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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 14:03:45 GMT
When I was about 8 years old, I remember my father took me iceboating. It was a Sunday afternoon,cold,cold and very windy, but the sun was shining brightly and the sky was very clear. We lived near some small kettle ponds that were formed by the big glacier and near the Atlantic. When we arrived there were all these small however majestic sail boats on big blades on the ice.
My father knew all the owners of the boats and placed me in one of them with a very nice man. I remember I was all bundled up and off we went! We sailed across the ice at an incredible speed with teeny,teeny shavings of ice blowing at us. I was so terrified but at the same time thrilled and excited. We tilted to the side and soared across the ice so fast! The thrill remained and I don't know how long we were actually in the boat but as I looked around there were six or so other boats gliding around us and it occured to me we were in some kind of race. I remember the look on the man's face,fierce and determined. My little heart was racing along. Soon it was over and I was entrusted back to my father. It remains one of my fondest childhood memories.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 6, 2009 20:40:27 GMT
Oh, that is beautiful! Believe it or not, I have never heard of iceboats.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 5:52:10 GMT
Was the race in a loop?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 12:27:57 GMT
Seems it would have had to been because these ponds are pretty small. My recollections are limited as to some detail because I was fairly young.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 12:40:44 GMT
If you google Iceboating Long Island there's pics, Mecox Bay is the group of people I know
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Post by happytraveller on Feb 11, 2009 11:45:14 GMT
Amazing ! I have never heard of Iceboating before either!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2009 11:32:17 GMT
I found an old article about iceboating in a book I have about the village I grew up in: WOW!!! He must be terrified!" said a young girl watching MH racing, as the left runner on his boat hiked up about three feet in the air. He wasn't,but he might have been a little angry when TH pulled into the finish line about a breath ahead of him. Hiking--when the runner on the windward side actually comes off the ice--looks dangerous,but it isn't really,unless the boat gets too far up and capsizes. Since most people have never seen an iceboat,they don't know much about the sport, and it appears more dangerous than it is. But there's nothing new about iceboating.
EH's grandfather, who lived at Head O' Pond, used to tell about sailing with his father. He and his buddy sailed their homemade iceboats in about 1840. N's boat was made from an old ladder (some used fence rails) with runners made by the local blacksmith. For sails on their boats they used horse blankets.
Over the years a club was formed. For anyone that was farming, there was less to do in the winter,and so more time to devote to the sport.. Some people try to go south for warm weather but all the men in the club want is a good stretch of very cold,clear weather. When the temperature drops to about 20F and stays there for a few days,people start walking around on the ice,taking occasional depth samples. After a pond has about 4 or 5 inches of ice, the boats come out.
On the first day, it's a community effort. Since it's to everyone's advantage to get the boats set up properly and sailing, all the men pitch in and help each other.
There are two kinds of boats, one a DN (Detroit News),the smaller boat. They have become popular throughout the country in recent years,for they are all built to one design,carry the same-sized sail,have open cockpits, and can be put together and taken apart by one person. They move in a light breeze and can travel up to 70mph.
The second one is called a skeeter or class E boats. They are larger,have a closed cockpit,carry more sail,can take passengers and have been clocked at speeds of above 130mph! (this is the type I sailed in).
Accidents are a small part of the overall activity. Mostly it's a fast challenging sport that brings friends together. Ice and wind permitting,the only limits on speed are your skill and imagination. And possibly memory. As one veteran racer said,"I think the boats go the fastest behind the stove at night."
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