The 2002 Northwest Ice Yacht Regatta was sailed at Sunnyside Resort on Lake Kegonsa, February 15, 16, 17, 2002. Because Sunnyside is only minutes from my house, I was in the unique position to keep a web journal during the regatta.

THE NIYA-SOME HISTORY: Dateline January 13, 1913.Wisconsin State Journal. "Representatives of Oshkosh, Madison, Menominee, and Marinette met at the Hotel Menominee this morning and discussed future of the new NIYA, Emil Fauerbach of Madison commended the Mendota Ice Yacht Club highly in their action in establishing a renewal of the sport and declared that he would do everything in his power to aid the new organization in every manner possible. LF Porter, of Madison, a man who has been connected with several water and ice craft organizations, gave some timely and instructive suggestions in regard to the proper manner of conducting the association. He proposed having two delegates from each club present at a future gathering and from a constitution and by laws at that time."

WEDNESDAY FEB 20: I've posted an Insanity Photo Gallery because it was one of the most-photographed boats of the Northwest Regatta. Insanity, the new front-seater Skeeter class, was built by Dan Clapp of New Jersey. I'd also like to put a plug in for Jon Soyka, the Canadian videographer who endures for hours at the weather mark so that he may bring you exciting ice boating videos. Jon's taking orders for his 2002 Northwest Ice Yacht Regatta tape and you'll find information on the Merchandise Page. After having seen the 2001 Stern Steerer video, I also highly recommend that video for some spectacular shots, interviews, and racing footage.

TUESDAY, FEB 19: Just posted more photos. These were sent by David Travis. Dave is new to the Skeeter fleet, having recently purchased Ken Kreider's Skeeter. Look for more photos soon. Thanks for the encouraging emails from those of you who have been following the regatta.

MONDAY FEB 18 1:30 PM: The photo gallery is finally posted. Be sure to check back once in a while because people are usually kind enough to send photos and stories. There is an interesting photo of one of the New Jersey boats in today's Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel and it is the photo of the day on their website. It looks like Jordan Glaser's Attitude with Rick Stavola's sail.

Home of the Champions-Renegade Class
From left: Don Anderson 1st place, Tim McCormick 2nd, Jack Ripp 3rd, Greg Simon 4th, Jim Nordhaus, winner of Renegade race #1.

SUNDAY FEB 17, 4:00 PM: I've got an unformatted results page up, will clean it up Monday. Big congratulations to the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club's own Commodore, Don Anderson, who sailed his Easy Rider Renegade to victory in either his first or second NIYA that he has ever sailed. Green Bay's Jay Yaeso took first in the Skeeters, John Dennis in the DNs, Jeff Seeboth took top honors in overall Stern Steerers and Class C Stern Steerers, Marv Luck was first in the D Stern Steerers, and Steve Schalk won the E Boecraft Skeeter division. The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club was well represented in the top Renegade positions, congratulations to second place Tim McCormick , third place Jack Ripp, and fourth place Greg Simon. Sunday was cold, but there was no wind and the regatta was declared sailed. It's been a long but fun three days and I'm going to relax now. Look for more photos and stories all this week.

SUNDAY, FEB 17, 2002, 7:30 AM: Last night's banquet was well attended at the Sunnyside Resort. ISA Secretary Paul Krueger announced that the ISA is tentatively called on, but check again on Wednesday. I'm not sure if it's called on for Kegonsa, or somewhere else. Will have more information later. I think they are still looking for ice anywhere. A stretch of warm temperatures are again forecasted for the Madison area thus making Kegonsa's ice an endangered species. Winds are very light today, a marked change from the last two days. In the Renegades, only 1 point separate first place Don Anderson and second place Tim McCormick. Jack Ripp could also be a factor in this battle. There is a tight battle for overall first place in the Skeeter fleet, Tom Hyslop and Jay Yaeso are also one point apart. John Dennis currently holds first place in the DNs with David Kickhafer second. I'll have official final results tonight or early tomorrow.

