UPCOMING:
It’s Building Season!
Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet: Oct 19, 2025 @ Lake Geneva Yacht Club More information
Midwest Hardwater Sailors Swap Meet: November 8, 2025 @ Delavan Yacht Club More Information
4LIYC Meeting : November 2025
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
4LIYC Spring Social: Save the Date – April 22
We are pleased to announce that the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club will officially conclude the season at Springer’s On The Lake, the home of some of the best ice sailing in the United States this year. Please save Saturday, April 22, and join us once again on Lake Kegonsa to celebrate ice boating. Stand by for the details.
What: Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Awards & Social Event
When: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Where: Springer’s On Lake Kegonsa, Stoughton, WI
Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 25 – 26

Emil Fauerbach and possibly Andy Flom in the PRINCESS in front of the Fauerbach Brewery on Lake Monona, Madison, WI, c.1910s.
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 25 and 26. The next update will be Sunday, March 19. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to March 24 – 26
Iceboating Goes to University
Boecraft Website
Meet Jared Kaesmeyer, a former Lake Geneva, WI resident and a recent graduate with a Master’s in Architecture. Jared’s thesis project was on iceboating, again proving that iceboating is a highly creative endeavor. Please let me know if you want to see Jared’s remarkable and unique 165-page thesis.
My name is Jared Kaesmeyer. I used to live in Lake Geneva, WI, and grew up hearing about and seeing ice boating. It always intrigued me. Since that time, I’ve gone to college at North Dakota State University and graduated with my Master’s in Architecture. As part of that degree, I had to create a thesis project. My thesis was on ice boating.
I spent 9 months developing a proposal for an iceboat cultural center in Lake Geneva’s downtown. I did research, and worked with Steve Schalk to get a better idea for the history and background. In the end, I designed a destination establishment that featured year-round display of ice boats in a prominent location downtown, with a workshop and event space for hosting year round training and events. The thesis went on to win an award, and in all was just such a fun process!
I have sent this to Steve, and thought I would share it with iceboat.org. Maybe you will find it interesting, or know someone else who may!
4LIYC Racing Update: Snow Means No Go

Tim McCormick R385 and cousin, Peter McCormick R309 racing Renegade iceboats on Lake Kegonsa, March 5, 2023. Photo: Ethan Brodsky
Heavy, wet snow has fallen on all lakes around Madison. There will be no club racing for March 11 – 12, 2023. However, this post is an excellent opportunity to share more photos from Ethan Brodsky.
Picture of the Week #2: Zeroing In
PK enjoying his Cadillac ride in his Class A Skeeter on Lake Kegonsa, Sunday, March 5, 2023. Photo: Ethan Brodsky. See all of them on the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Facebook page. Ethan edited and uploaded the Renegade pictures last night. Stay tuned for more of these photos on this website.
Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 18 – 19
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 18 and 19. The next update will be Sunday, March 12. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
1954 Northwest History
1954 Northwest Archives
Since we are on the subject of the Northwest regatta, Kenny Beal, great-grandson of a long-time 4LIYC member, John Bluel, shared some of his grandfather’s documents with the club, including a report from Northwestern Ice Yachting Association Secretary Frank Meyer about the 1954 Northwest.
Rather than the typical three-day event, the regatta was held over two weekends in Pewaukee because of challenging weather conditions. The 4LIYC’s Carl Bernard won the A Class Stern Steerer title in MARY B, competing against Skeeter Iceboat Club’s Lou Loenneke of Lake Geneva.
1954 was the first year that the DN Class competed in the Northwest. The DNs had one race in bad weather, and the Northwest officials decided that the fleet would sail the remainder of their races in the Detroit area “as all the entries were from that vicinity.” Skip Boston won that first Northwest DN title.
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to March 17 – 19
The NIYA Race Committee has postponed the 2023 Regatta to March 17th, 18th and 19th. The shoreline at Kegonsa is starting to melt open and the snow event coming Thursday into Friday will eliminate any possibility of regatta conditions. The search for any suitable site within reach will continue this week.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
NIYA
Picture of the Week: Tandem Skeeters

Ken Whitehorse in WARRIOR and Paul Krueger in RAMBLN sailing Class A Skeeters on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Ethan Brodsky.
Another photo from aerial photographer Ethan Brodsky who joined us on Lake Kegonsa on Sunday, March 5, 2023.
Via Ken Whitehorse:
Here is the back story to Ethan’s skeeter pic. Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Commodore Daniel Hearn push-started the red and white Skeeter fleet for their fourth race. The two racers took a half-parade lap, positioning themselves for the flying start. Both skeeters were at a full thunderous song when the green flag dropped. Paul Krueger M165 chose the outside lane. His gamble paid off, and he got a run on Ken Whitehorse M197. The wild and wooly Krueger drove it deep into the first corner. He then pitched the powerful ice yacht hard left. The razor-sharp right rear runner burned deep to find the hard ice. M165 hooked up, using the 2″ of surface slush as a banked cushion, launching him off the corner. Now in clean air, M165 increased his lead at each of the laps to the double checkered flag victory! Truly a race to remember!