1/1/2016 - Another Frostbite Regatta at the Sebago Canoe Club

Backtracking a day now - the beautiful bunting was on the 2nd, and of course, as I mentioned, TQ and I attended the annual Frostbite Regatta and Potluck at Sebago on the 1st. As I also mentioned, I was extra glad to be out there this year, I love kicking off the New Year with some time on (and weather permitting, in) the water and there was a time during the fall that I wasn't sure I'd be able to join in this year. I can't remember if we did this every year at Pier 63, but it's a long-standing tradition at Sebago and I've been a gleeful participant since joining the club in 2006. TQ and I were talking about Frostbites past on Saturday and trying to figure out if the event's ever been called off due to weather. I was pretty sure there was at least one, but going through my blog, which dates back to 2005 (oh my goodness, this blog will be 11 years old on the 29th! How crazy is that?), the one year in the past decade that I haven't kicked off with a paddle was 2009. That year, TQ and I had driven down to North Carolina where both of our families were gathering for Christmas, and then driven back up on New Year's Eve. We were pooped, it was really, really, really cold, and after 6 days with both families we were very ready for a day to ourselves, so we skipped that year's Frostbite, slept in, had a late breakfast, and then went for a walk in Prospect Park as it was too lovely a day to not get out for a little while. I think that Sebago still paddled that day, though, it would take some foul, foul weather for the Frostbite Regatta to be cancelled. 

January 1st 2016 was a little bit on the breezy side, and started out a bit cloudy, but things cleared up while we were out there, it turned into quite a nice day. It wasn't as warm as it had been, but it was still pleasant - and the rolling did not produce anything near the ice-cream headaches of the last couple of years, with November and December both having broken records for the warmest, the water just hadn't chilled down much. Winter seems to have just finally gotten its act together today, with the current temperature being 16 degrees. I think it's our first actual freeze of the winter, and I'm so glad it waited until today. 

More pictures? Why, yes, of course there are. I was a little bit on the slow side, and with my left pectoral muscles still not entirely happy with things that have been done and are still being done to them, I discovered (after falling behind while trying to get all the paddlers plus Chris in his Melonseed all into one shot - see above) that my high gear is basically missing - however, despite not being able to pull off my usual "photographer's sprint" to catch up with the group, I still couldn't leave the camera alone - click here to visit the usual Flickr album!