Recreational Iceboat with foot steering
Freshly sharpened runners, foot steering, Douglas Fir mast, boom and plank.
Good Dacron sail and Harken ratchet block.
$700$550
Bring an iceboat home when visiting Door County, WI this summer.
920-252-1114
UPDATE: Funeral Information
Date: Friday, June 26
Visitation: 9 AM – 11 AM
Service: 11 AM
Location: Delavan United Methodist Church 213 S. 2nd Street, Delavan, WI. LINK TO MAP
Memorials in Janes name may be directed to Geneva Lake Sailing School LINK or Green Lake Area Animal Shelter.
Arrangements made by Toynton Funeral Home, 328 Kenosha Street, Walworth, WI (262) 275-2171.
Susie requests that if you attend the funeral, please wear your sailing apparel.
Jane Pegel Archives
Via Susie Pegel
Jane Pegel died this morning, June 6, 2026, at the age of 92. Jane began her iceboating career sailing a Skeeter I-169 named “Holy Smoke.” Around 1956 she made the transition to DNs, first racing with number 305 and later 805. She was DN class champion in 1961 and 1963 and served as DN technical committee chairperson for decades. She was in the group that founded the National Iceboat Authority that formulated right-of-way rules for iceboats. Jane met her husband Bob Pegel while iceboating. Jane is survived by daughter Susie Pegel (formerly DN 905) and grand-cat Sweet Pea who was adopted from the animal shelter in Green Lake in 2020.
Many of today’s sailors may not realize how much of the sport they enjoy was shaped by Jane’s work and dedication. She was a competitor, an organizer, a rule maker, and a trailblazer whose influence extended far beyond her own racing career.
Our thoughts are with her daughter, Susie Pegel, family, and friends. Susie reports that a funeral service is being arranged, likely for later in June.
Fair winds, Jane.
RESULTS
The photos tell the story. This looks like one of those events people will regret missing, with a lot of “you had to be there” stories coming out of Jungo Yacht Club.
After three days of racing in a variety of wind conditions, 5-time DN World Champion and 14-time DN North American Champion Ron Sherry claimed victory in the A Fleet with 12 points. Daniel Hearn, who invited Ron and Leon Lebeau to Nevada and supplied the boats they sailed, finished second with 16 points. Not bad for Ron’s first attempt at land sailing and his transition from ice to dirt was clearly successful.
When Daniel called and suggested the trip, Ron didn’t need much convincing. “Leon and I have been wanting to try that forever,” Ron recalled.
Daniel arrived with a trailer full of land yachts. Scott Dale provided the venue, having purchased the property and developed Jungo Yacht Club into one of the premier land sailing destinations in North America. During the day, sailors raced. At night, everyone gathered around campfires, shared meals, and traded stories.
Forty-six boats competed, divided evenly between A and B Fleets, with 23 boats in each fleet. In B Fleet, Reed Lorimer took top honors. The Mini-Max team competition, which paired one A Fleet sailor with one B Fleet sailor, added another dimension to the regatta. Augie Dale and Reed Lorimer captured the team title, while Ron Sherry and Leon Lebeau finished second.
One of the highlights came Saturday evening during a night sail under the full moon. Sailors raced a relay course using giant glow sticks as marks, creating the kind of scene that sounds almost too good to be true until you see the photographs.
Congratulations to Scott Dale and the Jungo Yacht Club crew for creating what appears to have been an unforgettable event.
Something tells me a few ice sailors just added Jungo Yacht Club to their bucket list. For Daniel Hearn and several others, the adventure began months ago in Damien Luyet’s shop, where the gang has been logging long hours building a fleet of Mini Skeeters in preparation for this event. Kudos to Daniel Hearn for putting people in boats, no matter what the surface!
Jungo sunset. Photo: Tim Bellard
Sherry Opens with Three Bullets at the Mini-Max Regatta
Results
Yesterday, Friday, May 29, was the first day of racing at Jungo Yacht Club near Winnemucca, Nevada.
After rain flooded the playa earlier in the week, conditions improved quickly as expected. The water disappeared, the surface dried, and sailors were able to get in some training on Thursday afternoon before racing began on Friday.
Last night, Leon Lebeau called in with a report from the playa.
The wind was blowing around 30 mph, and you can hear it in the videos. Speeds were impressive. Leon reported that Daniel Hearn recorded a run of 60 knots. (i’ll post a short video in the 4LIYC Facebook group.)
Leon and Ron Sherry were both highly complimentary of Jungo Yacht Club, the land sailing facility created by Scott Dale. Iceboaters will recognize the family name. Scott’s father is Bill Dale of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, a longtime Skeeter sailor.
The fleet self-selected into A and B divisions. In addition to the individual competition, sailors are also competing in a team event. Each team consists of one A Fleet sailor paired with one B Fleet sailor, with their combined scores determining the team standings. Leon is competing in B Fleet while Ron is sailing in A Fleet. Leon said the format adds another layer of fun to the regatta and keeps sailors engaged throughout the fleet. (Ron and Leon are hot-bunking a Mini-Skeeter, provided by Daniel Hearn.)
While Leon was on the phone, Ron stepped into the motorhome, giving me a chance to ask how land sailing compares to iceboating.
“The vibration,” Ron said. The constant vibration as the tires roll over the playa surface was one of the biggest differences to get used to.
Whatever the adjustment, it didn’t seem to slow him down. Ron opened the regatta with three bullets in the A fleet and leads the standings after the first day. Daniel Hearn stands in second place. Reed Lorimer is in first in the B fleet.
One thing noticeable in the photos is that everyone is wrapped up in jackets. Winnemucca sits in Nevada’s high desert, and temperatures can be surprisingly cool, especially once the sun begins to drop behind the mountains.
Leon also spoke highly of the sense of community that land sailing creates. Unlike many racing venues, everyone is essentially living together out on the playa. Campfires, shared meals, stories, and bench racing become a big part of the experience.
Last night, the sailors gathered for a group dinner before preparing for another day on the desert.
NOT ICE!
Some people just can’t get enough of what iceboating brings.
The waiting for weather to cooperate. The endless discussions about runners (tires in this case), alignment, wood, ice (dirt), and speed. The camaraderie that comes from chasing conditions with friends who understand why any of this matters in the first place.
Several ice sailors, including 4liyc Renegader Damien Luyet, 4liyc sails-one-of-everything Daniel Hearn, DN Champ Ron Sherry, DN and Skeeter sailor Leon Lebeau, DNers Pete Johns, Ken Smith, Tim Ballard, and long time Montana dirt and ice sailors John and Scott Eisenlohr, and likely others I’ve missed, arrived near Winnemucca, Nevada yesterday for land sailing at the Jungo Yacht Club playa.
But Mother Nature had other ideas.
Rain turned the playa into an actual lake and served as a reminder that a dry lake bed is still a lake when enough water shows up. Photos from the scene looked more like an iceboat regatta venue than a land sailing site.
The good news is that desert conditions usually work fast. If the weather cooperates, the standing water should dry quickly and could leave behind the dirt equivalent of Hollywood ice. Maybe “Hollywood dirt.”
Sailors spent the lay day camped out in motorhomes, swapping stories and waiting for the playa to come back to life. Reports this morning suggest they’ve now found a way into camp and may be racing soon.
Hopefully we’ll be getting more reports from the gang out west as the playa dries and the wheels finally start turning.
First Rule: Find breakfast
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
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.
