Feature Article January 30, 2002
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Sharbot Lake Snowmobile Drags in planning stagesby David BrisonGary Parks presided over a planning session for the drag races, which are scheduled for February 23, amid uncertainty that there will be enough ice to support the event.
The planning committee met on Thursday at Katies Pub at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn to divvy up responsibilities for running the event. There were around 15 present, and they all seemed willing to do their share to make the races, which were in Sharbot Lake last year for the first time, a success. There were plenty of ideas for making the races run even more smoothly than they did last year. The Central Frontenac recreation committee is again sponsoring the event, and Cathy MacMunn was present to represent the council.
But will the weather cooperate? With less than a month to go, there is still open water on Sharbot Lake, although there are fishing shacks on St. Georges Lake. The event will have to be cancelled if there isnt 10-12 inches of solid ice. Organizers can wait until the Monday before the event to cancel.
Eastern Ontario is in the midst of what could turn out to be the warmest winter in the 63 years that Environment Canada has been keeping records. The jet stream is positioned just north of the Great Lakes, and is preventing cold air from the north from coming south. Environment Canada forecasts another warm week for the region.
Lloyd B. Jones, the author of The Dammed Lakes an environmental history of Crow and Bobs Lakes, has been watching the ice come in and go out on our lakes for a long time. Two years ago, there was still open water on Crow Lake on January 20, he reports. I had never seen or heard about it being that late. This is even later. The lakes in this area usually freeze between Christmas and New Years, and over the years there hasnt been much variation in that. Historically, most of the fatal accidents where people have gone through the ice have been before Christmas.
Lloyd notes that in 1854, it snowed in every month of the year.
A high-pressure system could still stabilize in the area and bring much colder weather. However, would that result in the required 10 -12 inches of ice? If the event has to be cancelled, it could be rescheduled at a later date in March, according to race coordinator Gary Parks.
