by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 4, 2026 | Home Page, ISA, Regattas, Renegade
Photo: Rob Resnick Revelations of Design
The 2026 ISA Regatta and Renegade Championship are postponed one week to January 16-18. 2026.
There is no suitable ice available for a Championship regatta for January 9th.
The next scheduled weekend is concurrent with the first possible date for the Northwestern Ice Yachting Championship. If the Northwest is held on those dates, the ISA will be postponed. Next update is January 11, 2026.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
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by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 3, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, ISA
LINK TO VIDEO
Lake Kegonsa has seen serious traffic this week.
Skeeters or DNs, no matter what, alignment is key.
Multiple DN World Champion Matt Struble arrived Monday to get acquainted with his new Class A Skeeter, recently acquired from Tom Hyslop. (Previously: The Bubble Expands) The boat is a Clapp build with a solid pedigree. Matt spent two long days in Daniel Hearn’s shop learning the boat inside and out, and quickly learned that sharpening Skeeter runners is heavier work and a much longer commitment than anything he’s used to with DN runners.
On Thursday, the Skeeter fleet welcomed him on Lake Kegonsa. Ken Whitehorse and Mark Isabell set up under the watchful eye of Paul Krueger, with pit help from Daniel Hearn and Damien Luyet. Conditions weren’t ideal, but they managed a few solid rides. For Matt, it was exactly what he needed, time on the boat, learning how it behaves. Ken Whitehorse sent in this report from the day:
New Year Eye Opener – Wisconsin Skeeter Racing
Results:
1st – M197 (Ken Whitehorse)
2nd – Matt Struble (sailing with an “M” on his usual DN number for now)
Mark Isabell – DNS
Two races were sailed. M197 finished first in both. Matt followed, with Isabell DNS. Speeds were good.
M197 carried 50 pounds of lead in the trunk, a winning setup that helped punch through the drifts. Tried to keep that quiet.
Excellent hard ice under the snow. A great day of tuning and racing. Best of all, the boats are safe and back on the trailers.
Huge thanks to Daniel Hearn and Damien Luyet for organizing the day. We’re lucky to have club members like them.
Matt was offered $100, a wheel of cheddar, and a Packers hat to put an “M” on his sails. Mostly kidding. Mostly. Also trying to stack our roster for the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America.
Ken Whitehorse M197
“Now listen up, Enzo and Dash—if anyone tries to port-tack you…”
Midweek also brought a visit from the Geneva Nite gang. Olympic sailor Paris Henken, Harry Melges IV, Kyle Navin, and RJ Porter were among several Nites that rolled in on New Year’s Eve and ripped it up on Lake Kegonsa. Two future 4LIYC members, Dash and Enzo, made their debut on the ice, sailing all day with their grandfather, Daniel Hearn. Geneva Nites pushing off on Lake Kegonsa (short video)
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by Deb Whitehorse | Dec 7, 2025 | Home Page, ISA, Regattas, Renegade
Pat Heppert sailing DRIFTER at the 2022 International Skeeter Association Regatta on Lake Monona in Madison, WI. Photo: Will Johnston
Via International Skeeter Association Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The International Race Committee has reviewed the current conditions and forecasts and determined that the Minnesota race venues are out due to temperatures in single digits and coming snow depths. Without other options and the arrival of the holidays, the decision has been made to let 2025 go. We are back up and pointing next to January 9th 2026 for the first day of the 2026 Championship. Next update: Sunday, January 4, 2026.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
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by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 30, 2025 | Home Page, ISA, Regattas, Renegade
Kyle Navin, finished 2nd at the Nite Nationals
Via ISA Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The 2025 International Skeeter Association and Renegade Championships have been postponed until December 12 – 14. Ice will be starting to form at our target sites of Minnewaska and Battle lakes tonight. The forecasts look promising for December 12-14. Next update is Sunday, December 7, 2025.
