by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 11, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page
Some of you may remember this older video, which seemed appropriate to dust off again. For us locally, the fat lady has sung. LINK
However, the season may not be over everywhere. Minnesota and other northern areas could still get a shot if the ice and weather cooperate, so don’t completely give up.
Closer to home, we’ll wrap things up with our final club meeting of the season at Breakwater in Monona.
4LIYC Meeting
Wednesday, March 11
Time: 6:30 PM
Breakwater
6308 Inland Way
Monona, WI
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by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 10, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page
That one day…
This was one of those local seasons where we just weren’t lucky.
The Ice Gods gave us a beautiful sheet to look at on Lake Monona, but it never quite came together. The MARY B was set up on Lake Mendota for Frozen Assets Festival, but by late February, warm temperatures and rain finished off what had looked like a promising season.
Still, many of us managed to get sailing in by traveling where the ice was good, and we did get that one memorable weekend on Lake Kegonsa.
In spite of the short season close to home, let’s get together and celebrate the past winter and the seasons ahead.
Save the date:
4LIYC Spring Gathering
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Breakwater
6308 Inland Way
Monona, WI
More details soon.
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by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 6, 2026 | 2025-2026, DN, Home Page
It’s a gray, rainy day in Madison and it’s highly likely the ice season here is officially over. It’s a good day to sit down with the latest issue of the DN newsletter Runner Tracks. There’s something in it for everyone.
This issue includes two rookie race reports from sailors who found their way into the DN class by very different routes, along with articles on rules and tactics, the protest committee process, speed insights, proposed new DN plans, and the AGM minutes.
We’re also honored to include a contribution from US Sailing Herreshoff Award recipient Gordy Bowers, and grateful to Rachel Bartel from Harken for her beautiful photography throughout the issue. LINK
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by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 2, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, NIYA, Regattas, Renegade, WSSA
Lake Winnebago, February 2026.
The Race Committee decided after review of sites and the upcoming weather forecast, that the 2026 Northwest is just not going to happen. The shoreline access is the main site issue, with all locations getting much worse with high temperatures and rain in the forecast everywhere.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
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by Deb Whitehorse | Feb 28, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page
This season, major media outlets rediscovered ice sailing.
A few weeks ago, before the latest storm buried the East Coast in snow, strong ice and clear wind brought the Van Nostrand Challenge Cup back to the Navesink River in Red Bank. The historic race ignited a wave of attention. Reporters from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR took notice of ice sailing. Historic iceboats and clubs filled social media feeds with photos and video. The audience expanded in a way we rarely see.
That attention helps recruit new sailors and preserve historic clubs whose traditions stretch back more than a century. It reminds the public that this is not a curiosity, but a serious winter sport with deep American roots and active fleets from Montana to Maine.
For decades, people have asked: why not the Olympics? In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were formal discussions with the International Sailing Federation about bringing ice sailing into the Winter Games. Meetings were held. Surveys were conducted. A purpose-built Olympic ice yacht was even considered. The effort ultimately stalled, largely because the Olympics require certainty, and ice does not cooperate on a fixed schedule. Here’s an article about the situation with more detail in the DN Newsletter Runner Tracks: LINK
This season demonstrated that when conditions arrive in highly visible places, the story of the sport travels farther.
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by Deb Whitehorse | Feb 27, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page
Unseasonably warm weather across southern Wisconsin has taken a toll on the ice. Many lakes, including Lake Mendota, are now candled with shoreline loss and unsafe for racing. (Some of our members have had firsthand experience with candling on Mendota recently.) As a result, there will be no 4LIYC ice sailing on February 28 or March 1.
Candling occurs when solid ice breaks down into vertical columns and loses strength, even if the surface still appears intact. Learn more about candled ice here: LINK
In the meantime, here is an ice sailing sighting from an unexpected place.
This video captures the Range Rover campaign featuring Daniel Hearn’s C Skeeter running inside the Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York City. The Oculus serves as the main transportation hub for Lower Manhattan, with thousands of commuters passing through each day.
LINK TO VIDEO
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