Screen shot from USA: ICE YACHTING ON FROZEN RIVERS IN ILLINOIS (1949) British Pathe. Harry Melges sails a 4-runner Skeeter.
Previous: Iceboat Tech That Never Caught On Early ISA 1941 – 1942 Video Watch the 1949 Newsreel here
Iceboat researcher Henry Bossett has unearthed yet another interesting discovery: a 1949 newsreel chronicling the International Skeeter Association regatta held on Fox Lake in Illinois. This vintage footage, accompanied by newspaper clippings, documents the presence of a four-runner iceboat helmed by Harry Melges, who happens to be Buddy’s father and a member of the Skeeter Iceboat Club. Observe that the fourth runner was positioned at the stern, deviating from the standard practice seen in other configurations where two runners were typically placed at the front. Adding her own memories to this historical account is Jane Wiswell Pegel, a high school student at the time.
Jane Pegel remembers:
I think the 4-runner boat belonged to Bob Ferris. I was in high school. My first iceboat race was at the Fox Lake ISA. I was first at the windward mark in the ladies’ division in a 20 foot Mead (skeeter.) But I did not know how to sail downwind and ended up second in ladies overall. It snowed for the drive home.
Ben Lampert’s 4-Runner Skeeter Plan
Illustration from Wings On The Ice
Ban Lampert’s 4 Runner Skeeter from the Carl Bernard Scrapbook Collection
John Dennis sailing EAGLE, a Class A Skeeter, at the 2023 International Skeeter Association Regatta on Lake Kegonsa in Madison, WI. Photo: Will Johnston.
Happy Fourth of July to all the ice sailors out there. JD’s Skeeter in patriotic livery again represents the annual July 4th post here.
In the weekend mail, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club makes the cover of the Guide to Monona, Wisconsin. That’s Paul Krueger in his Class A Skeeter RAMBL’N at the 2022 International Skeeter Association Regatta held on Lake Monona with Renegades and the 4LIYC Jim Payton Memorial ATV in the background.
This week, I received a package filled with iceboating memorabilia, which included what seemed to be magazine advertising proofs for Mead iceboats of Chicago, Illinois.
Since the beginning of this website in 1998, the Buy & Sell page has been filled with vintage Mead iceboats for sale, all of which came out of Ted Mead’s Chicago factory.
Who was Ted Mead? According to a 1937 newspaper article, his father owned bicycle factories in Chicago and England. His mother was noted for her exceptional woodworking skills. After graduating from Princeton in 1925, he built houses for a few years; he eventually grew tired of this profession and founded the Mead Glider Company. When the airplane business became unprofitable, Mead moved on to building kayaks, ice motor sleds, and iceboats, and the factory employed 24 people.
Below are links to some of the Mead iceboat memorabilia that’s come my way in the last 20+ years.
Ken Whitehorse on Lake Kegonsa in March 2023. Photo: Ethan Brodksy
The awards season kicks off today with this virtual presentation for the Wisconsin Skeeter Association. The in-person 4LIYC banquet is this Saturday, April 22 at Springer’s on Lake Kegonsa. There’s still room for you to join the party! Please get in touch with Deb today.
Submitted by WSA Trophy Chair Ken Whitehorse:
Eleven years ago, Paul Krueger, Bill Dale, Tom Hyslop, and Ken Whitehorse formed the Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Association while sailing on Green Bay in mid-April 2012. We sailed six competitive races, yet “how would you know (copyright Bill Mattison.).” During lunch breaks, the racers discussed how poor ice conditions made club races a rarity. We determined that wherever good ice should appear in Wisconsin, we would hold sanctioned iceboat races as the Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Association. Wisconsin iceboat clubs carry letters on their sails: M for Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club in Madison, I for Skeeter Iceboat Club in Lake Geneva, V for Pewaukee, and U for Windjammers in Green Bay.
The 2023 champions are:
C Skeeter: Pat Heppert
B Skeeter: Jim Smith
A Skeeter: Ken Wahoo Whitehorse
A Skeeter Champion Ken Wahoo Whitehorse Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club, holding the Tom Hyslop Sunday Series trophy and coveted Bottle Trophy donated by Harry Whitehorse. The A Skeeter fleet sailed 32 races.
C Skeeter Champion Pat Heppert Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club, holding the Pat Heppert Wisconsin C Skeeter trophy donated by Damien Luyet. The C Skeeters held 5 races.
B Skeeter champion, Jim Smith, Skeeter Iceboat Club, holding holding the Little Brave M195 B Skeeter Trophy donated by Harry Whitehorse. The B Fleet sailed 15 races. First time champion, Jim Smith, out sailed 3 time champion, Steve Schalk.
Boecraft Website
Meet Jared Kaesmeyer, a former Lake Geneva, WI resident and a recent graduate with a Master’s in Architecture. Jared’s thesis project was on iceboating, again proving that iceboating is a highly creative endeavor. Please let me know if you want to see Jared’s remarkable and unique 165-page thesis.
My name is Jared Kaesmeyer. I used to live in Lake Geneva, WI, and grew up hearing about and seeing ice boating. It always intrigued me. Since that time, I’ve gone to college at North Dakota State University and graduated with my Master’s in Architecture. As part of that degree, I had to create a thesis project. My thesis was on ice boating.
I spent 9 months developing a proposal for an iceboat cultural center in Lake Geneva’s downtown. I did research, and worked with Steve Schalk to get a better idea for the history and background. In the end, I designed a destination establishment that featured year-round display of ice boats in a prominent location downtown, with a workshop and event space for hosting year round training and events. The thesis went on to win an award, and in all was just such a fun process!
I have sent this to Steve, and thought I would share it with iceboat.org. Maybe you will find it interesting, or know someone else who may!
