Get Up to Menominee! – Sailing March 24-26

Menekaunee Ice Sailor Ken Kreider at the 2018 Nite Nationals on Green Lake.

The Menekaunee Ice Yacht Club invites ice sailors to join them for a fun weekend of sailing on Green Bay in Menominee, Michigan March 24-26.  Ken Kreider and Mike Derusha have been sailing all day. They report 20″ of ice,no cracks, no shell ice, and some patchy snow that they had no problem sailing through today. The sailable area north-south is 2.5 miles; east-west is 1 mile. In order to preserve the landing, they ask that once you drop your trailer on the ice, please park in the lot.
Launch: Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park just south of the Menominee Marina.You can park your car in the lot there.

Regatta Watch: ISA Postponed

Rounding the Pole                                                                                                                       Photo: Craig Wilson

The International Skeeter Association Regatta has been postponed. The Race Committee continues to remain optimistic that the regatta will be sailed. Next update is Sunday, March 24, 2018 by 7 PM CST.

 

Regatta Watch: Northwest Canceled for 2018

“The chief difficulty in iceboating is the utter dependence upon the fickleness of the weather dispenser” Wisconsin State Journal 1918

Via NIYA Chair Tim McCormick:

The NIYA Regatta is cancelled for the 2018 season. Gladstone, MI continues to have a hard crust of snow. Shawano Lake has workable landings but the ice is too rough. Houghton Lake and Higgins Lake have holes. All other sites do not have sufficient landings. With the following weekend being the Easter Holiday, the NIYA Race Committee agreed we should cancel for the season.

The above quote in italics comes from this newspaper article published 100 years ago in 1918, a year when the Northwest was also canceled. In fact, it wasn’t sailed again until 1922. See you on the ice at next year’s Northwest!

Same As It Ever Was

“The Way of the Pole”

After 3 unsuccessful attempts to cross the Arctic Ocean, 3 French sailors are preparing to try again. They’ve spent 4 years building a hybrid catamaran that appears to be able to move across the pack ice. They’ve been testing the boat in Sweden over the last few days. Follow their Facebook page or website here

Regatta Watch: ISA Called On for March 23-25

Boehmke B Skeeters on Green Lake in 2013.                                                                                Photo: Gretchen Dorian

The International Skeeter Association Championship has been tentatively called ON for March 23-25, 2018. Potential sites include Little Bay de Noc in Gladstone, Michigan and Houghton Lake in Michigan. Final confirmation will be made by noon Wednesday, March 21.