The Wisconsin Skeeter Association President, Ken Whitehorse, has been doing everything to find ice for the Skeeters. He thought he had a site lined up on Lake Petenwell in central Wisconsin with the prerequisite bar and restaurant at the landing, but “nothing fickler” came into play. Looks like Madison area lakes received another dose of snow yesterday meaning we wait for the big Zamboni to roll through again. I’m in Stockholm, soon heading to Latvia for the DN European Championship. The weather over here isn’t making it any easier either.
The Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Championship Race is called off. The Director of Competition, Tom Hyslop advised me to evaluate the smoothness of the racing surface. The surface is race worthy provided there is light wind velocity. However the racing surface is more than 1 1/2 miles out. We would need a safety committee and vehicles. This is a mammoth lake and there are very few sports people on it. Today people drove their trucks all the way across. 12″ to 14″ of ice is the report. If the ice surface were closer to the shore and the Lure Restaurant launch site you can bet M-197 and M-165 would be rippin’ it up this weekend. Let see what happens during this week. Fair winds to all!
-Ken Whitehorse
Start of a Renegade race at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Kayla Wolf KAYLA WOLF PHOTO GALLERY
Freelance Photographer Kayla Wolf was there for the action Sunday on Lake Kegonsa at the ISA & Renegade Championship. Renegade and Nite sailors will want to make sure to look through her gallery for some fantastic shots. Link here
Nite sailors Mark Prange 550 and Tom Sweitzer 272 round the leeward mark.
PRO Joe Norton kept things moving.
Nite sailor Marek Valasek 444 finds some air and lift a runner
The Western Region of the DN Class (WI, MN, IL, IA, IN, UP of MI) is hosting the DN World & North American Championship in just a few days. Ice sailors from Poland and Sweden are here to train on Lake Kegonsa. The regatta site information will be announced on January 18, 2023, on idniyra.org. Regatta information.
Boat preparations are underway for the first-ever C-Skeeter Polish Match Racing Championship. Current DN World Champion, Robert Graczyk, will face off with former DN World Champion, Tomek Zakrzewski, on Lake Kegonsa in Stoughton, Wisconsin this Wednesday, January 18. Weather permitting, of course. At stake is a meal of Polish delicacies including pirogies and Polish sausage. But none of that cold soup. The loser will treat the winner and the boat owners/race committee at the prize giving ceremony, which will take place sometime during the ‘23 DN Worlds/North Americans.
To date, only the Black Ice/Loren ipsum camp has responded to requests for information about boat prep. The Drifter camp remains shielded under a cloak of secrecy, no doubt working on another traveler-like innovation to create an unfair advantage.
To make sure the race track is level, the two competitors will trade boats after each race, and the championship will conclude after an even number of races. Clearly the Drifter camp strategists have failed to read the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions.
Renegades line up to race at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa, January 14, 2023. Photo: Will Johnston
RESULTS
A stronger breeze made it a wind hat trick on day three of the ISA and Renegade championships on Lake Kegonsa. The A & B Skeeters elected to watch the Nites and Renegades take to the course for spirited racing. All agreed they couldn’t remember when Mother Nature blessed the ISA with three sailable days. Renegaders discussed how this ISA was a record for them in the number of races (8.)
Many thanks to the Race Committee, including
Joe Norton, Jerry Simon, Scott Goetz, Paul McMillan, Afan Ottenhemier, and 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn, who helped to organize the equipment. Also, many thanks to Ann Foeller, who tabulated remotely from Lake Erie’s shores and is a Toledo Ice Yacht Club member. And thank you to the many competitors who didn’t hesitate to pick up starting blocks, call numbers, and anything else to make the regatta run smoothly.
B Skeeter:1st Jason Thompson, 3rd Steve Schalk, and 2nd Jim Smith
C Skeeter, 1st Pat Heppert, 2nd Daniel Hearn
Our 2 Michigan Renegade guys, Mike Derusha and Pete Sarelis
Nite 1st: Tom Sweitzer
Nite 2nd, Dave Navin
Nite 4th, Brett Larson
Nite 5th, Peter Keck, 3rd Chad Rechcygl
Renegade: 2nd Daniel Hearn, 1st Mike Derusha, 3rd Greg McCormick, 4th Don Anderson
A Skeeter, 4th Tom Hyslop, 3rd Ken Whitehorse, 2nd Jay Yaeso, Steve Orlebeke, 1st John Dennis
Photographer Will Johnston joined us for a second year in a row for the 2023 ISA and Renegade Championship. He even hitched a ride in an airplane (friend of Jeff Russell’s) for some aerial shots. Will has generously shared a link to all of the photos. See all of them here. If you use Will’s photos for anything other than personal posts, please get in touch with me so I can give you his contact information.
Incredible drone footage from the 2023 International Skeeter Association Regatta & Renegade Championship on Friday, January 13, Lake Kegonsa.
Drone footage and editing by Logan Lien. Video Link
Logan’s Youtube Channel is @loganlien1848.
Instagram:@ loganlien
Start of a Renegade race at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Kayla Wolf
