UPCOMING:
4LIYC Meeting : November 19, 2025 @ Fast Champions Iceboat Shop More information.
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
Wish You Were Here: Heading West for Vintage Iceboat Postcards
Let’s head west for the next set of vintage iceboat postcards. The most unusual of this series is the card from Middle Des Lacs Lake in Kenmare, North Dakota, 30 miles from the Canadian border as the crow flies. A long and narrow lake, Middle Des Lacs is only .5 mile wide by 2.5 miles long. The wind would have to be just right for a Stern Steerer sail on that lake!
Iowa has a well documented history of ice sailing. Traveling ten hours southeast from Kenmare, our next stop is Spirit Lake, Iowa, home of the Okoboji Yacht Club. Our Iowan tour continues two hours east of Spirit Lake to Clear Lake, Iowa home of the Clear Lake Yacht Club.
This postcard trip concludes on Wisconsin’s west coast (or Minnesota and Iowa’s east coast), Lake Pepin.
Wish You Were Here: Vintage Iceboat Postcards from Madison
A new summer series begins today featuring the original “Short Message Service”, vintage postcards from around the world. Let’s start right here in the Four Lakes area of Madison, Wisconsin with these five postcards.
Bernard’s Fleet recalls the time when the Bernard family kept a rental fleet of Stern Steerers on Lake Mendota. “Princess” World International Racer was a famous Stern Steerer built by William Bernard for Emil Fauerbach (Peter Fauerbach’s great great uncle).
I’ll post more in the coming weeks. If you have any to share, please let me know.
Our Summer Vacations: Chicago to Mackinac Race
The middle of July signals that we are halfway through the off-season and time for one of the most important soft water races of the summer season, the Chicago Yacht Club’s 109th Race to Mackinac. Follow the race tracking on the website.
Your ice sailing roster this year includes:
- DENALI (Turbo Division), owned by Rick Hennig of the DEUCE fame. Fellow iceboaters joining him on DENALI are Dave Elsmo, Todd Knop,and Eric Tobias.
- Via Renee Sherry: IMPORTANT UPDATE: due to technical difficulties, Equation will NOT be participating in the Chicago Mackinac regatta. Ron Sherry will be sailing on DYNAMIS.
EQUATION (Section 1), with Ron Sherry at the helm, son Griffin Sherry, and fellow Michigan DNer Chris Clark on board. - BANDIT (Section 2), with DNer Chris Berger. BANDIT’S owners Arvid Eiesland and Joe Kestler have DNs, Arrows, and an old Palmer Skeeter.
- WINDSONG (Section 8) has DNer Andy Camarda on board.
- CHAYA DOIN (Cruising Division) has DNer Marci Grunert on board.
- GAUNTLET (Section 5) has DNer Gail McCarthy Turluck on board.
Drop me an email if I missed you and I’ll add you to the list. Good luck and safe sailing to all competitors.
Christmas in July
The 4LIYC has a new DN sailor in the fleet. Over the weekend, Ron Rosten picked up a Meade Gougeon DN that won the 1997 North Americans from Ron Sherry for son, Thor. On his way back to Wisconsin, Ron also visited with Menekaunee ice sailors Mike Derusha and Ken Kreider. Thor is sporting the latest Menekaunee baseball cap.
Independence Day Iceboat
Photo: Gretchen Dorian
John Dennis’ A class Skeeter in the red, white, and blue livery helps us celebrate July 4th and is a reminder that the summer is at its halfway point.
Mike Derusha provides the fireworks!
What We Do On Our Summer Vacations: Transpac
Renegader Don Anderson and EASY RIDER.
July’s iceboating calendar usually features the ice sailors who are competing in the historic Chicago to Mackinac sail boat race. That post is on the horizon and if you are competing in it, let me know the details so that I can add you to the list.
Don Anderson, a Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Renegader and also responsible for bringing the MARY B Stern Steerer back to Madison, is competing in the Long Beach to Honolulu ocean race, Transpac. The Transpac ocean race is “the longest of the two oldest ocean races in the world…. first sailed in 1906.”
Don is a grinder on MR. BILL, an Andrews 68. MR BILL is in Division 2 and will leave Long Beach for Hawaii on Thursday, July 6, 2017. You can track Donny and MR. BILL on the Transpac website.
