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| Bob and Bill duking it out on glassy Damaiscotta |

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| Saltonstall Photo |
The ice above is the sort which haunts our dreams. Bill, in the forground, wants it clear
to all, that he is not behind Bob, but lapping him.
Welcome to Maine Ice Sailors
This website is for all who enjoy the ice in and around
Maine, including iceboaters, skatesailors, skaters, and bystanders
We use it to post ice conditions and brag about our times
on the ice, so others may be inspired to get out on the ice.
Use these buttons to write or read ice reports:
WRITE REPORTS READ REPORTS
| Dickie pushes the limit on Plymouth |

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| Cam Lewis Photo |
Plymouth pond, shown above, because it is shallow, inland, and at a higher altitude, often
freezes first
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Early Cases of Ice Fever Noted
Nov 10, 2008
Ice Fever, that seasonal affective disorder, has been cropping up among club members: Pete Ashley
excitedly reported skim ice on an abandoned bucket in his back yard. Bill Buccholz tried to skate on the ice in his
rain barrel with mixed results. And the mildness of these past days adds that deep primordial fear: Maybe this year, winter
will be called off!
Perhaps tomorrow's ice party down at Dave Fortier's will bring the fever down. It will
certainly add padding and insulation for those upcoming frigid adventures. But the fever could worsen. It might even
require that desperate lancing of its pustule: a CHERCHER LA GLACE road trip. Such road trips have the added advantage
of getting the "hunter" out from under the watchful eye of the "gatherer" and her eternal quest
for his further civilization.
These road trips try to improve on the four main necessities of early season
ice. 1. More latitude. that means go north. 2. more altitude, which is an easy way to go north, since every 1000 feet
of altitude moves you 600 miles north. You could be in northern Canada simply by looking for ice on Mt. Washington's
summit! 3. Less depth of water, because it's easier to freeze shallow ponds, and 4. No wind at the time of freezing.
This, as we all know, is a total crap-shoot.
One inspiration for me are the Vermont nordic skaters, who keep their
hungry eyes on Sterling Pond, near Stowe, Vermont. You can see them skating on it (eat your hearts out, lads) on November
11 of last season! here's the picture: http://nordicskater.com/
What's more they kibbitz with each other
about it on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTNordicSkating/ So we Mainers can get some high-tech spying without
having to travel 5 hours.
For CHERCHER-ing closer to home, our beloved Maine Gazetteer gives the altitudes
of ponds in little blue letters, and a few of them up northwest of Farmington look promising: Mt. Blue has a pond at
1171 ft and Tumbledown Mt. has a tiny pond at almost 2800 feet. These would both require a pretty good hike with gear
in a backpack. Hmmmm.... And who knows if there's cell phone coverage in case of trouble? Most inviting, though,
are three ponds east of Mooselookmeguntic Lake: Long, Round, and Sabbath Day Ponds, all at about 2300 feet and close
to the road. Hooray! let's wait for the 20 degree temps of Monday night, gas up the Volksy, and see what happens. One
way or another, I swear this disease is curable!
the ex-treas.
9:59 pm est
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Dread of November's 30 days

