Boats on (finally) at Athens-on-Hudson - ICE NOT READY sadly

 Vixen & Aurora on the ice Thursday  

Two boats from the HRIYC are set up & rigged at Athens - the State Boat Launch  - where we have sailed these past few years.  Vixen took a short sail today and discovered that the ice is still not quite ready. Exploring further across the ice and drilling more found that there are still multiple, random spots with a slush layer under the snow covering. About 50 yards East off the set up area there is a large patch of slush/water under the surface that no boat will go through.  We need several more very cold nights to hopefully (and finally) set up the ice surface. The cold is coming. I don't recommend setting up more boats at this point.  Or walking far off the launch area. Will check and see if it is safe to sail on Sunday. 

3+ inches of slush/water that will stop a boat, a skater and even our Golden Retriever...  Not safe to walk through.

 

(my post I almost sent before heading up to Athens this afternoon...)

 When we are displaying boats or doing talks on ice yachts we are regularly asked "When do you  start sailing?"

An impossible question to answer, but the best I've come up with over the years is - 'We are often sailing on Super Bowl Sunday, so start to look at weather and blog posts around that week of February'. While we have had a deep freeze for a very long time it is now this week that the ice has shaped up to sail. Thickness is good and the snow pack has diminished enough for the boats to sail. ( Note - see above)

So here it is Super Bowl weekend and a few boats have begun setting up on the River at Athens. There is a nice plate of ice all along the shore from the Village to the northern end of Middle Ground Flats. 

We had different weather conditions this weekend in 2022 at Athens.  

Some of the boats in our Club are on their way to Red Bank NJ for races there this weekend. 

Ariel, Ice Queen, & Whirlwind will take part in A boat races.  Comet will also hit Jersey ice, perhaps joining D boat races. Race reports to be  posted later this  weekend. 

And just spent the morning extracting Spider out of the Rokeby barns. She'll get dusted off and set up at Athens soon - it's been over 12 years since she's sailed.  

    Spider extraction team.  Of course parts were  under other boats, including Rip Van Winkle. 

            Rip, Pathfinder, Reindeer, amongst dozens of spars, runners, tillers and boats....

           Spider ready to be loaded up. Built by Victor Livingston of Kingston; circa 1920. 

 Ice is always unpredictable, especially when getting on. Where the shore and ice plate meet can have thin spots and open water. Use caution or simply watch from shore. Again, there are multiple slush spots today 2/5, with minimal ice thickness beneath. Use caution always.