Good article by rookie DNer Peter McGowan here- have a read and get pysched for fall!

First Time Experiences of Iceboat Racing

James “T” Thieler

12 Channing St.

Newport, RI 02840

401 258 6230

t_thieler

Hello Again Folks-

The Volvo Ocean Race kicks off again today, this time it’s the offshore leg from Cardiff, England to Gothenburg, Sweden. The top three boats are still within a point or two of each other with only two legs left in the race so things could get interesting….

The start is at 11AM EST on the Volvo Ocean website at https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html As usual they will do a few laps around the buoys before they head out of the harbor.

Should be some interesting moments and at the very least it’ll be a great way to kill an hour as we wait for winter to hurry up and get here…

Happy Viewing and Think Ice!

Hello All- If you have a free hour this morning (or to watch a replay later) be sure to tune into the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race in Cardiff, England.

Looks like they have breeze and the In-Port races aren’t just a dog and pony show- in the event that there is a tie between two boats for the ocean legs the In-Port results will be used to break it.

And wouldn’t you know it may just come down to that- the top three boats are all practically tied with DONFENG holding 60, MAPFRE with 59, and Brunel with 57. So all the ingredients are there for a close, well fought race! Where is Howard Cosell when you need him most?!?

There is an NEIYA connection to the race as the skipper of VESTAS is from RI and was once housemates with our own Oliver Moore.

The race starts at 1300 UTC this morning (Friday the 9th) which (I think) is 0900 here on the east coast.

Usually there is a link to the action on the website here: https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html
Replays are usually up in YouTube within a few hours if you are employed or something and can’t watch live.

Enjoy the action and THINK ICE!!

Anyone up for a road trip? The crew waaaaaayyyyy out west says there is a 50/50 shot they will sail on Lake Minnetonka this weekend…. I asked for photos to confirm if they do it!

Good luck gang, sail safe and send pictures for all us jealous types-

THINK ICE!

Great report here from Bill Bucholz on what is likely the last day of the year on Moosehead. That said, the way the Maine group is they will be squeezing ice days out of this season in June. See the story on the day and the season here https://iceboat.me

Thanks to Bill and the other Incurables up there! T

billbuchholz posted: “No one has accused the CIBC of not pushing conditions right to the limit. We’ve had some fabulous sails over the years on super marginal conditions. But today the limit pushed back. The plate took a hit from the sun yesterday and we didn’t get the cold we” Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club She’s Sung by billbuchholz No one has accused the CIBC of not pushing conditions right to the limit. We’ve had some fabulous sails over the years on super marginal conditions. But today the limit pushed back. The plate took a hit from the sun yesterday and we didn’t get the cold we needed last night to firm it up. Fortier, Gagnon and myself plowed upwind through deep slush hoping to find some better ice. A few miles north of the pits, approaching Sugar Island, shades of grey did appear. In these hard spots the boat would accelerate, letting us head up higher until the slush hit again and we’d have to bear off a bit to maintain speed. A great game. One of the hard spots. As long as you tacked on these you’d carry speed through the tack. It never would have happened without the 12-15kt. breeze. I really need to apologize to Rick Bishop and his gang for failing to mention the importance of slush runners at this time of year. The plate was hard when checked yesterday morning, but things change quickly when it’s almost to May. They made the drive up from Cape Cod yesterday, got the boats nearly set up this morning when it became obvious their plates would work, and they probably made it home for dinner. Slush runners and storm sails are two of the most overlooked and forgotten bits of equipment that can usually mean the difference between sailing and going home. Call Steve Duhamel: buy the nicely shaped stainless angles. Make slush runners. Sailing slush is fun! The run back down was more water sailing than ice. The boat would get airborne out off one slush pit and make a very soft landing in the next, feeling like soft water waves in a motorboat. There were a couple of very deep ones, but as long as the boat was going fast she’d pull right out in a fountain of ice balls. Dave Fortier, of all people, was caught going too slow and was swallowed up to the fuselage in one of them. Jim and I took a deep breath and actually sailed back out into the stuff to help him. No regrets today, we had over two hours of very dramatic sailing, but this is SO what done looks like. There was no chance for tomorrow. Doug Raymond and Bryce showed up, but the Cheapskates’s runners finally net their match, and Doug was in a cautious mood. One of the guys from Mass was running a drone as we came blasting downwind and I hope he got some footage. I’ve never seen a slush sailing video, and today would easily qualify as the most extreme ever. As Lloyd always said, there’s no shame in pushing your boat nearly to the point of destruction on the last day of the season. I wonder if he feels that way even though it was with his old boat today! It’s been a challenging winter, as we all know, and a long one. Our first sail was November 17, and today is April 21: six months of watching the forecast for countess lakes, calling spies and scanning web cams. We didn’t get in quite a few regattas, and even the mighty ISA didn’t happen. Well, not yet anyway. They are big on postponement; is has been postponed until November. Which is a great way to approach the off season: a mere six month postponement. So sharpen and oil the runners, take the sail to the sail maker and endure his abuse for for bringing him iceboat sails in May. They’ll never understand. Most importantly, it’s the start of the iceboat building season. Start now. Be ready. It’s only a short postponement. billbuchholz | April 21, 2018 at 7:43 pm | Categories: 2018 Season | URL: https://wp.me/p1wB1o-1S8 Comment See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://iceboat.me/2018/04/21/shes-sung/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Passing along the best opportunity any of us have seen in a long time. Don’t put your boat away just yet. Go to Moosehead…