I stared long and hard at my desktop photo. I looked up the date on it: Dec 7 of last year. That
lovely late afternoon when Lloyd and I checked ice on Unity pond. Thank heaven last season started on time. Then I mosy-ed
over to the calendar: October 22. This can't be: time is not moving! I remember falling in love at a dance and making
a date with her for two days later. Then, my life absolutely stopped. Couldn't get the clock to move for two days. This
feels just as bad, maybe worse. How can I possibly free up this gelled calendar? Out in the garage is the same old
gear, ready to go. "It worked great last year, so it'll work this year". But no, there are some important chores
getting lost: I'll take those nordic skates down for sharpening, whether they need it or not. I'll head for Lloyd's belt
sander with the iceboat runners. I'll sign up for skating lessons at the ice rink. And.....and.....I'll---it'll cost money,
but---yes, I will: buy a great new, safe, appropriate, light-weight HELMET. That old 3/4 motorcycle helmet came into
my life in 1998 with a motorcycle purchase. It's stamped 1985. Now we all know helmets fossilize in 7 years or so and should
be replaced. Yet the very thought of pulling that day-glow orange, sweat-stained bucket over my noggin and lowering those
scratchy amber goggles fills me with utter, utter delight: A new adventure is beginning. Yet I had an OBE (out of
boat experience) last season that took the whole blasted summer to heal. It was during those magical (dare I say orgasmic?)
4 days on Damariscotta and Cleary that closed last season with a blurr of excitement. A snippet from the second day:
" Let's face it, in late March we'll sail on cow manure.....but our dreams are always haunted by smoothness. and
this ice, especially after the clatter and bash of the corn, was perfectly quiet to sail on, and with the intermittent blasts
of wind, had certainly mile-a-minute potential. It was so smooth, your only sense of speed was the crazily accelerating
apparent wind. And flashing beneath your runners, were the patchwork shades of color........Lloyd and I worked further
south, wanting to know the extent of this amazing gold mine. ........We got into a rythum of tacks between two hazard buoys
and as I rounded one end, I saw with horror, Buchholz's "Indigo", which virtually NEVER hikes, hike up almost to
60 degrees in a mighty gust and poise there. With his long plank, he was way. way up above the ice. He dumped the sheet,
threw the helm down, and rode that sweetie down to safety! I was just, stupidly, wishing I had a digital camera
when, daaa....the same rogue gust hit me. The sheet shot out of my hand and ran to the knot. Runners screeching, the
boat hiked, and balanced sickeningly, as I leaned out on the runner plank to wrestle it down. But as it banged down, I
found myself thrown out, my helmet hitting the ice, my body spinning end-to-end, endlessly on the smooth smooth ice, laying
on my boat-cushioned spine (I had stuffed a boat cushion in my boiler suit), with the most delighful dervish-like sensation.
when I finally stopped spinning. opened my eyes, and sat up, there was no time to lose: I might be run over by my riderless
horse, or it might self-destruct on some shore. But I saw that the tiller was hard-over and it was sailing in tight circles
nearby. So I timed my approach and grabbed it just as it began a new tack."
Soooo, here I am on October 22, and
my clavicle no longer talks back to me as it did all summer. What can I do to preserve this old carcuss? Discretion? Wisdom?
Caution? Noooooooo! Never! But I'll call Bunting as soon as it's a socially-acceptable time of day and see where he
got that great downhill skiier's helmet. then, I'll... I'll----you have this in writing, now---protect my few remaining brain
cells.
the ex-treas.
PS: $5 dues in cash to Lloyd Roberts' mattress, 140 Porter St. Rockport, ME 04856. No
hotline this year. just icespam and websites. Iceboat gathering: at Dave Fortier's in Biddeford, ME Sunday Nov 9.
Sublimate with food! Mapquest: 12 Chretien Rd.
10:16 am est
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The 2009 Season Begins! (soon)
Dear Fellow Ice Fanatics.
Welcome to the pre-season doldrums! I checked on flights to the Anarctic icecap: $1979
round trip from Boston. Course I'd have to get the gear there, too, sooooo I'm just gonna sharpen the runners and think
Ice.
I won' t trouble you with all the details of this year's first iceboating dream. It involved being in Tai-land,
where they were flooding the parking lots to iceboat on. I had forgotten my gear, and forgotten how to iceboat, and they
were shouting to me in a strange language. In short, the dream had all the usual fears and insecurities. Check maineicesailors.com
for past dreams. This year's had no sex in it. What does that mean?
Meanwhile, I moved the iceboat from the basement
to the garage. I can't imagine why. Its September 14. And checked for rust on the runners. and swore I'd buy a new helmet
this year, and also some proper ice claws instead of those home-brew ones I use.
Soon we'll give you the dates of the
fall get-together. Then we can really build up group frustration.
Meanwhile I'm getting ready for winter home heating.
I've heaved some more insulation around, especially the ends of the floor joists in the basement ceiling which weren't
insulated. Then bought a Regency wood stove and installed it in the basement, connecting it to the furnace flue IN PLACE
OF THE OIL FURNACE, which I plan to mothball. Then ordered 4 cords of seasoned wood, and 8 cords of unseasoned wood for future
seasons. This is stacked in the sun on cast-off oak pallets which the hardware store gives me.
Then I put a timer
on the hot water heater, which is now turned on only from 5-7 PM. The next month's bill was $10 less, so that's $120 a
year saving. Soon I'll look to the windows and doors...
So that feels a little like ice season prep, though not quite.....
Jory,
the ex-treasurer.
8:41 pm est
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2008.11.16 |
2008.10.19 |
2008.09.14

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| John Bianchi DDS loves a good hike |

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| Saltenstall Photo |
"Hiking" means driving the boat hard enough to raise one runner. If you look
carefully, you'll see that John is moving away from the camera and raising his starboard runner.
This ice is on Sebago Lake, which is one of our most fickle and
fascinating playgrounds. It is 'black ice'. Newly formed, it is transparent, and often emits a melody of
sounds: zings, pongs, etc. Ice Music, we say.
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