by Deb Whitehorse | Apr 30, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, WSSA
Photo: Brian Donahue for Red Bank Green
From Yachting World
By Toby Heppell
April 30, 2026
To understand what happened in Red Bank, New Jersey, in the first 10 days of February this year, you first have to understand the cold.
This wasn’t a regular winter. This was a freeze for the ages. A polar vortex settled over the US North-east like it had nowhere else to be, sending wind chills plunging to 20 below zero and locking waterways in ice that hadn’t been this thick in decades.
The Hudson River froze. The East River froze. New York Harbour froze. NYC Ferry suspended all routes. The Seastreak ferry – a lifeline for Jersey Shore commuters heading to Manhattan – needed a tugboat to crush a path through the ice in front of it just to make its daily run to the city.
Rivers that normally flow became roads. Bays that normally ripple became glass. The Navesink – the wide, tidal river that curls through Red Bank like a signature – became something it hadn’t been in over 20 years: a frozen stage for the oldest trophy race in American ice yachting. Continue reading.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Deb Whitehorse | Apr 4, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, WSSA
All-around ice sailor Andy Gratton will be giving a Zoom presentation about our sport.
He’s part of a free webinar series hosted by The American Schooner Association and The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on Thursday, April 16 at 6 PM CT / 7 PM ET
Andy has sailed just about everything and owns nearly every class of iceboat known. If you’ve spent any time around iceboating, you’ve likely seen him giving rides in his vintage WISCONSIN stern steerer.
This is a good introduction to the sport for sailors who’ve never stepped on the ice, and a reminder of why we keep coming back.
Register here: LINK
Andy Gratton and WISCONSIN Photo: Gretchen Dorian
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 17, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, WSSA
Here’s an exquisite watercolor that any iceboater would hang on the wall, recently shared on the Rocket Ice Yacht Foundation’s Facebook page:
Watercolor of the Rocket and Jack Frost racing on the Navesink River in 2015. The Jack Frost won the races that day and proudly flies the daily pennant from her main! Bob Pulsch commissioned a local artist Michael Scherfen.
More about the artist here.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 2, 2026 | Home Page, Regattas, WSSA
MARY B draws a crowd on Lake Monona c 1955. From the Carl Bernard Collection
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to December, 2026, due to deteriorating ice conditions. The next update will be early December. Check back here at that time. In the meantime enjoy slow sailing while dreaming of iceboating during the soft water season.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 2, 2026 | 2025-2026, Home Page, NIYA, Regattas, Renegade, WSSA
Lake Winnebago, February 2026.
The Race Committee decided after review of sites and the upcoming weather forecast, that the 2026 Northwest is just not going to happen. The shoreline access is the main site issue, with all locations getting much worse with high temperatures and rain in the forecast everywhere.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Deb Whitehorse | Feb 23, 2026 | Home Page, Regattas, WSSA
Twin-masted stern-steerer with the DEUCE in the background. Oil painting by Harry Whitehorse.
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 7 and 8, 2026. The next update will be Sunday, March 1. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Like this:
Like Loading...
