UPCOMING:
4LIYC Meeting : December 4, 2024 @ Elks Lodge More Information
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
Regatta Watch: 2024 Nite Nationals Tentatively Called On
Via International Nite Class Commodore Maureen Bohleber:
The 2024 Nite Nationals are tentatively called on for December 7-8. Come a day early and enjoy some pick up races to get those spider webs out of the way.
Lake Puckaway, WI is looking good. Located west of Green Lake it has produced early ice before with regatta performance ice. Presently it has at least 2 inches of solid ice near shore and looks like a 10. We will give you an additional update on Wednesday 12/4. There is a good possibility we may share the course with the Renegades.
Regatta Watch: 2024 Renegade Championship Tentatively Called ON
The 2024 International Renegade Association Championship is tentatively called on for Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8, 2024.
The potential location is Lake Puckaway near Princeton, WI. While final confirmation will be posted by Thursday, December 5, at noon, our scouts expect to have an update by Wednesday, December 4.
Stay tuned for updates as we finalize the plans. Dust off your gear, prepare your Renegades, and get ready for a weekend of sailing
Minnesota First!
Who claims the title of the first iceboat sailed in North America this season? That’s hard to say, but Minnesota definitely takes the win for the first ice! Reports of ice are popping up all over the state, lighting up Facebook feeds. While the honor of being first is unclear, we do have a report from Pat Heppert, who got his mini-Skeeter on the ice today:
“A fantastic day to sail today. A little bit cold. My repaired bulkhead is good. All my mods for single Allen wrench assembly are good. I love iceboating!”
The season is officially underway—are your runner sharp?
Flying with Bald Eagles after Turkey Day
Via Minnesota C Skeeter skipper Pat Heppert
“Blade Nite” in Minnesota
The largest Nite iceboat club in Minnesota, the Bald Eagle Ice Yacht Club, gathered last night for the annual “Blade Night” runner sharpening party and kick-off to the season. Not only is this the largest iceboat club in Minnesota, it is also arguably the best dressed, with plenty of custom club attire worn and available for purchase. Commodore John Stasieluk was gracious enough to host in his 2-story barn filled with iceboats and workshop machinery. While the upstairs social area was kept toasty warm with heaters and sailor’s hot air, the downstairs was maintained at a perfect runner sharpening chill for serious business.
Among the comradery of lifelong friendships and numerous conversations, every once in a while you would hear someone shout out the battle cry of the BEIYC, “Nite Nats!” While some of the fleet is laser focused on aspiring to dominate the top echelon of Nite fleet for certain lifelong glory, 100% of the fleet is focused on creating a fun atmosphere that is welcoming and inviting to all who want to participate in sailing. A great kick-off to the season, here we come, “Nite Nats!”
Russian River Renegade Mast
“Half the wood goes on the floor.” – Doug
4LIYC Renegader Doug Kolner has been hard at work in his Monona, WI workshop this fall, building a Renegade mast from reclaimed timber sourced from California’s Russian River. With temperatures dipping to 18F this morning around the 4LIYC area, this project is right on schedule. Doug has been in the shop “making dust,” as the late Bill Mattison used to say. Doug discovered an unusual supplier in California that salvages trees, originally logged many years ago, which settled at the bottom of the Russian River. This unique redwood will now find new life on the ice.
Regatta Watch: 2024 International Skeeter Association Possibilities
Photo: Will Johnston
ISA HOME PAGE
2024 ISA NOTICE OF RACE
Via ISA Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
JD has reconvened the 2024 ISA Race Committee. The normal process will restart, with the Sunday prior to the regatta used to review ice reports and make a call on with a likely location.
The Committee will be taking advantage of the DN Western Challenge taking place on the weekend of December 7th, to get very complete information on ice thickness, area, quality and launch access.
The most likely first date for the regatta is December 13th, 14th and 15th 2024. The location will likely be in the general vicinity of Alexandria Minnesota. Once the first meeting is held an update will be posted.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
Happy Thanksgiving
Thankful for Ice Sailing
Time to ReShuffle: 2025 Senior Shuffle Notice of Race
Previous: Senior Shuffle Announcement from last season
The DN Senior Shuffle Regatta is ready for Round 2! We’re picking up where we left off last year, so if you already paid, you’re good to go – no extra shuffling required. Just make sure to send in your most recent proof of liability insurance. Please send to debwhitehorse@iceboat.org.
WHAT TO KNOW
2025 DN Senior Shuffle
NOTICE OF RACE
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Dates: January 6 – 8, 2025 (the 3 days after the 2025 Western Region Championship)
Location: TBA, same location at 2025 Western Region Championship
Eligibility:
• Open to Seniors (50-59), Masters (60-69) and Grand Masters (70+) who will race under Shuffle Rules with one start.
• Open to “aspiring” Seniors (49 or younger) who will also race under Shuffle Rules possibly with a separate start.
Entries: Click here to see list of entries.
Want to join the fun? Click here to register.
