There is black ice on Little Lake Sunapee (New London NH). Winds forecast for 9 MPH tomorrow and Tuesday. Anyone interested can contact me at edoc02@gmail.com
Will anyone be sailing Jones Beach parking lot next week? (4/18-21/2022) I’ll be in the neighborhood and would like to stop by if there will be any action.
Don’t know about Quaboag but I checked my nearby Eddy Pond and decided I wasn’t gonna go. Some spots had less than 4 inches and there were open areas near shore. Btw, heard an iceboater broke through on Lake Attitash this morning…got out safely.
Lake Massabesic had some good sailing on Sunday (1/23) w at least 7 boats out and good wind. The ice is rough, but thick enough (reports say 4-6 inches). I have a report of 1/2 inch of snow that is now blowing off / drifting. Per the forecast ( temps high teens low 20s winds 6-8 mph) it looks like Thursday (tomorrow) afternoon would be best. Light winds forecast for Friday.
Convenient access in Front Park off Rt 28 B Manchester NH
I will decide tonight whether I will go. It may be the last chance to sail locally for a while.
Thanks Mark. Can’t make it this afternoon, but looking ahead to Friday, it still looks like we will get 6 MPH in the afternoon. I will be heading there Friday for run before the storm. Hopefully more can join tomorrow too.
Sail Quaboag today
Very little wing but the ice was very good this zero snow.
Ice fishing going on but plenty of room to sail.
There’s a pressure ridge at the ramp but able to get around.
Two people that I know of will be sailing tomorrow.
We sailed there today (Sunday 1/23). About 5 DNs, and (later) about 5 freeskates and a skim-bat (if that’s the right word). Sailed almost until sunset. ice-fishermen reported ice thickness 9 – 12″. The bay on the west side looked nice…but between the main body and that bay were many leads that had opened up and refrozen, often several inches wide — real runner-eaters, even if the ice in them were tough enough (which I didn’t check). To the SW from the launch point, near the opposite shore, there was another lead that had apparently been opening and closing and re-freezing over the last few days, and a local kid out on his dirt bike managed to go through (and get out), but his dirt-bike went to the bottom. So even when it’s a foot thick most places, there’s thin ice SOMEwhere. Surface wasn’t mirror-flat, but it was nice, and there were no pressure ridges and few cracks. There are now quite a few ice-fishing holes, esp. along the easy shore, and just south of the ramp by about 50 yards. I’d be back tomorrow if it weren’t for having a job…
I went out on Quaboag from about 1200-1500. Had a blast! My first time anywhere except on tiny Eddy Pond. Still learning, but had my homemade “sidecar” mounted and with my adult daughter as passenger we logged several over 30 mph blasts (peak of of 32.5). While my new CB-stiffened plank did not bottom out like it used to, it may be a bit too stiff…every puff of breeze immediately raises a runner.
I didn’t get as far as Monomonac today because in Ashburnham I was driving past snow-covered ponds and I turned around. The lake near my house in Lunenburg MA is fantastic, not even any pressure ridges, so I’ll probably stay here tomorrow take out my hand-held sail, and hope for some breeze. Fort Pond in Lancaster would probably be good for a small number of iceboats, if you have a cartop carrier and AWD to get out of the boat ramp parking lot.
The two ponds where I skate near my house in Lunenburg, MA (Hickory Hills and Fort Pond) both have fantastic ice. There’s not really any access to get an iceboat in on the former, and on the latter it’s sketchy (the road to the boat ramp is all treacherous ice). I suspect everything else in this area has similar conditions. I’m going to check out Lake Monomonac today (no wind in the forecast), and for tomorrow with some breeze, I may head up to Massabesic.
Just a quick report for SE Massachusetts (but not the Cape): Watuppa (Fall River) is about halfway iced in, half open water. Long Pond (Freetown) certainly has a large plate at its south half; I didn’t get to look at the rest, but it sure LOOKED as if there might be open water once you got as far north as the islands. I couldn’t get onto the southern plate (wet all around the edges) but near the launch area I reached out and drilled a couple of holes: 2″, 1.5″. And the ice itself was grainy rather than the nice black hard stuff we love. So until we have a few more days of real cold, there’s nothing happening around here.
New England Ice Yacht Association 
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01/17/2023 at 10:01 pm
There is black ice on Little Lake Sunapee (New London NH). Winds forecast for 9 MPH tomorrow and Tuesday. Anyone interested can contact me at edoc02@gmail.com
12/25/2022 at 2:26 pm
Hi Mark, what is the outlook up your way for Ice this weekend? Phil
01/10/2023 at 9:38 pm
Forecast is for rain and 40 degree temps
01/12/2023 at 7:15 pm
Will anyone be sailing Jones Beach parking lot next week? (4/18-21/2022) I’ll be in the neighborhood and would like to stop by if there will be any action.
04/14/2022 at 12:51 pm
Any reports of sailing on Quaboag or Webster?
02/20/2022 at 1:13 pm
Don’t know about Quaboag but I checked my nearby Eddy Pond and decided I wasn’t gonna go. Some spots had less than 4 inches and there were open areas near shore. Btw, heard an iceboater broke through on Lake Attitash this morning…got out safely.