SATURDAY, FEB 16, 4:00 PM: HE"S BAAACK: Today's wind was heavier, blowing a steady 20 with 25 mph gusts. Add hard ice, and you've got the recipe for another memorable day of ice sailing. An evening of mast repair at Bill Mattison's Ice Boat Shop put Dan Clapp back on track in his new Insanity, one of the more striking boats I've seen. Dan won the two Skeeter races with huge leads. 4LIYC Bob Kau took a second and a third. Bill Dale placed third in the first race, and Tom Hyslop sailed to a second in the second race. In the DNs, the top three finishers for the first race were Steve Orlebeke, David Kickhafer, and John Dennis. Race two: John Harper, David Kickhafer, John Dennis. (Apologies for mangling some spelling here, will correct on Monday). Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Commodore Don Anderson sailed to his first Renegade regatta victory in the first Renegade race with a tremendous lead over second place Greg Simon. The second Renegade race proved that Jack Ripp is always the man to beat as he continued his Regatta race winning streak. Greg Simon brought home second and Donny Anderson was third. Steve Schalk is leading the B Skeeters. One of the best sights of the day was a Channel 15 reporter who braved the blustery conditions and hitched a ride to the race line in just his suit coat and tie and no hat. Film at 6PM tonight. Regatta photos dominated the front page of Madison's Capital Times today. I'll look for a link later. Sunnyside Resort on Lake Kegonsa, a family-owned restaurant now in the hands of the third generation, deserves a pat on the back for keeping us well taken care of with food and drinks. It's nice to see sailors relaxing at the tables in front of the big screen watching the ice boat videos brought by Don Sanford and Jon Soyka. Photo gallery will be posted Monday, we're getting ready for the banquet at Sunnyside.

FRIDAY FEB 15, 8:00 PM: Any day on the ice is a great day and today was one of them. The discovery of a small to medium size hole a few minutes before the first race was cause for concern. Two four-wheelers were sent out to scan the lake and mark any holes. Meanwhile, everyone sailed back in to Sunnyside for an early lunch and some waiting-around. Thankfully, there were no other holes discovered and racing was called on for 1:00. The ice was in relatively better condition than Thursday and the winds blew out of the Northeast 15-19 mph. The ice did soften and there was talk of hooking some big ruts. Because of the questionable ice, Rick Hennig and Fred Stritt wisely decided not to take out their big boats, the Deuce and the Fritz. But just seeing the Fritz and the Deuce set up in the pits was a welcome sight. Canadian videographer Jon Soyka was parked at the top mark all day. He'll have 2002 NIYA videos for sale soon, I'm sure. There was a local newspaper reporter taking pictures and notes today. Don Sanford says that a couple of the Madison TV stations will be out to do some filming on Saturday. One of the stories of the day was New Jersey skipper Dan Clapp's mast breaking during the morning on his brand new front-seater Skeeter. Fellow competitor and 4LIYC Skeeter skipper Bill Mattison offered Dan the use of his boat. Bill wasn't feeling up to par and Dan took him up on his offer to sail Bill's open-cockpit style Honeybucket. The racing went off at 1 PM without a hitch and each class was able to run two races, a great way to start off a regatta. Unofficial Results: DN Race 1: John Dennis, David Kickhafer; Race 2: John Dennis, Markham Chatterton, Steve Orlebeke. Renegade: Race 1: Jim Nordhaus, Tim McCormick, Don Anderson; Race 2: Tim McCormick, Greg McCormick, Gordon Stefanek. Skeeters: Race 1 Jay Yaeso, Buddy Melges, Tom Hyslop; Race 2 Jay Yaeso, Tom Hyslop, Buddy Melges. DNer John Dennis and Skeeter pilot Jay Yaeso had their boats hooked up today and both won with impressive leads. After racing, the 4LIYC sponsored a half barrel so that the skippers could do a little bench racing.
Temps are forecasted for the 20s tonight, and the ice should be nice and hard tomorrow and winds about the same as today. I snapped 57 pictures today and am too tired to go through and edit for posting. Tomorrow will be another great day on the ice.