Way Back Wednesday: Jack & Jerry
Sailing builds long lasting friendships. 4LIYC Renegaders Jack Ripp and Jerry Simon have known each other for over 60 years. Jerry bought his first Skeeter from Jack back in 1957. Jerry’s first Skeeter was the second Skeeter that Jack built. Jerry explains:
[The] picture is me in my first Skeeter I purchased from Jack. It was Jack’s second skeeter as the first had a deck mounted tiller for steering as seen in the picture [from the 1952 Northwest]. Mine only had a steering wheel mounted under the deck. My first modification was to put in foot peddles, which didn’t work very well.
What is interesting is the sail number on my purchased boat was M8, which is the rig on Jack’s first tillered Skeeter photo [from the 1952 Northwest]. The picture of me standing next to my Par-a-dice boat with the sail number
M14 is off of Jack’s third Skeeter. I purchased it later and took off the number 9 from is famous M149 number.
During this time period skeeters changed every year so lots of cheap used gear available.
It’s Apparent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voczYSeq9bI&ab_channel=America%27sCup
As we watch the America’s Cup in Bermuda, ice and land sailors instinctively understand the forces that allow the AC boats to reach speeds of over 40 knots because apparent wind is also what makes ice and land yachts sail much faster than a “traditional” sailboat. This video is the best visual explanation of apparent wind I’ve ever seen.
Artemis Racing Team Manager and tactician Iain Percy explains the concept of apparent wind, and how it allows America’s Cup Class yachts to travel at 3 times the wind speed. In basic terms, speed = more speed. Watch and learn
Iceboater Bill Bentsen Inducted in to NSHOF
Bill Bentsen, Bill Allen, Buddy Melges – Soling gold medalists at Kiel, Germany
UPDATE 7-3-2017: Read about Bill on the National Sailing Hall of Fame’s inductee webpage here.
A big congratulations are in order for Bill Bentsen who sails with the Skeeter Ice Boat Club.. Jane Pegel writes:
I learned this morning (June 19) that in September Bill Bentsen will be inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
- Bill is a member of the Skeeter Ice Boat Club and the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.
- Bill is a former Northwest champion in the DN class.
- Bill served as DN class secretary in the 1960’s.
- Bill owned and sailed the class A stern steerer, TAKU and subsequently transferred ownership to Erich Schloemer.
- He won an Olympic gold medal in the Soling class and a bronze medal in the Flying Dutchman class.
He previously was awarded the Beppie Croce Trophy for his service to what is now called World Sailing. (previously IYRU and ISAF)- Bill successfully raced C, E, and A class scows at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.
![324944733[1][1]](https://iceboatorg.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/32494473311-300x274.jpg)
![Taku 2007 Northwest[1]](https://iceboatorg.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Taku-2007-Northwest1-300x225.jpg)
![355375382[1][1]](https://iceboatorg.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/35537538211-300x211.jpg)
Every Picture Tells a Story
From the Herb Krogman collection
This photo was published in the Wisconsin State Journal on January 18, 1952 as part of the Northwest Regatta coverage. The WSJ caption read, “Among the Madison entrants in the regatta is John Bluel in his Class E boat, the ‘Shadow’. The picture shows Bluel about to be pushed by his crewmen, left to right, Vic Hustad, Peter Barrett, Phil Town, and Herb Krogman. Bluel is in the cockpit.”
What makes this picture worth delving into is the presence of Peter Barrett who would go on to win national sailing championships, medal in the Olympics, design sailboats, and achieve a dizzying array of other accomplishments . He was inducted in to the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Peter Barrett was well known for “his willingness to share his go-fast secrets with his nearest competitors, even during the Olympic trials,” a trait he had in common with 4LIYC Skeeter sailor, Bill Mattison. In the book she wrote about her father, Lynn Mattison Raley shared a story involving Peter and Bill.
Bill was quick to help or teach a fellow sailor as well. In the early 1960s, his good friend, Peter Barrett, was preparing for his Olympic campaign in the Finn class sailboat. At the Olympics, competitors received a rought-cut wood mast that they had to custom shape for their individual weight. Using skills gained form the years of building iceboat masts, Bill showed Peter how to shape his mast so that it would be just right. Barrett competed in the 1962 games and earned the silver medal in the 1964 games. [In 1968, Peter won Olympic Gold in the Star Class crewing with Lowell North-Deb.]
Online Ship’s Store
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
4LIYC Governing Documents
Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates
- January 2 THURSDAY Honor Roll Nominations
- January 15 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- January 29
- February 12 Business Meeting
- February 26
- March 12 Last Meeting of the Season
Location: In person at the Elks Lodge 711 Jenifer St, Madison, WI 53703
Time: 6:30 PM
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TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
