Damariscotta Lake, 3/9

Thanks to the relentless scouting of Lincoln Davis, twelve hungry iceboaters we able to sail the entire lake, hazzard free. No holes, no pressure ridges, top to bottom tight as a drum. The downside was that it was a rough ride no matter where you went, aside from the River. There were fewer snow humps, and the snow that was there was laid out in windrows about fifteen feet apart, giving beautiful, clear lanes. With the wind out of the west one could lay a course down the lane and just play the sheet accordingly. Not unlike runway sailing at Loring. (May 13-18).

Half the fleet went the full monty, a couple of others did just the run down to Vannah Rd., and the rest reached around in the north end. The access was excellent, but by late afternoon the dreaded slush bug set in.

Lastly, a word to the unwise: if you want to sail in the spring, you really need to show up early. Slush is real.

Regarding prospects, there’s a long shot chance that Pushaw will be accomodating on Wednesday. There was a skater there today who knows a thing or two about ice and he predicts it’ll be good to go. Stand by for reports as we get closer. There’s lots of warmth in the long term forecast, even for Moosehead. But our efforts now will be to focus on the big lake and get as much real time intel as possible. Because, as you heard the same time last year: there is always Moosehead!

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