4LIYC Iceboats Make Master Plan
This may be a signal that the 4LIYC should purchase giant inflatable ducks.
The City of Madison has released its Lake Monona Waterfront redevelopment plan. I was surprised to see a computer-generated image featuring two iceboats on Lake Monona near John Nolen Drive.
Iceboating has been a fixture on Madison’s lakes for over 100 years. Our history is tied to the city’s identity—our photos are used to promote Madison, and our presence on the frozen lakes adds to the city’s uniqueness. It’s heartening to see our sport recognized as part of what makes Madison unique. Iceboating is not just a pastime; it’s a tradition and a celebration of the frozen beauty of our lakes. The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is grateful for the acknowledgment. Madison’s lakes and shoreline are central to the city’s identity, and iceboating is proud to be part of that legacy.
So, as Madison continues to embrace its lakes and shoreline, we’ll keep sailing—just as we have for over 100 years. See you on the ice!
Remembering Lou Loenneke
Lou Loenneke flying the runner in his Class A Skeeter SLAVE SHIP
UPDATE:
Lou Loenneke Celebration of Life
Wednesday, December 11
3 – 6 PM
Chuck’s Lakeshore Inn
352 Lake St, Fontana, WI
Map
The ice sailing community mourns the loss of Lou Loenneke, a Skeeter Ice Boat Club member and a valued friend to many in the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. Lou passed away peacefully in the hospital on November 15, 2024. Tributes have been pouring in on Facebook, where ice sailors are sharing memories, photos, and stories of a man who touched so many lives on and off the ice.
Lou was deeply committed to ice sailing and the community surrounding it. An avid sailor from an early age, he claimed the DN North American Junior Championship titles in 1962 and 1963. He was also an accomplished Skeeter sailor, where he won the 1970 Northwest Ice Yachting Association (NIYA) Regatta E Skeeter title and placed second in the Free For All race. His iconic Skeeter, SLAVE SHIP, appeared in a memorable advertisement for Lake Geneva’s Playboy Club during the 1970s.
Lou and life long friend, Bob Cave
In later years, Lou embraced the DN class and continued to excel. He captured the NIYA DN title six times (1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2001) and won the DN North American Silver Fleet Championship in 1980. Lou was also a dedicated leader, serving as Commodore of the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association from 2002 to 2004.
Lou was known as a generous and approachable figure in ice sailing. He freely shared his lifelong knowledge with seasoned sailors and newcomers, always striving to help others improve and enjoy the sport he loved dearly. (As an example, previous: The Old Man and the C)
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club extends its deepest sympathies to Lou’s family, the Skeeter Ice Boat Club, and the global DN community. You will be greatly missed but never forgotten.
UPDATE: Via Jason Thompson, Commodore of the Skeeter Iceboat Club in Lake Geneva, WI
Lou grew up iceboating. Once he settled in to the DN class, he and Jane Pegel anchored a deep fleet of talented sailors. Names like Pete Johns, Robert Cummins, Bob Rast, Bob Cave, Pat Fitzgerald, John Zils, Erich Schloemer, Steve Orlebeke, Chris Berger, Mike Jankowski, Erik Lonnecke, Clinton Rengi, and Scottie Button were battling on the ice for many seasons.
Like Jane and Buddy, Lou was tireless in his promotion of iceboating. Lou was an open book when it came to sharing his knowledge. When I began to race DNs I called on Jane and Scottie for advice on how to tune up. Same answer, “Go see Lou…” In the fall, Lou’s garage was packed with iceboaters, projecting and getting tuned for the season. The Wizard of Zenda would always stop in if the driveway was full. Buddy would kick the door open, “I had to park in the damn street! What the hell we working on today??”
Lou was one of the pioneers of The Western Challenge Regatta for DNs. The annual event is an amazing gathering of iceboaters looking for the first, and maybe only, ‘Hollywood Ice’ of the season. Canadian and European sailors will travel to this event which takes place on the best ice in Minnesota the first weekend of December—90 boats last year. Back in the day before the regatta, an agitated Lou would phone up Bob Cave: “You know they’ve gotten in four days of sailing in already…” referring to the MN iceboaters. Lou began to recruit sailors to head north for weekend scrub racing, laying the foundation for the Western Challenge.
I am forever indebted to Lou and Bob Cave for the hours they spent with me trying to get me and the SIBC DNs up to speed. Both incredible ambassadors. I Invision Lou is now sailing on better than Hollywood ice without the bite of frost on his hands and toes. Sheet in, Lou.
Jason Thompson, SIBC Commodore
Lou’s SLAVE SHIP in the Playboy magazine ad
Online Ship’s Store
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
4LIYC Governing Documents
Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates
- November 6
- November 20 Elections
- December 4
- December 18
- January 2 THURSDAY Honor Roll Nominations
- January 15 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- January 29
- February 12 Business Meeting
- February 26
- March 12 Last Meeting of the Season
Location: In person at the Elks Lodge 711 Jenifer St, Madison, WI 53703
Time: 6:30 PM
YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER
TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