New post on Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club Maine State Championship 2018 by David Fortier I have just received a call from Bill, and the report is that there is ice. With Bill’s experience, and measurements of the ice condition we are scheduling the Maine State Championship for Saturday. Bill has checked the North and South end, and the ice in Greenville is the best. It is even forecast to be a bit colder tonight and tomorrow so that is a good thing. Bill said the ice surface seems to be much as it was on Lake Memphremagog a few weeks back. Most everyone was sailing well with plates, and I sailed with angles on the third day and those worked quite well.  We think that racers should attempt to arrive at or before 0900 so we will have the best chance to get er done. Dave US4690 David Fortier | April 20, 2018 at 10:51 am | Categories: 2018 Season | URL: https://wp.me/p1wB1o-1S2

It’s ON folks- dig the boats out of storage and get up there! Check https://iceboat.me/ for details

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The gang up in Maine aren’t letting this season go without a fight…. Maybe racing on Moosehead this weekend? Stay tuned to CIBC site for details at https://iceboat.me/

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Click the link and have a read…. Still a chance at sailing further north. Will the true incurables sail after tax day? Will you be one of them? Check the CIBC site daily for details and possbilities!

https://iceboat.me/2018/04/13/pushaw-done/

Click and read!

https://iceboat.me/

Maybe hit the party? Maybe hit the lake? Either way it’s a great way to decompress after doing taxes. Read on….

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From the Maryland fleet, sounds like spring has reared it’s ugly head….

Fellow Ice Enthusiasts

Are your ice cleats off? That is your first clue ….. Ok then, Summer is on its way. We need to move the Ice Trailers up the hill to storage. Please come by and get your boat and gear out of the trailers next Saturday so we can put them away…. for the off season.

The plan is to work on the storage racks this summer while we are waiting for the Lake to get back to normal sailable (ice) condition. We had many great days on the ice until we got cut short by the midwinter thaw taking out the ice. If you missed out too bad… we all had a great time!!!!!

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So we will have to sail on the melted ice until the good weather (ICE COLD) returns.

See you on the Lake soon!

Think Ice!

IceMan

US 5576

Sail On the Ice… It’s Twice As Nice!

Ray Gauthier * 4 Annapolis Street, Suite 4 * Annapolis, MD 21401 * 410-320-4823