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
Certain Uncertainty
Race Committee at Ullnasjön for DN Sweden Ranking Regatta 8.
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is – John Allen Paulos (received PHD from UW Madison)
There’s another tricky weather event sliding towards the Midwest this week. Europe is experiencing the same weather pattern as the DN class tries to find ice for the European Championship. Their primary site in Latvia received too much snow, and they are on the way to Lithuania today. I flew back last night, opting for the more familiar uncertainty of Wisconsin’s weather. A big thank you to DN Sweden for their hospitality at the Grand Masters and Ranking Regattas. What an experience!
The ice optimists (in all classes!) will have their boats ready for the Northwest at Lake Pepin in MN or local 4LIYC racing this coming weekend. Sleet and ice are on tap for the Madison area this week. With a 12″ base of ice, Kegonsa may be an option for club racing. Watch for the Northwest update on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and the 4LIYC racing update on Friday, February 24.
If you don’t have plans for ice sailing this weekend, the Iceboat Foundation has you covered with certainty. Via Don Sanford:
Mary B fans…
If you have time on your hands this Sunday, February 26, 2023, come on over to the Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Rd. in Monona.
Gretta Wing-Miller and I will be guests of the East Side History Club. They invited us on the condition that we bring along our film, Mary B: Madison’s Legendary Iceboat (the fastest thing on ice). And, of course, we will!
Doors open at 1:30
Film starts at 2:00
Come early for a good seat
Mary B fans…Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 4 – 6
Photo: Gretchen Dorian
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 4 and 5. The next update will be Sunday, February 26. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: NIYA Tentatively Called On
The 2023 NIYA Regatta is called on for Lake Pepin, launch site Lake City Minnesota. Registration will not open until the final call is made at noon Wednesday February 22nd.
Steve Schalk NIYA Secretary/Treasurer
Steve Schalk
The Regatta That Wasn’t
WSA Official Ice Hunting Vehicle
The Wisconsin Skeeter Association President, Ken Whitehorse, has been doing everything to find ice for the Skeeters. He thought he had a site lined up on Lake Petenwell in central Wisconsin with the prerequisite bar and restaurant at the landing, but “nothing fickler” came into play. Looks like Madison area lakes received another dose of snow yesterday meaning we wait for the big Zamboni to roll through again. I’m in Stockholm, soon heading to Latvia for the DN European Championship. The weather over here isn’t making it any easier either.
The Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Championship Race is called off. The Director of Competition, Tom Hyslop advised me to evaluate the smoothness of the racing surface. The surface is race worthy provided there is light wind velocity. However the racing surface is more than 1 1/2 miles out. We would need a safety committee and vehicles. This is a mammoth lake and there are very few sports people on it. Today people drove their trucks all the way across. 12″ to 14″ of ice is the report. If the ice surface were closer to the shore and the Lure Restaurant launch site you can bet M-197 and M-165 would be rippin’ it up this weekend. Let see what happens during this week. Fair winds to all!
-Ken Whitehorse
The Consultant
Dash and PK
4LIYC members have been diligently creating content on our Facebook page while I’ve been in Sweden. Here’s another Facebook post, too good not to post on the website, via Daniel Hearn.
4LIYC Skeeter guys, Kenny Whitehorse and Paul Krueger, flew in a heavyweight coach over the weekend in their quest for more speed. Dash Percevecz (Daniel Hearn’s grandson) reports that, “the guys have potential, but they are easily distracted by beer and pretty girls. They also need to upgrade their kit. I mean really…who considers blue jeans a performance fabric?”
MARY B Makes a Visit
MARY B visits the old neighborhood.
Madison’s historic stern-steerer, MARY B, has been set up on Lake Mendota for the past few weekends at the Frozen Assets Festival and the University of Wisconsin Winter Carnival. The Iceboat Foundation volunteers made the special visit, a stop in front of Mauretta Mattison’s house.
Via Don Anderson of the Iceboat Foundation
We took MARY B to Bill and Mauretta Mattison’s house for a photo shoot. Mauretta came out and took a picture, and Bill helped build many parts of this boat, including the current mast, which Bill signed.
Photo by Jeff Miller | University Communications Hundreds of people watch as fireworks launch into the night sky above an inflatable replica of the Statue of Liberty’s head, arm and torch on frozen and ice-covered Lake Mendota during the conclusion of the Wisconsin Union’s Winter Carnival on Feb. 11, 2023. The event was held along the shoreline of the Memorial Union Terrace at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Lady Liberty tradition began with a prank in 1979 by the Pail and Shovel Party.
HVD 2023
Regatta Watch: 2023 Wisconsin Stern-Steerers Regatta Postponed
2010 Northwest on Lake Winnebago. Photo Gretchen Dorian
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 25 and 26. The next update will be Sunday, February 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 Feb 24-26
Renegades at the 2023 Renegade Championship. Photo Will Johnston
The Northwestern Ice Yachting Regatta is postponed one week to February 24th, 25th, and 26th 2023.
Steve Schalk
NIYA
Secretary/Treasurer
4LIYC Racing Update: No Racing for Feb 11-12, 2023
Class A Skeeters hiking out at the 2016 Northwest on Lake Monona, Madison, WI. Photo: Joe Stanton
There will be no club racing this weekend Feb. 11-12. Ice checkers found 2-3“ of stiff snow with a layer of water underneath before reaching hard ice. Hopefully the warm temps and sun will turn the top snow to liquid and then we’ll get a hard freeze. Keep’m sharp!
4LIYC Commodore Daniel
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
YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER
TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
