There was a quiet fellow milling about the pits, taking pictures. Not unusual, but then he ambled out to the starting line where he offered to start us. He did a fine job, and then there he was again near the bottom of the course, photographing again. He put together an amazing video for us, standing at a near ideal spot: https://youtu.be/QaliYBfF0lA He is Herb Crosby, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UMO. There’s an iceboat out there somewhere with his name on it! Thanks Professor ..read more

Mike Acebo sent in these nice shots of the awards ceremony. Jeff’s just hopin’ happy with his trophy! o ..read more

Our Pushaw Spring Fling didn’t start out well. As late as Saturday afternoon reports were coming in that the conditions looked “sketchy”. While not an approved ice scouting tern, it didn’t inspire confidence. Early Sunday morning Maine was hit with heavy snow squalls making driving to the lake both depressing and “sketchy”. But lo and behold upon arriving there were at least twenty-five boats setting up, manned by smiling skippers. The conditions were excellent. Hard ice, strong winds. Perfect for exploring the entire lake, setting marks for the Century, and match racing up and down the full l ..read more

Forgot to say the the CIBC will be providing lunch on the ice tomorrow after the race. Leave the PB&J at home! Some drinks as well ..read more

Pushaw Lake, Orono, Maine. Drive on launch at Goulds Landing. START: 9:00am Start line shall be the line indicated by the two Racing Marks set up just outside the pit area. There will be no issued starting positions. Grab and Go. North mark is typical hazard buoy wrapped in a day-glo green sock. A small island with a few scrubby trees gets you close. It’s on the right as you enter the top bay. South mark is Moose Island. A small crack was observed at what is known as Fortier Point, the southern most part of the island. Insignificant today, but don’t cut the island too close. Round both marks C ..read more

Some of the folks coming to Pushaw will be staying at the Black Bear Inn. https://blackbearinnorono.com No Iceboaters special, but it’ll be fun if we’re all together ..read more

Conditions are still looking good for A SUNDAY- MONDAY sail on Pushaw. Light rain this afternoon and overnight will improve what’s left of the snow, and cooler temps Saturday night should set it up. Here’s how it looks now: Below, the depth of slush: Pretty remarkable considering how warm it’s been. Below, the launch at Goulds Landing is tight to the shore. No evidence of water around the edge: Here’s the long view. Ron Logan took a long ski tour and found 14”-17” thickness, and no obvious hazzards anywhere. The west winds forecast over the two day period will make for easy reaching top to ..read more

Here’s the report written up by Henry Stone and published in the April 5, 1985 issue of the NEIYA Newsletter. It’s a bit long, but very compelling for those who have done it, and enticing for those who haven’t. Not saying PUSHAW will be as much fun, but we’ll soon find out. Final call posted here late tomorrow. Could be a Hundred Mile race Monday. On Thursday, March 14 word was passed from the Winnepesaukee region to Dick Price that things were looking A-OK for the Winnepesaukee Frolic for the weekend. The information was put on the answering service telephone by Bill Converse and things began ..read more

Bob Lombardo got a report and a photo from a hiker the other day of a completely frozen Tunk Lake. It had been open, and then it snowed. What appears to have happened is that nine inches of snow fell into the cold water, became slush, and formed 5” of ice overnight. He skated the perimeter, but even at that thickness there were zippering sounds and other creepy feelings. The soft ice on Megunticook the other day hardened up nicely overnight in above freezing temps for a brisk morning sail before the storm. The coast got about a foot of wet, heavy snow in the recent Northeaster. Pushaw Lake, o ..read more

In the mid nineties, Maine Public Radio sent a reporter to cover the Maine State Champs. Here it is: https://youtu.be/U9vvEFpWXAY Thanks to Scott Rollerson for hanging onto the tape for all these years. Megunticook had an inch of “ice” over a few inches off slush yesterday. This morning that had improved to two inches of “ice” over two of slush. Eminently sailable. There are islands of snow, some can be sailed through, others are of the PEI variety and require pushing. The fun is trying to find the clear lines from the low profile of a DN. The wind was fresh out of the North, and the whole so ..read more