06WinterRegatta

This years weather did not pan out, but as we always promise there is ice somewhere, if not at least in your refreshments! Thanks to Rick and Jason Hall for setting up their D.N. and newly restored 15 Meter on display. Also to Les Lashaway and Brian Goldberg for helping out with the set up. Thanks goes out again this year to Kenny Sabin for his efforts in selling raffle tickets at the party. And of course a big thanks to Tom Zunk and his fellow club members at Ottawa River Yacht Club for putting on a great party for us!

Despite the postponement this year, we still did not get the right weather to make good ice for the regatta. This year there would be no iceboating, no sleds, quads, or three wheelers spewing 2 stroke clouds in the air. It looked like nobody was going to do anything. It was going to be a quiet uneventful weekend with a nice party, until Commodore Aaron Stange called me Early Saturday afternoon. "We are doing the Poker Run - on the Whaler", reported Aaron from his cell phone. I knew he meant business, but had to ask if he had seen the ice on the river. He said "There is already another boat doing it! We have got to do this".

I am used to ignoring Aaron calling us out on ridiculous missions when he has been over served, but this time he was sober and ready to go. Already a half-dozen phones around Point-Place were ringing, and I was trying to make an excuse about how much work my rental house needed to have done. I figured I will deal with them if they make it over here.

...And that they did! There it was - a little 18 foot Center Console loaded with 8 bundled-up people who refused to accept the everyday activity as an acceptable definition of good times. They were coming to get me and I could no longer make excuses. My dear wife, still in bed resting up for her night shift said "Take my float coat". Normally, I would grumble and say "that's okay, I wont need it" but this was not a matter to be second guessed. I donned my warm rabbit-fur hat and there I was stepping off the safe, solid rocks in front of the house onto this little craft.

Left: Coming in to pick me up. Right: L-R Brent Marriott, Keith Wells, Amanda and Bob-O Foeller, Mike Deye at the helm, Tiffany Wells, and Nat Kolling.

Its Funny, that sound when you run over a bunch of broken up ice. It sounds just like a cooler full of half melted ice cubes (when most of the beverage of choice is gone) when it gets tipped to one side. We attempted on the way to go to Bi-State Marina but found that the ice was frozen in too solid (and it may have been too shallow there as well). When Mike decided it was time to go no further, he pulled the gear shift back and nothing happened... the cable broke! Luckily there was plenty of space to turn around and we headed directly to the Ottawa River. It is amazing how badly a boat turns when it is in ice. As we motored with uncertainty up the river, Aaron pulled the cover off the engine and found a way to shift it from the back of the boat. This was certainly becoming a day to remember. Once we made it to the Anchor Inn we went in and warmed up and had a drink, and got our poker run tickets. We had little time to waste. In about 15 minutes we were back in the boat and headed across the river.

We tied up next to a 14 foot aluminum boat with a small outboard. We walked in fully expecting some sort of heroes' welcome. Mostly we got some puzzled stares until we were accosted by fellow Point-Placer, Chris Sell who rode there in the little aluminum boat with Husband Matt and friend Jeff Conrad. She was in hopes that they would be the only people to do the poker run by boat, but - this bunch of fools was trying to out-maneuver her and her crew. They explained that they had to launch at their dock at the end of the Ottawa River and were so frozen in it took an hour for them to get clear of the ice. We grinned and pointed at the 150-HP Outboard that did all the work for us.

After Collecting our tickets and gathering up some more courage we headed back down the river well behind the little boat. We had less than an hour to complete the poker run, so we put the hammer down and were quite amazed at the sound the boat makes as it goes over pieces of ice at 30+ MPH. It handled it remarkably well. We just had to make a landing at the bulkhead, but ice was frozen all the way out to the end of the docks. We gently nudged the bow into the ice, then started bouncing the bow up and down and broke our way through. As we tied up, a small group of people were now cheering from the fronts of both Point Place Boat Club and Outings Unlimited Club. We had made it! We were the only boat to tie up at any of the boat clubs! It was the first time in O.U.C. for most of us, and we found it to be a great little club, not fancy, and full of members that might possibly not mind our antics. As we left, I think a few of us had membership applications in hand.

Left: We rocked the boat to allow it to break through the ice. Right: All tied up.

We made back to Ottawa River Yacht Club with plenty of time to play our hands. Only one of us did well - Bob-O won $25. But the fun was all in getting there! It was now dark and The decision was made to take the boat back. We had considered just leaving it at an end dock in the river overnight, but Mike wanted it out. Only 5 of the original group took the boat back, and the trip with an added stop at Woodtick peninsula went without a hitch. Checking out the bottom, there was not even a scratch in the bottom paint! The next morning, as I made my way past Aaron, who was still passed out on my couch, I looked outside to see the whole bay had frozen over! Well it was a good thing the boat was hauled out when it was.