Ice boaters on Nantucket make most of Arctic blast: "It's pure adrenaline"

The freezing cold temperatures that iced out ponds over the last few weeks is good news for some boaters in Massachusetts. A pair of brothers in Nantucket used the opportunity to go ice boating. 

"It's pure adrenaline. It's a lot of fun. It's dangerous. You know, some of us have already been hurt this year," said Beau Barber, an ice boater in Nantucket. 

Beau and his brother Nate started off sailing competitively when they were younger and later found out they can keep boating in the winter. 

"Ice sailing is a lot like regular sailing, but it's faster. On Nantucket, there's about 20 boats. They're all DN class, which is a Detroit News class of boat. It was a sort of hobbyist boat," said Barber. 

Of course, the weather conditions play the biggest role in this. Not all ice is made equal. 

"What you want ideally is black ice. Where you know, water freezes, and then it's nice and smooth. No wind, no snow," Barber said.

That combination makes these boats soar to 40-65 mph. How exactly do you stop a sailboat on ice at those speeds? 

"Well, you don't," said Barber. "There is various things you can do with your main sheet, which is your control for the sail. The faster you go, the more apparent wind you sail with. So, you can go multiple times the speed of the wind, of the true wind." 

To make sure the ice is safe enough to boat on, Barber uses a drill to measure its thickness. He wants to see at least four inches when he drills. Given how cold it's been this winter, those numbers are much higher right now. 

"The ice is like nine or 10 inches. And actually, this is kind of a rare time for us," Barber said. "We sailed Sesachacha Pond on Nantucket, which is a bigger pond. It's got brackish water, so it doesn't freeze as well. It's been almost 11 years since we've done that. So, it's a really rare winter for us, but it's been great for the sport."

It's been a long cold winter, which is great for ice boating, but with milder temperatures in the forecast, Beau says it looks like this weekend may be their last winter sail of the season. They'll be on the ice in Nantucket tomorrow.