions cooperate, the call could come soon. Keep your boat and travel kit ready.

A Word on Safety

Conditions remain variable everywhere. Snow cover, pressure ridges, and changing surfaces can hide hazards.

As always:

• Assume all ice is untested until you personally verify it
• Talk to those who have been out
• Scout first
• Sail conservatively until you understand the surface
• Don’t sheet in hard and go full throttle until you know what’s under your runners

Stay tuned for updates and hopefully see you on the ice this weekend. Looking like we will have some good cruising and can say for sure that were ever DNs congregate they will be rounding the marks for silver or fun.

Think (clear) Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Unfortunately the weather is throwing a few curveballs at Damariscotta; snow, rain/snow, and either light winds or gusts into the 30’s depending on which forecast you’re looking at.

This being the case we’ve decided to table this one for now and hope for a better shot next weekend.

Stay tuned!

Hey Folks-

We are hearing enough good things about Damariscotta Lake in Jefferson, ME to call the DN Easterns ON for this Saturday, March 14th.

A full report on the launch, lake and weather is expected by about 10 AM Friday morning so stay tuned to this site for details.

One way or another it’ll be interesting! Don’t put the boats and gear away yet… Also keep in mind that we have sailed Moosehead Lake into mid-April a few times. Food for thought!

OK, more later… Think positive! T DN US 5224

Hey Gang-

Just wanted to let everyone know that this season is not done yet!

It’s still cold at night up north and the Birches webcam on Moosehead Lake shows some promising pictures…. Maybe some other sights further south could be sailable as well. We hope to have some first hand reports in the next few days so keep an eye on this website.

We really want to get the Eastern Champs in before we stick a fork in this season so don’t stow the gear yet!

If you have never sailed Moosehead before you really need to. It’s way up north, the ice goes on and on and on, and the scenery is amazing. The clear night sky is something to see as well!

So cross your fingers, stay loaded up, make sure your angles and plates are in good shape, and hope to see everyone this weekend!

T Thieler

Despite a forecast for light winds about a dozen boats showed up to make some tracks on Watuppa Pond in Fall River last Sunday!

About 8 DNs had a bunch of short scratch races around the marks; it was a great chance to experiment with rig tuning and boat setup. We did a bit of boat-swapping as well, that is always very instructive. We didn’t keep score but Atkins showed that he still has the mojo and several other boats were in the hunt as well. We also welcomed two new sailors, Al and Rowan. Watch out for these guys!

Meanwhile a handful of Whizzes and turbo’ed up DNs were having a blast ripping through the drifts closer to the shoreline. Quite a sight and a good time had by all!

In any case it was a great day and we all made it home before the snow started. Looks like southern New England is done for awhile but maybe, just maybe, northern parts of NY, VT and ME might have dodged the bullet. Stay tuned!

Hope springs eternal! Thieler, Atkins and maybe a few others will be sailing out of the South Watuppa Boat Ramp tomorrow (Sunday the 22nd).

Thieler and Stanton walked the lake today, found a bit of slush but a good base underneath. There is one ridge the looks hazardous near the eastern edge of the lake but it is easily spotted and avoidable. It’s only about 50 yards long.

It’ll be interesting to see if plates, angles, or some other runner is the best choice- bring them all and try them all!

I’ll be there around 9:30. Hope to see a few people!

T Thieler

We continue to look for a sailing window within a narrowing band of sailable ice across the Northeast. Our larger lakes remain snow covered, and the current and future fronts moving through the region are not helping the coastal ice we have sailed or are monitoring.

A wintery mix is falling across much of the region with more to come. As a result, all previously sailed areas will need to be re-scouted, along with any new opportunities that may be developing. The Cape will be checked again, and new scouting is planned for Watuppa Pond in Fall River. Scouting is the key word, these areas are being evaluated and are not considered safe in any way till checked In addition coastal Midcoast Maine locations are also being monitored as well as information from the Champlain Valley and other points.

Where will we sail in the next couple of days? Ice will be checked Saturday, and we will have a clearer answer about Sunday after the checking is completed.

Conditions are changing, but opportunities remain. Stay tuned for updates.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

To fulfill our insatiable need for instantaneous information I am posting just the results of the Bean Pot now. Full writeup to follow once I’m off the road.

Congratulations to Jeff Roseberry on the win. The second goes to Paul Camberland and third to Ed Demerest.

Congratulations to the top finishers and all that competed special thanks to our race committee. Again more on the day to come.

Think Ice,

John

DN5023

John@neiya.org

The Doc Fellows is in the books! Ten sailors showed up today to a shifty, surprisingly breezy, long pond near Brewster Massachusetts.

No breeze, bright sun, and high temps in the morning didn’t have any of us optimistic but sure enough the clouds rolled in and the breeze picked up and the ice stayed good all day.

Seven races were run and Paul Chamberland showed that putting the time in pays off! Today was his 40th day on the Ice this year and what better way to celebrate by putting together a consistent regatta. Congratulations to Paul on a well deserved win!

Out the top three were Jeff Roseberry in second and Sean Healey in third.

We will roll right into the Bean Pot championship tomorrow; same time and schedule as today, see the post about the Doc Fellows for information. Come and join the fun; tomorrow’s forecast looks pretty good!

Many thanks to Nina Fleming for tabulating the scores and posting them on SailWave for us and to Rick Bishop’s friend Craig for helping out with running races!

Hey Folks-

After a short discussion with Atkins we decided to tweak the regatta slate for this weekend. He rightly pointed out that the Eastern Champs should be on a big plate with plenty of room to stretch out.

So we will hold off on the Easterns and instead do the Doc Fellows this Saturday and roll into the Beanpot Regatta on Sunday. This regatta is the MA state championship and comes with a very cool trophy!

No matter what name we call it we should have some good racing! To paraphrase Shakespeare, “A rose by any other name is still a rose…”

So here are the details again:

Hey Folks! We are calling the Doc Fellows Regatta ON for this Saturday!

The place will be Long Pond, MA out on Cape Cod. Not the biggest lake in NE but it’ll do!

IF we get the regatta in on Saturday we may roll right into the Beanpot Regatta on Sunday. We will play that by ear.

The launch will be at Long Pond Brewster Beach. Take Rt 6 east, turn north onto Rt 124, take a right onto Crowells Bog Rd, and follow that until you see the launch area on your right. Follow these directions closely as there is more than one “Long Pond” out there….

We will have a skipper’s meeting in the parking lot at 9:30, with the first start at 10:30. Normal rules apply. All contestants must have proof of $300,000 general liability coverage. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Saturday is Valentine’s Day so make sure to figure out how to work around that….

Stay tuned to this site for updates!

Hey Folks! We are calling the Eastern Regional Champs ON for this Saturday!

The place will be Long Pond, MA out on Cape Cod. Not the biggest lake in NE but it’ll do!

IF we get the regatta in on Saturday we may roll right into the Doc Fellows Championship on Sunday. We will play that by ear.

The launch will be at Long Pond Brewster Beach. Take Rt 6 east, turn north onto Rt 124, take a right onto Crowells Bog Rd, and follow that until you see the launch area on your right. Follow these directions closely as there is more than one “Long Pond” out there….

We will have a skipper’s meeting in the parking lot at 9:30, with the first start at 10:30. Normal rules apply. All contestants must have proof of $300,000 general liability coverage. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Saturday is Valentine’s Day so make sure to figure out how to work around that….

Stay tuned to this site for updates!

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