Charlotte Town Beach update - 2/3

[Phyl Newbeck]

Seven of us headed out from Charlotte Town Beach a bit after 9:00. The ice was absolutely gorgeous - black with feathery spots of snow. Three of us were concerned about the wet cracks that seemed to be opening and turned back at Sloop Island. When we got back to shore, the wet crack that had most concerned me had grown from an inch to about a foot. Once across, I decided to skate around on the good ice close to shore and watched as the crack grew to more than a foot and then more than several feet with the plate on the other side of it clearly moving north. There were a number of skaters (some from NY) on the other side and I hope they will report back when they return. 

-Phyl

[Pierre van der Merwe]

There is a rescue going on right now in Charlotte to try and get the skaters of the ice sheet. Mynbc.com is streaming it live. 

Be safe everyone 

Pierre

On Tue, Feb 3, 2026, 12:34 PM Phyl Newbeck <vtph...@gmail.com> wrote:

Seven of us headed out from Charlotte Town Beach a bit after 9:00. The ice was absolutely gorgeous - black with feathery spots of snow. Three of us were concerned about the wet cracks that seemed to be opening and turned back at Sloop Island. When we got back to shore, the wet crack that had most concerned me had grown from an inch to about a foot. Once across, I decided to skate around on the good ice close to shore and watched as the crack grew to more than a foot and then more than several feet with the plate on the other side of it clearly moving north. There were a number of skaters (some from NY) on the other side and I hope they will report back when they return. 

-Phyl

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VTNordicskating" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vtnordicskati...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CACVHAYk9c4g0CHWWO6-fgZAmdBC7-TVvC_w6%3D1iDA%3DXtHcpqCQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Pete Furtado]

Here is a link to Channel 5's live coverage of the rescue in Charlotte:

https://www.mynbc5.com/article/charlotte-vermont-skaters-ice-rescue/70236147

Pete Furtado

Burlington, VT

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CADKm6uXjN1ux-9rbBjGUAC4%2BKuBKHZOhCitBYq0dm%3DeZbqYK%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Zoe Keating]

I was with the group that decided to stay close to Charlotte. Incredible ice. Frost flowers. Magic. 

Golly it is humbling to see how quickly the ice can change! Hope everyone is ok.

-Zoe

[tom berry]

See WCAX, ice rescue ongoing.

Tom

On Tue, Feb 3, 2026, 12:34 PM Phyl Newbeck <vtph...@gmail.com> wrote:

Seven of us headed out from Charlotte Town Beach a bit after 9:00. The ice was absolutely gorgeous - black with feathery spots of snow. Three of us were concerned about the wet cracks that seemed to be opening and turned back at Sloop Island. When we got back to shore, the wet crack that had most concerned me had grown from an inch to about a foot. Once across, I decided to skate around on the good ice close to shore and watched as the crack grew to more than a foot and then more than several feet with the plate on the other side of it clearly moving north. There were a number of skaters (some from NY) on the other side and I hope they will report back when they return. 

-Phyl

--

[Daniel Spada]

I was with the group that headed to NY.  There were 8 of us.  We hit a nasty rubble band about 1/3 of the way across and two members decided to skate southeasterly back toward Charlotte because their vehicles were there.  6 of us walked/hobbled across the rubble field and continued west.  As we skated Jo was in contact with Evan who indicated that a wide lead had opened more or less parallel with the NY shore and was running in a generally NW/SE direction.  We skated until we saw the lead, recognized it was wider on its south end and decided to skate in a northwesterly direction paralleling the edge of the lead.  Evan indicated that he and Jesse found a way across at a narrowing of the lead.  We saw them, skated to them and crossed a crack dry-footed.  Then, between the shore and the lead we initially portaged along the shoreline and eventually skated a narrow sidewalk south to Essex.  I believe the two that turned back to Charlotte were among the five that were rescued.  I think, but they would know better, that they tried to get off the plate at the place where it cracked off from the main plate body and they were left stranded on an isolated polygon between shore and the northward moving plate.  I'm thankful it was large enough to hold them.  It is great to say that everyone got off the ice safely and I believe there were no infractions of the Dry Foot Policy.

What happened?  Yesterday we noted big leads opening up between Willsboro Point and the Vermont shore.  We backed out and returned to our port in Essex.  Today, with a fairly brisk south wind, temps in the 20's and alternating bright sun and cloud cover, the plate cracked off at a line generally from around the base of Willsboro Point diagonally across to Charlotte.  I think that instead of just plucking polygons off the northerly edge of the plate like an off-ice wind does, the south wind moved the whole northerly end of the plate severing it on the line described above.  I think the combination of open leads on the north end of the plate and the fact that the lake begins to broaden out at this point provided no restriction on ice movement so the south wind had a relatively easy time cracking off the northerly end of the plate and pushing it northward.  Some folks were going to continue down to Northwest Bay to skate there this afternoon.  In that situation the south wind would have a much tougher time pushing the plate because the lake narrows there at the Palisades and would serve as a choke point.

Anyway, I think that's how it all went down.  Love to hear other facts and interpretations, and am very thankful all are safe.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CANs-uiEeRpzR%3DKbAPYFF_TKZG9nXKZM6m0nHBBERk%3DHGRPhsqA%40mail.gmail.com.

[diana hanks]

I have not been out since our episode in December. It scared the Hell out of me to see people with equipment not being able to get out on their own. Then to have several people on each swimmer still struggling. We would not have done it without the big ,young ,strong guy. We needed a strong guy to be able to lift up the person in the water. Knowing that a successful rescue depends not on just equipment and knowledge , but also on who is in the group with you. That incident affected me more than it affected those in the water. So much , that I have not stepped into the ice since. We need some planned practice drills with a large enough group to get the heaviest of us out if we can’t do it ourselves. I used to be able to, but don’t know any longer if I can. 

Lost my nerve,

Diana Hanks

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 3, 2026, at 12:59 PM, Pete Furtado <pete.f...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CAH6PfRYo%3D0eVGpKDMf53XYcYkgg1q_9DYnr9z%2BEzhxQBkChwgA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Chi]

Hi Diana

Thank you for this e-mail. It is about time an ice safety/rescue clinic practice occurs in the Burlington area. We're surrounded by big ice and we have the densest population of Nordic Skaters in the area and those who flock here during good ice (and so many more chances of someone swimming in Burlington area). Jamie, Dan, and Evan have both done clinics in their areas but I haven't seen on-ice safety clinic in Burlington area itself (though we had a few offers to do off-ice trainings). I really enjoyed Dan's clinic 2 years ago where the volunteer local teams came over as well. How can we make this happen in Burlington? sk802 organizers are very keen on safety and building a community of knowledgeable ice enthusiasts.

Best,

Chi