02/20/2022 at 1:37 pm
Bantam was sailed yesterday by 7 boats. Ice is getting soft on top, but should be good again next week.
02/10/2022 at 11:11 am
Lake Massabesic had some good sailing on Sunday (1/23) w at least 7 boats out and good wind. The ice is rough, but thick enough (reports say 4-6 inches). I have a report of 1/2 inch of snow that is now blowing off / drifting. Per the forecast ( temps high teens low 20s winds 6-8 mph) it looks like Thursday (tomorrow) afternoon would be best. Light winds forecast for Friday.
Convenient access in Front Park off Rt 28 B Manchester NH
I will decide tonight whether I will go. It may be the last chance to sail locally for a while.
Mark
01/26/2022 at 3:47 pm
Thanks Mark. Can’t make it this afternoon, but looking ahead to Friday, it still looks like we will get 6 MPH in the afternoon. I will be heading there Friday for run before the storm. Hopefully more can join tomorrow too.
01/27/2022 at 8:59 am
I might be able to join you tomorrow. What time do you think you will be there? Where do you access the lake from?
Thanks
Ben
01/27/2022 at 12:10 pm
The ice on Massabesic was rough w patches of drifted snow. Winds were pretty good after 2 PM. Got some great rides .
Tomorrow’s forecast is wind speed 3-4 mph. I plan to ski instead.
01/27/2022 at 10:14 pm
Great sailing yesterday on Lake Massabesic. Manchester NH. I counted 7 boats.
01/24/2022 at 8:46 am
I might be looking to join others in NH on Friday.
Any other lakes looking good?
01/26/2022 at 1:17 pm
Massabesic tomorrow (Sunday). Manchester NH
WSW 9 mph
1:00 pm
28°
Mostly Cloudy
Good ice is reported
01/22/2022 at 7:43 pm
Sail Quaboag today
Very little wing but the ice was very good this zero snow.
Ice fishing going on but plenty of room to sail.
There’s a pressure ridge at the ramp but able to get around.
Two people that I know of will be sailing tomorrow.
01/22/2022 at 6:21 pm
We sailed there today (Sunday 1/23). About 5 DNs, and (later) about 5 freeskates and a skim-bat (if that’s the right word). Sailed almost until sunset. ice-fishermen reported ice thickness 9 – 12″. The bay on the west side looked nice…but between the main body and that bay were many leads that had opened up and refrozen, often several inches wide — real runner-eaters, even if the ice in them were tough enough (which I didn’t check). To the SW from the launch point, near the opposite shore, there was another lead that had apparently been opening and closing and re-freezing over the last few days, and a local kid out on his dirt bike managed to go through (and get out), but his dirt-bike went to the bottom. So even when it’s a foot thick most places, there’s thin ice SOMEwhere. Surface wasn’t mirror-flat, but it was nice, and there were no pressure ridges and few cracks. There are now quite a few ice-fishing holes, esp. along the easy shore, and just south of the ramp by about 50 yards. I’d be back tomorrow if it weren’t for having a job…
01/23/2022 at 6:58 pm
I went out on Quaboag from about 1200-1500. Had a blast! My first time anywhere except on tiny Eddy Pond. Still learning, but had my homemade “sidecar” mounted and with my adult daughter as passenger we logged several over 30 mph blasts (peak of of 32.5). While my new CB-stiffened plank did not bottom out like it used to, it may be a bit too stiff…every puff of breeze immediately raises a runner.
01/24/2022 at 11:03 am
I didn’t get as far as Monomonac today because in Ashburnham I was driving past snow-covered ponds and I turned around. The lake near my house in Lunenburg MA is fantastic, not even any pressure ridges, so I’ll probably stay here tomorrow take out my hand-held sail, and hope for some breeze. Fort Pond in Lancaster would probably be good for a small number of iceboats, if you have a cartop carrier and AWD to get out of the boat ramp parking lot.
01/22/2022 at 5:05 pm
The two ponds where I skate near my house in Lunenburg, MA (Hickory Hills and Fort Pond) both have fantastic ice. There’s not really any access to get an iceboat in on the former, and on the latter it’s sketchy (the road to the boat ramp is all treacherous ice). I suspect everything else in this area has similar conditions. I’m going to check out Lake Monomonac today (no wind in the forecast), and for tomorrow with some breeze, I may head up to Massabesic.
01/22/2022 at 10:10 am
Lake Massabesic Manchester NH. Good ice . Iceboaters out there per local report
Sunday forecast
12:00 pm
26°
Mostly Cloudy
1%
W 10 mph
01/21/2022 at 6:19 pm
Just a quick report for SE Massachusetts (but not the Cape): Watuppa (Fall River) is about halfway iced in, half open water. Long Pond (Freetown) certainly has a large plate at its south half; I didn’t get to look at the rest, but it sure LOOKED as if there might be open water once you got as far north as the islands. I couldn’t get onto the southern plate (wet all around the edges) but near the launch area I reached out and drilled a couple of holes: 2″, 1.5″. And the ice itself was grainy rather than the nice black hard stuff we love. So until we have a few more days of real cold, there’s nothing happening around here.
01/21/2022 at 5:35 pm