Stupid people tricks - canoe to skate

[JoAnn Berns]

There may well be more bona fide skating on decent ice coming with the next freeze, but in the meantime a discussion has arisen about canoeing or kayaking out to skateable ice when the gap is too far for a board (or series of boards, as on NH's Moore Reservoir a couple of years ago). 

Anyone done it?  Wondering about strategies for disembarking and re-embarking from the marine vessel to the ice.  

[Evan Perkins]

I spent a lot of time getting up on ice packs and leaving ice packs on expeditions, both with canoes and kayaks. A tandem canoe is by far preferable. If it is a plastic canoe, you can get up ahead of speed, lean back and get the bow up on the ice. And then you can just step right out. Getting out onto the ice from a kayak is fraught with problems. but an open cockpit recreational kayak would be the best choice in my opinion.

On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM JoAnn Berns <dr...@hotmail.com> wrote:

There may well be more bona fide skating on decent ice coming with the next freeze, but in the meantime a discussion has arisen about canoeing or kayaking out to skateable ice when the gap is too far for a board (or series of boards, as on NH's Moore Reservoir a couple of years ago). 

Anyone done it?  Wondering about strategies for disembarking and re-embarking from the marine vessel to the ice.  

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[Jamie Hess]

Good question! As I write this, I'm looking out at a vast expanse of
ice that's frozen tight to the shore everywhere except where there's a
dock bubbler in use. No need to use planks or watercraft when you can
step directly from the shore onto solid ice.
If you have to paddle out from shore to access the ice, I've seen two
methods used successfully:
1. A flat-bottomed aluminum boat like the one the Loon Preservation
Committee uses to rescue loons.
2. A lightweight inflatable like the one used to rescue the five
skaters stranded on Lake Champlain last month.
A big risk is that when you reach the ice shelf, you may find that the
edge has degraded to the point that it won't support you. Personally,
I'll be skating where I can step from shore onto supportable ice.
Happy skating,
Jamie

On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM JoAnn Berns <dr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>

> There may well be more bona fide skating on decent ice coming with the next freeze, but in the meantime a discussion has arisen about canoeing or kayaking out to skateable ice when the gap is too far for a board (or series of boards, as on NH's Moore Reservoir a couple of years ago).
>
> Anyone done it? Wondering about strategies for disembarking and re-embarking from the marine vessel to the ice.
>

[David Phillips]

This is Olympic speedskater Brian Hansen's ice island adventure (not quite up to spec on safety standards):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TzOc4SyUo

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/adknordicskating/CAELCQgYQ1fUufiXwTb5pzj4_zPPskt_K6UZPtuYFqwKnWTNt%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Dermott]

On Tue, 10 Mar 2026, Evan Perkins wrote:

> I spent a lot of time getting up on ice packs and leaving ice packs on
> expeditions, both with canoes and kayaks. A tandem canoe is by far
> preferable. If it is a plastic canoe, you can get up ahead of speed, lean
> back and get the bow up on the ice. And then you can just step right out.
> Getting out onto the ice from a kayak is fraught with problems. but an open
> cockpit recreational kayak would be the best choice in my opinion.
>
>

This is more a fun, end-of-ice-season party, but it features kayaking,
skating and swimming. Maria Lindqvist and Lars Pettersson are "stars"
on the Swedish nordic skating scene.

Videos from March 24 2012 on a small lake near near Göteborg

short version(3min28sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QkF01WcgX0

long version (11min38sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj32AJzLM_Y

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David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada
WWW pages: http://www.dermott.ca/index.html

[JoAnn Berns]

Oh these are fun, David, thanks for sending!

If anyone understands the Swedish subtitles and conversation in the longer version and there's anything interesting or educational to share, that would be great.

His kayaking entry and exit from the water is so smooth!

In the longer version, her self-rescue takes some real effort and for many on these listservs could be a good example of how to use ice picks, kick to make the body horizontal, and be persistent.  

Thanks!

Jo

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From: vtnordi...@googlegroups.com <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David Dermott <da...@dermott.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 7:15 PM
To: VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>; nhnordi...@googlegroups.com <nhnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [vtnordicskating] Re: Stupid people tricks - canoe to skate

 

On Tue, 10 Mar 2026, Evan Perkins wrote:

> I spent a lot of time getting up on ice packs and leaving ice packs on
> expeditions, both with canoes and kayaks. A tandem canoe is by far
> preferable. If it is a plastic canoe, you can get up ahead of speed, lean
> back and get the bow up on the ice. And then you can just step right out.
> Getting out onto the ice from a kayak is fraught with problems. but an open
> cockpit recreational kayak would be the best choice in my opinion.
>
>
   This is more a fun, end-of-ice-season party, but it features kayaking,
skating and swimming. Maria Lindqvist and Lars Pettersson are "stars"
on the Swedish nordic skating scene.

   Videos from March 24 2012 on a small lake near near Göteborg

   short version(3min28sec)

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8QkF01WcgX0&data=05%7C02%7C%7C9de2954df7734ea73c7108de7fc4223b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639088677519716794%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=iUbfJiiTHZPNOITHIWrvoQL%2Fz9HND7q4ik%2BlgdTzdUw%3D&reserved=0

long version (11min38sec)
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAj32AJzLM_Y&data=05%7C02%7C%7C9de2954df7734ea73c7108de7fc4223b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639088677519748397%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JGwMzjZH%2F0CNPKn4ReltkpCRQOC8uLFWU7sRCNsNB2w%3D&reserved=0

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  David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada

  WWW pages: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dermott.ca%2Findex.html&data=05%7C02%7C%7C9de2954df7734ea73c7108de7fc4223b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639088677519760319%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xY7GIPlFz%2BaTW1hg3QzLwTTMyuqVUJP%2BMae2A2kCS%2B0%3D&reserved=0

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[Mati N]

I regularly use a packraft to skate ice that is detached from shore. It's definitely increased risk. The reason that I use a packraft is so I can fully deflate and put it in my pack when skating, because too much can/has gone wrong with anchoring etc.:

• Ice sheet break apart at or near ice screw anchor
• Packraft melt sheet to a degree and anchor line get sucked under
  
• Anchor Line get sucked under for other reasons

On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 11:07 AM JoAnn Berns <dr...@hotmail.com> wrote:

There may well be more bona fide skating on decent ice coming with the next freeze, but in the meantime a discussion has arisen about canoeing or kayaking out to skateable ice when the gap is too far for a board (or series of boards, as on NH's Moore Reservoir a couple of years ago). 

Anyone done it?  Wondering about strategies for disembarking and re-embarking from the marine vessel to the ice.  

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