Eight Bells for a Legend: Jane Pegel US805

by | Jun 6, 2026 | 2025-2026, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, Home Page


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.

Pegel Slide Collection: Frank Trost & TUSCARORA

by | Jun 4, 2018 | 2017-2018, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, Home Page, ISA

Frank Trost TUSCARORA III

Frank Trost, along with his neighbor William Perrigo, was another legendary E Skeeter sailor from Pewaukee, WI. Trost and Perrigo captured the 1953 Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant the first time the race was held in the Midwest after Fox Lake’s Eddie Rollberg won it out east in 1952. Trost was part of the winning team that went on to win it another 3 times.
Frank Trost gave one of my favorite descriptive quotes about ice boating to a Russian reporter in 1960:

From “Sailing In the Cold Region“, a Russian magazine article published in 1960:
Frank Trost, Perrigo’s neighbor, describes even poetical a ride on his “Tuscarora”:- Iceboat comes alive, he begins to talk to you. Was I somehow on Lake Delavan. Gusts crosswind reached 80 km / h. I didn’t feel under itself, but the “Tuscarora” didn’t obey. It seemed to fly through the air; only the wind howled in the wires and whistled – people standing on the bank told us that the boat roared like a jet plane – and in my helmet was a rumble that I have not heard the creaking of the runners. After the arrival, from flying in all directions icicles Trost’s face was covered with hundreds of tiny cuts. But the little things it did not disturb. As many iceboat sailors, he doesn’t recognize the face masks. He argues that in order to determine the speed of a good sailor should feel the wind on his face and trap slightest changes, skillfully using them to speed up the movement. It is worth and cause injury to the blood!

(more…)

Pegel Slide Collection: Elmer & Cora Millenbach

by | May 12, 2018 | 2017-2018, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, Home Page, Renegade

Renegade iceboat

Elmer Millenbach rounds the weather mark in RENEGADE I on Geneva Lake. Note the film crew standing bravely at the mark.

Elmer Millenbach was one of the most influential iceboat builders in North America. Hamilton, Ontario ice sailor, Rob Intini, went so far as to stencil “We All Plays Elmer’s Tune” on his Class-A Skeeter boom as a reminder of Elmer’s iceboat innovations. Elmer designed the bow-steering Renegade and along with his wife, Cora Lee, created a successful one-design class. Cora Lee also served for many years on Race Committees and spent hours on the ice handling scoring duties.
Elmer designed the Renegade because the newly created DN Class couldn’t make up their minds on specifications.
From Renegade Reflections, an interview with Elmer Millenbach:

…. We no sooner got comfortably started when the Detroit Ice Yacht Club rescinded the allowable changes and reverted to the originally modified plans. That was it, as far as I was concerned! The three of us were stuck with sails and material for 3 boats, but I just couldn’t bring myself to build to the original plans. I told my two companions in the project that I was going to design my own boat and left it to their choice to do as they chose.
Read the entire article here.

Cora Lee Millenbach
Cora Millenbach, Elmer, and Bill Mattison (in red jacket).
Elmer Millenbach
Elmer Millenbach (red leather helmet) getting trophy, his wife Cora. Paul Krueger with camera in the background.
Elmer Millenbach
Elmer, who was born in a blizzard and had his first iceboat ride at 9 months, celebrates his birthday.

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Pegel Slide Collection Series Webpage

 

Pegel Slide Collection: Classic DNs

by | May 1, 2018 | 2017-2018, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, DN, Home Page

690: L. Wohrle, 445 Bob Cave, 378 Eric Sternkoff, 294 Lou Lonnecke

Today’s subject is DN iceboats from the late 1950s to early 1960s. This class has changed with the times and allows for more modern materials such as carbon fiber in the masts.
Bob Cave and Lou Lonnecke, pictured above, remain active racers in the DN class.
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Pegel Slide Collection Series Webpage

002 DN Jane Pegel Iceboat
Jane Pegel in CALAMITY JANE DN.
006 DN Jane Pegel Iceboat
DN iceboat detail
005 DN Jane Pegel Iceboat
DN iceboat detail
004 DN Susie Pegel Iceboat
Susie Pegel
003 DN Jane Pegel Iceboat
DN iceboat detail

Pegel Slide Collection: 1970 Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant

by | Apr 26, 2018 | 2017-2018, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, Home Page

4LIYC’s Dave Rosten and Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club’s Art Jark on Lake Mendota in Class A Skeeters c. 1970. NANCY E III was formerly one of Bill Mattison’s HONEYBUCKET Skeeters. 

