UPCOMING:
It’s Building Season!
4LIYC Meeting : November 2025
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
The Ice Line Marches Southward
The ice is moving south. The Puckaway Ice Sailing group and the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club are reporting that racing will take place on Lake Puckaway this weekend. A bit east of Puckaway, a group of DNs are gathering this weekend near Fond du Lac on Lake Winnebago for some scrub racing as well.
Western Challenge: Lost & Found Department
DN Runners Missing since Battle Lake.
3/16 carbon runners with wings. Built by Ron Sherry. In black Harken runner bag with a Colorado College luggage tag that says 3/16 w/wing. May also have regatta stickers on them.
I sailed them on Sunday at the Great Western Challenge but they never made it home. I had to have taken them off in the pits.
Contact Mike (Six one two) 598-38 zero zero
2018 ISA Regatta Called ON For Battle Lake, MN Dec 7-9
The 2018 International Skeeter Association Regatta has been called ON for December 7, 8, 9 in Battle Lake Minnesota. Please see the ISA page for pre-registration, launch, lodging, and schedule of events. This regatta holds races for A,B,and C Skeeters and the Nite class.
2018 Western Challenge Debrief
4LIYC sailors Dave Elsmo, Doug Kolner, Hugh Sugar, and Tim Sugar are probably a bit tired and sore after sailing at the DN Western Challenge regatta over the weekend in Battle Lake, MN. Following are some photos and reports.
Resourcefulness at its finest.
Doug’s report lifted from his Facebook page:
4987 still looks great. New tenderized plank performed beautifully. Tough racing in 20-25 mph.
1st race tangled with an old friend at the leeward mark when he luffed up in front of me after dropping his main sheet. Had to go in and realign my runners. My next race, I was rounding the weather mark in a good hike when my port runner blew up. (No stiffeners. Would have helped. Longer chocks and big air overloaded them. 21st century DNers have carbon bodied 440c stainless. Rest if the platform is pretty deluxe though.) Did a 360 and parked with a boat heading right at me goin’ a million mph. Missed me. End of a great weekend of sailing with world champs and sailors from Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland and old friends from when I used to race these boats many years ago.
Battle Lake, MN full of Minnesota nice!!! Special thanks to Lars Barber for comin’ to play.
2018 ISA Regatta Update
2019 WSSA Newsletter
Learn what’s new in the world of the big boats in the 2019 Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association newsletter via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton.
2019 WSSA Newsletter
2018 Renegade Championship Regatta Postponed
The DN World Descends On Battle
DN sailors from around the world have gathered on Battle Lake in Battle Lake, Minnesota for the Western Challenge fun-regatta. I counted about 30 masts at noon and there were more arriving. The ice is hard with a bit of snow. A couple of marks were set up and DNers scrub raced all day in the lightish air. As you can see in the photos, the visibility was low and sailors took care to sail safely.
2018 ISA Regatta Tentatively Called ON
The ISA race committee is tentatively planning for the 2018 championship
December 7,8,& 9. Tentative site Battle Lake, Mn.
The Western challenge will be held this weekend and we expect detailed scouting reports.
Next ISA Championship update will be Sunday evening. Get your gear ready for an 2018 event!
1930s Winnebago Iceboating Video
Great grandfather’s 8mm film of iceboating on Lake Winnebago in the 1930s. from r/OldSchoolCool
LINK TO VIDEO
This is an amazing video found on Reddit by Tom Lothian featuring Stern Steerers and early Skeeters in front of the Legion in Oshkosh. I’m certain there are photos of this regatta in the Carl Bernard collection. I recognize the DEUCE and at the very end, the 4LIYC’s Carl Bernard on the MARY B, I think. If you recognize any boats or people in this video, take note of the screen time and let me know. I’ll look over the photos from the Carl Bernard collection to see what I can find.
A big tip of the helmet to Tom Lothian!