Rick advises, that Bigstone Bay is clear!

He drove around to Bare Point and up to Northern Harbour today  and no ice  was to be seen.

START YOUR ENGINES!!!!

See you on the lake...

Thanks,

Northern Harbour

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Well the day has finally arrived, the ice is out to the end of the bay, but not on the big lake (fyi: this usually takes about 3 more days...)

Drove boat around Middle Island, got a 1/2 mile north towards Lunney Island.

There is ice towards the south of us,  most is broken up.  There is open water for over a mile and were pretty sure its the same towards the Elbow.

There was a bit of ice present heading into Moore Bay yesterday, but on my way out later in the day it was gone. 

Andrew Bay is open, but not navigable from town.

Day marker by Scotties Island is open, but the North tip of Scotties you cant get around.

Bigstone Bay - the ice is getting whiter, but still sticking around.  With the winds we are experiencing today, it could change by weeks end.  Stay tuned.

We have heard that the bridge to Coney Island is coming out tonight.

Just an update to say that the ice is still in the bay...

We will keep you posted...

 

Northern Harbour

Went for a boat ride Sunday.  Pushing lots of ice by Queer .  The old ice road was hard to get thru.
Headed to the Haydes, got as far as the red buoy in the middle of the Haydes.  Went to Moore Bay and had coffee. 

Forecast is for wind and heat this week.  Heading into town later this week.
Hoping for a ice free wknd coming up. Will advise if any changes.

Rick and Deb

Hi from Rick and Debbie


Got in the boat , made it to the green buoy's by Queer Island.
Lots of white ice, but i spotted a crack in the ice and followed it towards Moore Bay.
Got concerned as the wind was shifting and I may have had to spend the night in the boat in the middle of the lake, so i headed home.  Will attempt this run again on Mothers Day - Sunday.

Heard from a friend on Laurenson Lake that it was clear of ice.  Usually that means within 5-7 days that the Lake of the Woods is clear of ice.  Still planning to follow thru with my prediction of making it to Bare Point by the 15th of May.

Further updates will be made available - keep checking the blog - and again notations and commentary are appreciated by all who visit this site.

Rick is predicting from the way the ice is melting on laurenson lake that its maybe more than a good possiblity of boating action this long wknd coming up; but its still just a guess.

looking to getting up in the skies,  for a better look of the lake  via the plane ...

further updates will be forthcoming ...so everyone please stay tuned and your contributions and comments  on the blog are appreciated....

Hi ,,, Rick called and left a short message
Got the boat from our place as far as 100' short of the red and green buoys in the French narrows
Black ice (6" thick) in the bays ,,, but white ice (8 to 10" thick) in the horizon as far as the eyes can see
Will try tomorrow and get though the narrows ,,,
And than maybe go up for a quick fly around ,,, will call again ,,,
pt for Rick
 

from
Ric and Debbie
Can you post on the blog for them a notice that due to technical problems beyond their control ( computer is down) they are unable to keep the blog current regarding lake conditions at the moment-

but will try and up date shortly ,,, thanks everyone

Past 2 days have seen a drastic change in ice conditions! Sunny ,22c today same for tomorrow. Last 2 mornings the open water skinned over and melted by noon both days.Yesterday morning I was walking on solid ice,At 17:30 I was out there again to measure ice and my right leg went through up to my knee. That,s it for us on the ice! I am back on track for boating May 15th. Today we heard the Loons calling,and saw 1st Skitter. I launch my tin boat this afternoon and tomorrow will see how far we can get. This picture is looking North towards Narrows, ice boat broke it and I think I may be able to get that far in tin boat,will post again then.

Took this picture 12:30 on May 04,single left click on picture to enlarge. Look close down the hole and you can see the ice is candled. We are not getting the sun/heat as forecasted it is a cool 8c today with North breeze. At least the minus temps are behind us with no new ice forming last night.The only visual difference in past week is a little more open water along shoreline.I have suggested to our kids to think about making alternate plans for longweekend!? I would be very surprised to boat in on my first prediction of May 15th. Once Laurenson Lake opens we can boat to BarePoint a week later.Will advise when this happens. Yesterday we saw a Robin on path,pair Pelicans flying North and @ 22:00 the Wolves were very vocal towards French Narrows,this is the first time we have heard them for a long time.

Hit publish before I attatched photo!! This is the ice between us and East Allie Island

Looked back in the diaries and when the ice in this picture is gone between us and East Allie that we could canoe across it averages 22 days later we can boat to town.This usually happens Early to mid April. With the minus temps. the last 3 nights in a row this open water has skinned over with ice and does not melt till late afternoon,when it did open yesterday it was full of Golden Eye ducks and seagulls.Tonight is our last minus temp and if we get the heat as forecasted will really speed up this process. We have not heard the Loon's calling yet but friends in Tranquil channel said they are back,lots of open water down that way.Another friend who has been travelling from Mud Portage Area to Moore Bay reports that the ice is getting bad in that area and can only travel by ice boat.