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12-19-09 Pierce Pond Penobscot, Maine |
As I write this 12-19-09 sailing diary entry on 12-26-09 I can not help but wonder if this sailing day was the ultimate test of my abilities and judgment . On this day I was starved for ice and eager to experience the best ice in years that I have been hearing and seeing photos of on the ice boater grapevine. On this day I had no idea that a tragic accident would take place the following day on Chickawaukee. I left my house alone at daylight with a computer printout of shallow ponds in the area that should or could have sailable ice. My first stop was Pierce Pond in Penobscot, Maine. Pierce is 110 acres in size with a mean depth of 9 feet and a maximum depth of 12 feet. As I pulled into the small secluded town landing I could see glistening black ice in the distance and running open water in front of the ramp. The landing is located on the outlet of Pierce. The risk/reward computer in my head was in overdrive. Could I get out to that sheet of ice? Could I get a boat out to that ice? Is that ice thick enough to walk on? Should I be doing this alone? Is this the only way onto this pond? Man that ice looks good from here!! So off I went with cleats, picks, camera and a wooden handled chipper. I picked my way around the open outlet by trudging through a grass and snow filled ,half frozen wetland and out onto the sheet of virgin ice. The sheet was 4.5" thick everywhere that I checked with the ice chisel. It was the best looking ice I had seen since Plymouth Pond several years ago. I walked one third of the pond using a pressure ridge as a guide and checked the ice every now and then if things didn’t look quite right. It was a very consistent 4.5" everywhere I checked. I worked my way back to the truck and scoped out the possibilities of getting our boats through the grassy wetland area and onto the ice. I also drove the perimeter of the pond looking for another launch site and also stopped at a guys house that was building a smelt tent in his yard. He was familiar with Pierce and said the outlet was the worst of it and there were no springs etc. that he knew of in the middle of the pond. As I drove at a rapid pace back to my house for boats and gear I called everyone I knew of in the area searching for a sailing buddy. All the regulars were busy and Fred K was on the fence . Would I sail this pond alone if I couldn’t find a buddy? There was a snowstorm coming tomorrow that would cover that once in a lifetime ice I kept telling myself. I am confident that I wouldn’t have sailed it alone but fortunately I didn’t have to make that decision as Vanessa’s boyfriend decided to go home early freeing her up to sail with me. I know I broke a big rule here in checking this ice so I didn’t pass in flying colors and some may feel I didn’t pass at all but the fact is that I did thoroughly check this sheet. I have never really given much thought to how I adopted this procedure, but it is one that I always follow. I feel very fortunate to have been a member of the Chickawaukee Iceboat Club and to have been privy to wisdom of elders that have spent many years wielding axes into ice. Would I know how to check ice had I not been a member? Would I question sailing alone? Do we all realize just how much information we are absorbing by accident as we read Lloyds memo’s about ice formation and Jory’s explanation of just what makes the fat lady sing? How many of us have gained the knowledge to properly check ice from the spam mail and newsletter? More questions than answers but something to think about for sure. I know that most of the sailing diary readers are members of the club, but if you are not it is 5 bucks well spent. Vanessa and I had a discussion about what to do if one of us went through the ice and also discussed the use of a throw rope along with an outline of the ice I checked and where the pressure ridge was that we would stay inside of to remain on checked ice. We attached some snow skis from a failed experiment to the runners of Iceaholic and towed her through the swale and snow . It took some huffing and puffing but we got out onto that wonderful plate of ice. No sooner than we got on the ice concerned onlookers were hollering to us. Get off the ice it isn’t safe. I would just explain to one carload the thickness and get onto the ice as another would pull in and scold us a again. It was a bit unerving and made me question my methods but bystanders or not I was the one that had spent two hours checking the ice and knew what I was standing on. We sailed til late in the day and had a great time on Pierce Pond. Kevin |