One more ride with Rick Hennig aboard the mighty DEUCE. Fair winds to a giant of ice sailing. Link to Video
Rick Hennig passed away after a long illness on Friday, May 15, and the ice sailing community has lost a giant of a man who sailed a giant of a boat.
Rick Hennig came to define the world’s largest stern-steerer, DEUCE. Rick didn’t originally build DEUCE, but over time the boat and the man became inseparable. Towering in stature and personality, Rick seemed born to handle the wheel of a machine like that.
In 2005, Rick spearheaded the effort to build a new hull for DEUCE. Looking back now, it was about far more than rebuilding a boat. Rick brought together ice sailors from across the Midwest. Everyone showed up, and the project became a gathering point for the community itself. I realize now how important that was.
Rick was equally at home on soft water. He raced and won in some of the Great Lakes’ classic distance races, including the Chicago to Mackinac and Port Huron to Mackinac.
What also stood out about Rick was the respect he showed to the elders of ice sailing. He always honored the people who passed on their knowledge to him, especially Bill Mattison and the Pegel family, whose influence on DEUCE and stern-steerer history he never forgot.
I know many of you sailed with Rick, built with him, raced against him, or shared time in the shop, at regattas, and around DEUCE. If you have a memory, story, or photo, please share it in the comments or send me a message. I would like to include your recollections in a longer remembrance of Rick’s life.
There will be more to come in the next few days, including memories from Rick’s family and friends.
Rick was a passionate guy on the sport of sailing, whether it be water or Ice. Someone who cared about the right to do in life, never taking a shortcut, always there for you to to lend a hand & solve problems. Hauling out of Racine WI, Rick was a lifelong, competitive sailor and a good one at that. Most people here at iceboat.org remember Rick as the proud owner of the Deuce and who did a beautiful job of rebuilding her. What I remember most was his love of sailing / racing his soft-water keel boats, winning prestigious races as the Chicago Mac, Trans-Superior, Queen’s Cup, & Hook races. He enriched and taught many sailors crewing for him on the various boats 60’-70’ he owned and campaigned through the years. His boats were always the best-maintained, and he took pride in that. He valued and appreciated friendship and those around him; he was generous, well-liked, and respected. Our community lost a good one. Smooth Sailing
Eric Jones
Our condolences to the Boston family on the passing of William “Spike” Boston. Obituary
Spike was part of iceboating’s well-known Boston family of sailmakers, long connected to the sport. In the 1950s, his family built a scaled-down skeeter called PINK PINK. It wasn’t a toy, but a real iceboat, proportioned like the big boats. It wasn’t a full-sized racer, but one of the most memorable Skeeters of its time.
The short clip above shows him as a boy with the boat at the 1952 Northwest regatta sailed on Lake Monona. The photos that follow place it in context. Pink Pink alongside Ferdinand the Bull, the big stern steerer. The boat at the 1952 Northwest Regatta. And Spike standing with the winners, small among them.
BULL & PINK PINK, the Boston family mini-Skeeter on Lake St. Clair in Detroit
Spike Boston’s miniature Skeeter, PINK PINK
1952 Northwest Winners. I believe this may be Spike in the front row.
From Yachting World
By Toby Heppell
April 30, 2026
To understand what happened in Red Bank, New Jersey, in the first 10 days of February this year, you first have to understand the cold.
This wasn’t a regular winter. This was a freeze for the ages. A polar vortex settled over the US North-east like it had nowhere else to be, sending wind chills plunging to 20 below zero and locking waterways in ice that hadn’t been this thick in decades.
The Hudson River froze. The East River froze. New York Harbour froze. NYC Ferry suspended all routes. The Seastreak ferry – a lifeline for Jersey Shore commuters heading to Manhattan – needed a tugboat to crush a path through the ice in front of it just to make its daily run to the city.
Rivers that normally flow became roads. Bays that normally ripple became glass. The Navesink – the wide, tidal river that curls through Red Bank like a signature – became something it hadn’t been in over 20 years: a frozen stage for the oldest trophy race in American ice yachting. Continue reading.
All-around ice sailor Andy Gratton will be giving a Zoom presentation about our sport.
He’s part of a free webinar series hosted by The American Schooner Association and The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on Thursday, April 16 at 6 PM CT / 7 PM ET
Andy has sailed just about everything and owns nearly every class of iceboat known. If you’ve spent any time around iceboating, you’ve likely seen him giving rides in his vintage WISCONSIN stern steerer.
This is a good introduction to the sport for sailors who’ve never stepped on the ice, and a reminder of why we keep coming back.
A 4LIYC contingent are in the desert at Ivanpah, the cathedral of landsailing, where California meets Nevada. For those of us from the Midwest or anywhere with trees, this place never feels ordinary. It feels closer to the surface of Mars than anything we know. And this year it has been hot, hotter than anyone here can remember.
The North American Landsailing Championships wrapped up yesterday. Landsailing sits in that shoulder season between ice and soft water. Your mileage may vary, but for many of us it bridges the gap.
There was a strong crossover from the ice sailing world. Daniel Hearn placed second in a large Mini Skeeter fleet. The top of that fleet was stacked with ice sailing experience. Dave Gluek and John Eisenlohr, the Mini Skeeter designer, tied for first. DN sailors Bob Cave, Pete Johns, and Ken Smith were also in the mix, sailing Mini Skeeters.
More familiar names were here as well. Lars Barber and Brad Wagner are sailing their blokarts, along with Wayne Schmeidlin and family. His grandson Alex won the blokart fleet. Pat Heppert finished fourth overall in the big boats with his blue C Skeeter and placed fifth in the Mini Skeeter class. From the UK, DN sailor Gareth Rowland made the trip and took second in the Mini 5.6 class. Renegader Doug Kolner is here kicking the tires as well.
Now the focus shifts. The blokart regatta starts this week and competitors are arriving. Geoff Sobering and Jim Nordhaus will be here to compete in the Blokart North American Championship.
Nina Fleming and I have traded in our parkas, gloves, and ice cleats for sandals and sun protection as we take up our roles on the line, flag, horn, timing, and scoring.
Rick Hennig passed away after a long illness on Friday, May 15, and the ice sailing community has lost a giant of a man who sailed a giant of a boat.