These slides date from around the time of the 1970 Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant. The 4LIYC had won ice yachting’s most prestigious title for 6 straight years but the 1970 challenge was a different story. Read Greg Whitehorse’s account of the 1970 IYCP below the fold.
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Pegel Slide Collection Series Webpage

3 15 1970ct
NANCY E III - Class A Skeeter iceboat
Art Jark sailing NANCY E III Class A Skeeter iceboat on Lake Mendota c.1970. Art purchased one of the HONEYBUCKET Skeeters from Bill Mattison.
NANCY E III - Class A Skeeter iceboat
Bill Mattison Skeeter Honeybucket
Bill Mattison sails HONEYBUCKET on Lake Mendota c. 1970

Click here to read more

Excerpt from the BLADE RUNNER NEWSLETTER

HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES: THUNDER JET

The Greatest Name Ever Hung on an Ice Boat

Winter 2001, Volume 6, No. 2

By Greg Whitehorse

“One of Bill Perrigo’s last great ice yachting triumphs came in the Challenge Pennant races sailed on Lake Mendota in March of 1970.

The 4LIYC had won the Pennant in 1964, and successfully defended it for the next five years. Indeed, few thought that the Pennant races of 1970 would produce anything other than a 7th straight 4LIYC victory.

But the Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club had different ideas.

In their bid to wrestle the Pennant away from the 4LIYC, Pewaukee decided to send Art Jark’s lightening fast, ex-Bill Mattison Honeybucket, now named the Nancy E III, to Madison as one of it’s challenging yachts.

And Art Jark promptly tapped Bill Perrigo to steer it.

The Pennant title came down to the last race of the series that year. 4LIYC’s Dave Rosten, expertly piloting his Skeeter, Pirate, appeared to be headed for victory. But as the long, ten lap, twenty mile race wound down the wind began to pick up. The light snow that had fallen on and off throughout the day began to be blown around at the ice surface.

Soon the swirling snow built to almost surreal white-out conditions. All you could see of the boats racing around the course were the top four or five feet of the mast and sail. Finding the marks in these unbelievably dangerous conditions was next to impossible. On the last lap of the race Rosten could not find the top mark.

Somehow, Perrigo did.

A few minutes later the race scorers and other on-lookers were shocked to see Jark’s V-69, with Bill Perrigo at the helm, streaking toward the finish line.

The Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America went to Pewaukee.

Yeah… under the toughest of conditions Bill Perrigo proved how tough he was.

And damn good too”

By Greg Whitehorse

Pegel Slide Collection: FROZEN ASSET

by | Apr 21, 2018 | 2017-2018, Bob & Jane Pegel Slides, Home Page

Bob Pegel Class A Skeeter FROZEN ASSET

Bob and Jane took meticulous care of their iceboats. Bob’s Skeeter, FROZEN ASSETS, had different color schemes which is unusual in my opinion because up here at Four Lakes, the most of the Skeeters in that era were red and white, period. Jane writes about Bob’s boats:

Bob had many different boats. Each boat had a different paint scheme. I don’t recall the sequence or how many boats there were. He had conventional under the boom cockpits and also rumble seaters. Originally Bob’s number was I-117. The number 9 had been assigned to Cora Millenbach and she gave 9 to Bob and he then had I-9 on his Skeeters and then also on his Renegades. After he got tired of the color blue, he had green boats. Bob raced in A Division and also in C Division (which was a varnished boat with a white deck). He won C division ISA and also Class E in the Northwest. The brown skeeter with sail I-117 was actually the boat with white sides and dark blue deck. The hull broke in half and was rebuilt. It was rebuilt and back on the ice and rigged to sail before it could be repainted. I have a photo of that boat under sail hanging in my hallway. In that photo It it obvious the hull is getting ready to break.

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Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET
Bob Pegel FROZEN ASSET