FRIDAY, FEB 15, 7:00 AM: Temperatures did not go as low as forecasted and are barely above freezing as I type this. This warm winter has been a curse worldwide. One of our Dutch Ice Sailing friends emailed last night and said that even Sweden doesn't have much ice, not to mention Holland. The Dutch club is getting together this weekend for some RC boat racing. The bad weather I can deal with, but am tired of chirpy local TV weather readers extolling the virtues of the mild winter. Off to the lake.

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 5:00 PM: Part of the East Coast contingent were already stationed at Sunnyside's bar having just arrived when we walked in at lunch time. They had left New Jersey at 7 PM Wednesday night and drove through the night straight to Lake Kegonsa. The three Dan Clapp-built Skeeters were unloaded and provoked the most interest on the ice. Attitude is sporting a new blue paint scheme. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to get a good look at Dan's new boat because it is partly covered up. Marv Luck shared a photo album filled with historical photos of the Oshkosh boats. He promises more tomorrow after sailing. There were quite a few stern-steerers setting up including Ron Schloemer's Pterodactyl (glad I have spell check) a ca. 1910 Buckstaff-built boat, Bill Bentsen's Taku, Richard Litchfield's Miss Madison, and Marv Luck's Long Tall Sally. 20 to 30 boats are on the ice. And what of the ice? The warm temperatures and heavy winds brought the water to the surface. The ice is a different animal from yesterday, and even this morning. I have a feeling that it will be soft tomorrow. I'll post photos later tonight after dinner out, it is Valentines Day!

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 8:00 AM: Wow, just checked the message board and thrilled to see that the world's largest ice boat, the Deuce will be here along with Madison-built Fritz, and the Taku.

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 7:15 AM: Luckily we had our regularly scheduled club meeting last night to go over the logistics of hosting a major regatta. DNer Doug Kolner and Renegade skipper Jerry Simon reported on the day's sailing activities at Lake Kegonsa. They said that the Skeeter delegation was well represented by Bill Mattison, Bob Kau, Tom Hyslop, Buddy Melges, Bill Dale, and Gary Buyeske. Skeeter Ice Yacht Club's Jane Pegel also brought her years of experience to help check the ice. Doug Kolner sailed his DN and described 10-12" of ice, no holes or heaves, and a large course. With temperatures expected to reach the mid 40s today, it is advised that sailors keep off the course to keep it in good condition. Vehicles were able to drive on and off the ice in order to drop off trailers. But, as many of you well know, Dane County does not allow vehicles to remain on the ice, therefore, pull your vehicle off after dropping off the trailer. I'll be heading to Kegonsa sometime today and report back with photos and more news.

Final Results
Class E Skeeters

Pos	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts	Notes


1st	U311	Jay Yaeso	1	1	RDG/2	4	8.0	In Race #3 U311 was awarded average points of 2 for a total of 8
2nd	V738	Tom Hyslop	3	2	4	2	11.0
3rd	V66	Bill Dale	7	5	3	6	21.0
4th	M165	Paul Krueger	8	10	5	5	28.0
5th	M162	Bob Kau	6	DNF	2	3	34.0
6th	U451	Gary Buyeske	4	15	6	9	34.0
7th	I180	Buddy Melges	2	3	DNF	10	38.0
8th	M13	Brian Anderson	11	11	10	11	43.0
9th	N53	Dan Clapp	DNC	DNC	1	1	48.0
10th	C928	Jordan Glaser	18	12	12	7	49.0
11th	M163	Gary Whitehorse	15	18	9	8	50.0
12th	M838	Bill Hanson	12	9	8	DNF	52.0
13th	2	Skip Stauber	14	16	11	12	53.0
14th	N106	Rick Stavola	5	4	DNC	DNC	55.0
15th	Z740	Chip Sawyer	17	13	14	13	57.0
16th	GL854	John Hudak	16	14	13	14	57.0
17th	I1	Britt Isham/Hans Melges	10	6	DNC	DNC	62.0
18th	M134	Bill Mattison/Dan Clapp	9	8	DNC	DNC	63.0
19th	V101	Dave Koch	13	7	DNC	DNC	66.0
20th	I329	David Travis	DNF	17	DNC	DNC	86.0
21st	M20	Pete Lichtfeld	DNS	DNS	DNC	DNC	92.0
21st	V500	Peter Harken	DNS	DNS	DNC	DNC	92.0