Steve Schalk
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by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 25, 2025 | Home Page, ISA, Regattas, Renegade
Steve Schalk sailing a B Skeeter on Lake Kegonsa at the 2023 ISA. Photo: Will Johnston
2025 NOTICE OF RACE
ISA HOME PAGE
Via ISA Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The ISA & Renegade Championship Race Committee is cranking back up to find the location for the postponed 2025 ISA. The conference calls restart on November 30th. There is a cold front moving through Minnesota as I write this, with none of the sites yet frozen, so the current snow is just falling in open water. The following cold will close up the lakes and allow for the search to begin. Minnewaska and Battle Lakes are favored sites with their launch facilities.
The ISA Race Chairman believes that it should be possible for a DN Western Challenge by December 5th, with the two following weekends available for the ISA. Of course the weather will dictate the outcome. We will post Sunday 7 pm updates starting November 30th.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
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by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 2, 2025 | 2025-2026, DN, Home Page, ISA
Two Clapp-built Class A Skeeters with deep pedigrees.
The world’s fastest iceboats, the Class A Skeeters, the Formula One of iceboat racing, have grown their fleet this season with two new Clapp-built additions. Both boats come from the shop of Dan Clapp, innovator of the renowned bubble boat design that transformed Skeeter performance back in the 1990s.
PREDATOR Finds a New Home
The Class A Skeeter PREDATOR has a new owner, Fritz Good of Pewaukee, well known in Scow sailing circles from his years sailing on Pewaukee Lake. PREDATOR was most recently owned by Rob Evans, from whom Good acquired the boat. Welcome to the fleet, Fritz, and congratulations on bringing PREDATOR back on the ice.
Clapp shared some of the boat’s storied history:
“PREDATOR was the first bubble boat, COMING ATTRACTION. I won my first ISA with this boat on Lake Geneva in 1991. Afterwards, I sold it to Art Apy, who renamed it GOTCHA. A few years later, the boat was sold to Rick Stavola and became MONA LISA. Rick raced it successfully for many years before selling it to Rob Marsh, who renamed it ILLUSION and modified the rear deck to match the newer slant-back design. Eventually, the boat was sold out West.”
Struble Steps in to the Bubble
Perhaps the biggest buzz of the season comes from the DN ranks. DN World Champion Matt Struble has thrown his helmet into the Class A Skeeter ring, purchasing the bright yellow AMPHETAMINE from Pewaukee’s Tom Hyslop.
Clapp recalls building the boat:
The yellow boat was built for Jack Jacobs. It was the first slant-back-deck bubble boat. I built it alongside BALLISTIC (for Bill Stavola) and MADJAKE (for myself) around 1998. It originally had a 26-foot mast and 22-foot plank. Later, Jack bought my all-carbon MADJAKE and renamed it MERLIN. He wanted both boats to be identical, so I built him a new mast and plank for MERLIN that matched the carbon boat. I then took the original shorter mast and plank in trade, painted them orange, and used them on INSANITY for many years. Tom Hyslop bought MERLIN from Jack and renamed it AMPHETAMINE II or III. He experimented with mast and plank lengths before settling on a setup with a new mast by Jay Yaeso and a 22-foot plank I made for him.
Now the distinctive bright yellow Skeeter returns to the line with Struble at the helm, a DN sailor stepping up to the elite level of A Skeeters. Struble’s arrival in the Skeeter fleet is sure to turn heads and raise the competitive bar.
Dan writes, “Here’s a Gretchen Dorian photo of me at Lake Geneva following Buddy around in the Northwest. I ended up 2nd. No matter what I did, I couldn’t beat him that day….on his home ice. Jack (Jacobs) owned the boat at the time. I was “testing” the new 30’ mast and 25’ plank.”
PREDATOR (Rob Evans) and HELLSBELLS (Mark Isabell) sailing on Lake Monona, a living bubble boat history lesson.
Video by OVJ Photography. Link to video.
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