From 1937. This is likely an iceboat designed by Ted Mead of Chicago, IL.
Ran across these marvelous magazine covers during internet travels. They make me wonder the fate of the originals and make me hope they are being enjoyed somewhere by someone.
“When you’re bored and you have iceboating on your mind, you build crazy trimming contraptions in your basement. Lo and behold, Tom Sweitzer sends me a picture of the one he had already made except it was on his porch overlooking the British Virgin Islands! #iceboatLife”
2020 Nite Nats champion Chad Rechcygl explains how he went from “seeing how long he could stay in a hike” to winning the Nite Nationals. He set goals, took to heart what his fellow Nite sailors and mentors told him, tracked his progress, and committed to an off season physical regiment. Chad’s article is a glimpse into the mindset of serious iceboat racers.
I appreciate those who reached out to me and asked me to write an article on my path to winning the 2020 Nite National Championship. To be able to do this means a lot to me and it is still so surreal. It is nice to look back and see the progression. Over the years I made note of my mistakes and implemented solutions. I watched footage to see where I could improve performance. I also tracked my races using the Ski Tracks App on my phone to study laylines, boat speed and buoy roundings.
To simplify I followed 3 simple rules:
1) Learn Something from Every Race
2) Never Quit a Race
3) Apply new knowledge
Hang on as you ride the plank with Steve Orlebeke back in 2016 on Lake Kegonsa.
Here’s a clip from our friends on Lake Scugog in Canada from last weekend. Happy to learn that other iceboaters from Canada and the east coast have connected with them. Expect to see more ice sailors on Scugog!
Previous: Renegades Get Another Day in Canada
Previous: When Ben Franklin Ordered Iceboat Plans
So yesterday, I sent an email to the Founder’s Online, where I found the letters detailing Benjamin Franklin’s request back in 1767 to have a set of iceboat plans drawn for him by Holland’s “ship builder of the Admiralty.” Someone from Founder’s Online was very kind to respond this morning and include two scans of the ice yacht plans. The scans are in very poor condition and I did what could in Photoshop to clean them up. I’ll continue to look for better scans but in the meantime, enjoy these! Chasing down Ben’s iceboat blueprints have opened up a rabbit hole into historic ice yacht plans. I’ll post more in the coming days.
For fun, a comparison an old style Dutch iceboat still sailing in 2020 and detail from Ben Franklin’s iceboat plan.
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.