Final Results
A-Stern Steerers

Pos	Class	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	A	A6	Rick Henning	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	24.0
1st	A	I1	Bill Bentsen	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	24.0
1st	A	I12	Ron Schloemer	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	24.0
1st	A	Miss Madison	Dick & Pete Litchfield	DNC	DNF	DNS	DNS	24.0
1st	A	A5	Fred Strit	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	24.0

Final results
NIYA CLASS C

Pos	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st	V0	Jeff Seeboth	1	1	1	1		4.0
2nd	C2	Pete McCormick	2	2	2	2		8.0

Final Results
NIYA CLASS D

Pos	Fleet	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st		D2	Marvin Luck	1	1	DNF	1		6.0
2nd		V11	Jay Seeboth	2	2	1	2		7.0

Final Results
NIYA CLASS E - Boecraft

Pos	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	I564	Steve Schalk	1	1	1	3	6.0
2nd	I376	Burley Brellenthin	2	2	2	1	7.0
3rd	I406	Chuck Kaye	3	3	3	2	11.0

Final Results
DN Class

Pos	Sail No	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts	Notes
1st	4691	John Dennis	1	1	3	3	8.0
2nd	4602	David Kickhafer	2	5	2	2	11.0
3rd	4926	Steve Orlebeke	5	3	1	6	15.0
4th	9	John Haper	3	8	4	1	16.0
5th	4961	John Davenport	4	4	6	5	19.0
6th	5014	Mark Isabell	6	7	5	4	22.0
7th	602	Tom Meyer	9	11	7	7	34.0
8th	294	Lou Lonnecke	7	10	9	8	34.0
9th	2301	Dan Bierman	12	6	10	9	37.0
10th	4811	Markham Chatterton	10	2	17	10	39.0
11th	4923	John Loomis	11	14	14	12	51.0
12th	4257	Jim Glueck	8	9	8	DNS	54.0
13th	4987	Doug Kolner	15	16	13	11	55.0
14th	1313	Bob Rast	16	12	18	14	60.0
15th	4249	Rick Kaiser	18	18	16	13	65.0
16th	4319	Erich Schloemer	13	13	11	DNS	66.0
17th	4140	Peter Hoeper	17	15	19	16	67.0
18th	3936	Eric Wilson	14	19	20	18	71.0
19th	4203	Pat Fitzgerald	DNC	DNC	12	15	85.0
20th	2366	Dustin Whitehorse	22	21	22	21	86.0
21st	3575	Patrick Stadt	21	20	23	23	87.0
22nd	4293	Paul Schuette	DNS	DNS	15	17	90.0
23rd	805	Jane Pegel	19	17	DNS	DNS	94.0
24th	2057	Grady Ganta	DNF	22	24	24	99.0	Junior
25th	3417	Jerry Ebert	DNC	DNC	21	22	101.0
26th	360	Jeff Sobering	DNC	DNC	25	20	103.0
27th	4893	Kyle Metzloff	DNC	DNC	DNC	19	106.0
28th	2377	Bob McKesson	20	DNS	DNS	DNS	107.0

