21st Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War

January 19th through 22nd, 2012

Lake Lucerne
On a very cold Friday morning, 2 new form sections were fabricated and fort locations were selected by lunch time.
Lake Lucerne
By sunset, the south fort's main wall was up, forms were piled on the northern site and we were thirsty.
Lake Lucerne
Friday's lightly attended bar night saw the return of the Bailey's Comet to the north end of Lake Lucerne.
Lake Lucerne
We also toiled on our layering.
Lake Lucerne
Fort building was finished just before sunset on Saturday. The South's had 4 tubes and several wind breaks.
Lake Lucerne
The North's also boasted 4 launch tubes and camouflage.
Lake Lucerne
By just after 7:00 PM, the North and South began exchanging rockets.
Lake Lucerne
A separate camera was set up with a wireless remote 50 feet behind and to the left of the southern fort.
Lake Lucerne
The digital images from that camera were okay, but I've found that 35mm film produces a better result in capturing pictures of the bottle rocket war.
Lake Lucerne
The 35mm film camera with a new intervalometer setup dockside seemed to underscore that observation.
Lake Lucerne
A little over 3000 rockets in about an hour is a new record. A survey error placed the forts about 75% further apart than last year resulting in fewer direct hits. A wind from the south hindered the range of the north's shots. Despite the distance and the breeze, forts were pummeled and a few good shots struck combatants.
Lake Lucerne
Sunday's early morning, cloud filtered sunlight gave visual evidence (not just the muffled explosion evidence from the previous night) of many direct strikes on the North's walls.
Lake Lucerne
The South's walls were less damaged but still had more than a few craters and embedded sticks.
Lake Lucerne
It took over an hour to pick up all the red sticks. The Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War marks the middle of winter. The insanely short days and the brutal cold should be mostly behind us. Mostly, best not turn on the water and off the furnace yet. Fat Tuesday is exactly 4 weeks away as this is written, Lent one day after that and maple syruping season just a few weeks after that. Somewhere in there, the ice-out contest will be posted (check daily). The ice is over a foot thick and seems to be attracting a lot of car and truck traffic in addition to packs of wild snowmobiles (reminded me of the movie The Road Warrior, only more bundled and less Australiany). We have not been blasted with a huge storm, but the snow is starting to add up. There is about 8 inches on the ground and drifts are well over a foot deep. In a final bit of nature news, the sun is getting very stormy and, if the night sky ever clears up, we should be treated to a great aurora display.


-Nemo: bundled, not Australian.