Jan 4-08
Make ice and they will come! That was the theme this January 4th as
runners hit the ice on Walker Pond. The bone chilling wind only added to
the excitement today as the now familiar and looked for by many sight of
curving sails zipped up and down the ice. The great thing about our fleet
is no two boats are alike. As boats sailed the far end of the pond it was
easy to tell who it was at a distance of three miles. A colorful bunch to say
the least.
The 7 boat fleet today consisted of Mike Eaton, Kevin Grindle, Vanessa
Grindle, Bonnie Billings, Mark Kindschi, Bruce Brown, Travis Eaton and I
know for sure that Fred Kircheis would have been here , the rumor is the
wife’s got him in shackles until he heals from shoulder surgery. We also
had some part owner co pilots that need mentioning today. Rob Eaton will
soon have his mile a minute sticker if it is possible to get one while riding
on a plastic boat sled tied to his Dads rear beam as a side car. Rob is a
quiet type but the smile on his face is worth a million dollars when he and
his dad catch a gust and go ripping past another boat. Rob looks like he is
riding a mechanical bull as the beam bounces and the stay wire he holds
onto whips and flexes. We all fear the day that Rob gets behind the
pedals. Travis also initiated his daughters Rylee , Josie and his son Gavin
to the thrills of his J-14 "Snot Rocket". Rylee also seems to have the
competitive spirit and likes to go fast. Travis wife Angel had that twinkle
in her eye and I think with a little more coaxing from Vanessa she will be
pulling on a sheet rope. Wes Bunker also fell prey to the lure of an iceboat.
Wes took Iceaholic for a spin and looked like he was having a good time
making her go. There was a fellow peddling around the ice with a bicycle
and the local sail guru Kurt was chasing the boats on skates and making
sail recommendations. Dave who normally sails a DN showed up without
his boat explaining that it was on loan from a relative that recaptured
ownership.
Vanessa really showed her stuff today and made her dad proud. She woke
up this morning with nothing but respect for the wind and the power of a
sail. No falling masts and nothing but hustle during the rig fest. She was
quite content with her little sail today. She made fun of herself and called
herself Granny Grunt but had a blast with that little sail and worked it like
a pro. She spent a fair amount of time today coaxing onlookers into her
boat and at days end we took the boats down and plopped them into the
trailer like a well oiled team . Vanessa is running a very active iceboat
campaign on Facebook so I expect more young blood will be emerging upon
us.
A VW bus rolled in today with a freshly painted boat hanging out the back.
It was Mr. Hikemaster himself. Our man Kindschi was working on his hike
and took it to new levels today. I didn’t think it was possible for him to
out do himself, but he did.
Bruce Brown joined us for his first outing of the season. Bruce took Yellow
Fever and the rigid wing for a spin . I expect he’ll be retro fitting a wing
on his DN any day now. I checked his trailer to see if Fred had stowed
away in it but no sign of him.
Travis also gave the Wing a test drive. I warned him of a weak point in
the cockpit floor and evidently it got weaker as he flew over a pressure
ridge. He came back sitting much lower in the boat with his butt
protruding down through a mass of luan splinters where the cockpit floor
used to be. That repair is on the to do list for this week.
Bonnie gets high marks today for tying his boat to the bumper of his truck
while on coffee break. I was tempted to pull his sheet tight and lock it to
see if that boat would pull his truck down the pond while he was in it
drinking coffee. A big thanks to Bonnie for getting some great photos of
todays sailing. Bonnie always stops for photos and bails me out when in
need. I’ll get your batteries back to you ASAP Bonnie.
I got one ride today in V’s boat. Acted as parking attendant for awhile
and did a lot of shooting the breeze with sailing buddies. It was noon
before I got the wing rigged and I rigged it with the 10’ section only. The
25’ sq ft area of wing worked very well today. The wind was very puffy but
more to the NW than yesterday and easier to keep the wing hooked up in.
I could make longer runs with the wing and play with the adjustments to
see what worked and what didn’t. It was a joy to drive today . It was also
a good day to test its pointing ability which is supposed to be very good.
My top speed with the wing was 35 mph. I know that is not a big number
but that is 25 sq ft pushing 500 pounds of boat and driver. The addition of
the 4’ extension makes a huge difference in the wing but I was not
comfortable putting on the extension in the gusty winds. I am still learning
the natures of this beast but so far it seems quite manageable. Anyone
that would like to drive it is more than welcome to come and give it a try.
If nothing else it is different.
Every sailing day I try to look for funny things to put in the sailing diary.
It has been brought to my attention by my peers that I neglected to tell
about the guy that put his runners on in opposite directions yesterday
morning. You would think such a simple mistake could be written off and
forgotten but there will be no peace in the pits until I own up and give
myself a good roasting. I can feel the heat already.



Kevin