SINCLAIR, Maine — Hundreds of volunteers who set out to create a world record-sized ice carousel on Long Lake in Sinclair saw their perseverance pay off on Saturday as they were able to make a 22 million pound circular chunk of ice spin, despite previous attempts thwarted by Mother Nature.
The volunteers used augers and chainsaws to cut a 427-foot diameter circle through some 31 inches of Long Lake ice over three days in March, but weren’t able to get the free floating ice chunk to spin more than six inches, before extreme cold caused edges of the carousel to refreeze in places.
Four outboard engines like this one were used to rotate a massive 427-foot diameter circle of ice cut out of Long Lake in Sinclair over the April 7-8 weekend. Volunteers say it’s large enough to beat the old record of a 400-foot ice carousel held by a town in Finland.
Paul Cyr Photography
Armed with the knowledge they acquired that weekend and in anticipation of warmer temperatures, enthusiastic volunteers returned to Long Lake this weekend to try again. After cutting through and widening the trench this time, crews set up four outboard motors and at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday began to rotate the carousel in earnest.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister website, Fiddlehead Focus. To read the rest of “Perseverance pays off as County residents create world record ice carousel,” an article by Fiddlehead Focus staff writer Jessica Potila, please follow this link to the Fiddlehead Focus online.