Final Results
Renegade Class

Pos Class Sail No Crew R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts

2/15/02 2/15/02

1st Renegade 420 Don Anderson 3 5 1 3 12.0

2nd Renegade 385 Tim McCormick 2 1 7 4 14.0

3rd Renegade 11 Jack Ripp 6 6 5 1 18.0

4th Renegade 213 Greg Simon 9 10 2 2 23.0

5th Renegade 403 Gordan Stefinick 11 3 3 7 24.0

6th Renegade 400 Jim Nordhaus 1 12 9 5 27.0

7th Renegade 188 Mike Derusha 8 8 6 6 28.0

8th Renegade 507 Dan Hearn 5 4 11 13 33.0

9th Renegade 422 Mike Ripp 7 7 12 9 35.0

10th Renegade 310 Greg McCormick 10 2 15 12 39.0

11th Renegade 210 Arlyn Lafortune 4 17 4 17 42.0

12th Renegade 505 John Lamont 14 9 13 11 47.0

13th Renegade 500 Greg Whitehorse 15 11 10 14 50.0

14th Renegade 441 Bill Korsgard 13 16 16 10 55.0

15th Renegade 10 Loren Sherry 18 DSQ 8 8 57.0

16th Renegade 13 Jerry Simon 12 15 18 15 60.0

17th Renegade 54 Tim Stanton 17 13 14 16 60.0

18th Renegade 373 Jim Hopkins 16 18 17 19 70.0

19th Renegade 416 John Ayres DNF 19 19 18 79.0

20th Renegade 417 Clay Georgeson 20 14 DNC DNC 80.0

21st Renegade 462 Ken Norton 19 20 DNC DNC 85.0

22nd Renegade 9 Bob Pegel DNS DNS DNC DNC 92.0

Final Results
NIYA Sternsteerer - overall

Pos Sail No Crew R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts

1st V0 Jeff Seeboth 2 2 1 3 8.0

2nd D2 Marvin Luck 1 1 DNF 1 9.0

3rd V11 Jay Seeboth 3 3 2 2 10.0

4th C2 Pete McCormick 4 4 3 4 15.0

5th Miss Madison Dick & Pete Litchfeld DNS 5 DNC DNC 23.0

February 15, 2002
The Regatta Begins
Conditions: NNW Winds 14-17 mph
Ice became soft as the day wore on
Photo Credit: Deb Whitehorse
Standing by while the lake is scanned for holes.	More standing around.	The Fritz
	The mighty Deuce, the world's largest ice boat.	Towards Sunnyside
The McCormick's Twin Beds	Twin Beds, C Class Stern Steerer	Miss Mischief, Jeff Seeboth's C Class Stern Steerer
Marv Luck's D Style Stern Steerer	Bill Dale Skeeter Class Cold Reality	Burley Brellenthin's B Class Skeeter
Steve Schalk's B Class Skeeter	Jack Ripp moments before the flag drops. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.	Clay Georgeson Renegade Class
Mike Ripp Renegade Class	54 Tim Stanton & Arlyn Lafortune Renegade Class	Renegades on the race line.
Renegades	Skeeters on the race line	Skeeters on the line

February 16, 2002
Day 2
Photo Credits: Harry Whitehorse
Conditions: The ice was harder than on Friday and the winds were blowing NW 16-20 with gusts to 25 mph.

Sunday, February 17, 2002
Day 3
Conditions: No wind, no sailing.
Photo Credits: Deb Whitehorse, David Travis

Insanity
New Jersey's Dan Clapp unveiled his new front-seat Skeeter class ice boat at the Northwest Regatta. In the hours before the first regatta race, the mast broke and Dan sailed Bill Mattison's Honeybucket in competition that day. That same evening, repairs were made at the Mattison Ice Boat shop and Insanity reigned on the regatta's second day.

INSANITY-THE GRAPHICS
What appears to be random swirls in the stripe are, upon closer inspection, hand painted words and doodles. Many famous names, boats, places, and ice yacht clubs are found in the stripe.
Photo credits: Deb Whitehorse