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4LIYC Meeting : November 2025
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4LIYC Jan 19 Meeting News: Join Us or Zoom Us, You Choose
Doug Kolner left, and Daniel Hearn, right, waiting for the go signal to push off their Renegade iceboats on Lake Monona. Photo by Joe Berger
Join Us or Zoom Us, You Choose
We’re planning for our next hybrid meeting format this week Wednesday, January 19. We’ll have local ice sailing tales and regatta updates to share.
WHAT TO KNOW:
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
IN-PERSON MEETING
Food will be delivered at 6 PM
Meeting begins at 6:30 PM
At Daniel Hearn’s Office–S/B Strategic Marketing, 1352 E. Wilson St
Menu for Dinner Deliver: Ha Long Bay Restaurant Link to Menu
For those who’d like to meet in-person and enjoy a good meal together, we’ll be ordering takeout from a different restaurant each meeting. This week, we are warming up with Ha Long Bay, traditional south east Asian eatery. Please review the menu and use the form below to let us know your food choices. Here’s a link to their menu.
Once you know what you want, submit your order using the form below. Please place your order no later than 3:00 p.m. day of meeting. Food will deliver at 6:00 p.m. Bring cash to pay Deb for food and delivery driver tip. Word has it that club members are bringing beer, otherwise BYOB.
ZOOM MEETING
4LIYC members will receive the Zoom link via email as usual. Not getting the emails? Please contact Deb.
For those who are out of town or feel more comfortable plugging in electronically, we’ll look forward to seeing your smiling face on the big screen in the conference room.
4LIYC Weekend Recap Jan 15-16, 2022
Nite sailor Maureen Bohleber lifts a runner on the race course. Photo: Ethan Brodsky
Iceboating racing champion Jane Pegel always said the best way to attract people to our sport is club racing. During the two-day Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing series on Lake Monona, a high level of interest from Midwest ice sailors, photographers, and the Madison community proved her point.
The wind cooperated, allowing the race committee to bang off 30 races in four fleets (Skeeters, Renegades, DNs, and Nites) Saturday and Sunday. Our scoring chair, Tim McCormick, will tabulate those results soon.
One of the biggest thanks goes to Ken Whitehorse, who set the whole weekend in motion. We wouldn’t have been able to get on the lake without him. On Wednesday, he removed the snow blocking the landing with his Bobcat. Ken and Tom Hyslop enjoyed two days sailing their Class A Skeeters before their Wisconsin Skeeter Association support equipment, Ken’s Mule, broke down.
Thanks to Scott Goetz for trailering the club’s ATV from Mendota, Commodore Daniel Hearn for setting courses and taking care of everything that needed doing. Thanks to Pat Heppert for the use of the marks and also for keeping the course organized, and Jerry Simon for starting, calling, and flag duties.
Thanks to our out-of-town guests who gave our club racing weekend a regatta-like feel. We appreciate your enthusiasm and were happy to have you join us on the race course.
In all the years I’ve been involved in ice sailing, I don’t remember seeing so many Madisonians braving the cold to watch us, curious about iceboating. Sunday’s west wind placed the start line within easy walking distance of the shore, and residents flocked to check us out.
There’s nothing more photogenic in a Madison winter than iceboats against the city skyline. It’s been that way since 1878 when Harper’s Bazaar Magazine ran an illustration of ice sailing on Lake Monona. We were thrilled to have several excellent photographers and videographers on the ice with us. They have generously shared their pictures on Facebook, and I’ll be linking to them during the week. The first photographer, Ethan Brodsky, uploaded his photos to Google for those not on Facebook. See them here.
Regatta Watch: 2022 WSSA Postponed
Via Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association Secretary Andy Gratton
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to January 29 and 30. The next update will be Sunday, January 23. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Winnebago has over 12″ of older ice, 10″ on newer, but too much snow and rough seams on the black ice. Mendota doesn’t have the 12″ thickness and is not likely to grow enough by the weekend.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: 2022 ISA & Renegade Championship Tentatively Called ON for Jan 21-23 @ Lake Mendota
Mark Isabell in a Class A Skeeter HELLSBELLS on Lake Monona, January 15, 2022. Photo: Ethan Brodsky
Via International Skeeter Association Secretary Steve Schalk and International Renegade Ice Yacht Racing Association Secretary Ron Rosten:
The ISA Championship and Renegade Championship have been tentatively called on for January 21-23, 2022 on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. Final confirmation will be made on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 by 1 PM CT.
Regatta Watch: 2022 Northwest Postponed to Jan 28-30
Via Northwest Ice Yachting Association Secretary Steve Schalk:
The NIYA regatta is postponed until January 28-30, 2022 to wait for ice thickness to build in several locations. Mendota is close but not quite there. Next update is Sunday, January 23, 2022.
“Iceboats & Failsafes”
Good Sunday morning. A quick update from Saturday’s Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing, which is an excellent excuse to post this entertaining drone video from Trevor Benford. It was a full day of ice-cold fun. The Renegades, Nites, and DNs sailed four races each, and the A and C Skeeters sailed 2. Check back in later for more photos and results.
Sail Colorado!
Colorado pops up on the ice sailing radar every so often. Here’s a report from Eleven Mile State Park Reservoir, about two hours southwest of Denver.
4LIYC Racing Called On for Jan 15-16, 2022
DN class iceboats on Lake Monona, January 2022. About 40 years separates the red boat US2412 and the two modern DNs. Photo: Kenton Fowler
Racers: Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing has been called on for January 15-16, 2022. Skeeters, Renegades, DNs, and Nites will race on the east end of Lake Monona out of Tonyawatha Landing. The first race is at 10 AM. Please pay annual club dues ($20) to Jerry Simon, Daniel Hearn or Deb Whitehorse.
Cruisers: For your best experience, we recommend that non-racing boats launch at Olin Park (launching fee required.) Please review our Safety Page and keep in mind that ice is never safe.
Spectators: Monona Terrace provides a perfect warm perch for optimal viewing.
In The News: Wisconsin Iceboat Life
Deb and Joe Norton on Green Lake in Green Lake, WI at the Nite Nationals, March 2020.
Via 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn
Oh, Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Time to bundle up and sit by the fire? Not a chance, it’s iceboating season! Wisconsin Public Television wanted to know what this crazy sport was all about. So, they reached out to an authority on the subject, Deb Whitehorse, who holds more offices in the ice sailing community than anyone. She is the longtime Secretary of the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club based in Madison, Wisconsin and a member of the club’s prestigious Honor Roll. The club is likely the most active in the world, with adrenaline junkies racing in a number of classes on Madison’s chain of lakes whenever conditions allow. Whitehorse is also the Secretary and Treasurer of the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association, which is the largest ice sailing class in the world. Whitehorse has traveled to cold places around the globe to help manage races in the sport that has been in her DNA since birth. Her father and husband were both legendary ice sailors, and every once in a while, she drops her scoring pad and jumps in a boat for some hot laps. She is the webmaster of the most trafficked website on the internet, creates and manages multiple ice sailing class websites, and receives frequent inquiries for comments related to the sport. If it’s anything ice sailing, Deb Whitehorse is “in the know.” You’ll definitely want to check it out!
You can see it online at this link.Upcoming air times are on Wisconsin PBS as follows–
Thursday, January 13, 7 PM
Saturday, January 15, 2 PM
Monday, January 17, 11:30 PM
Wisconsin Skeeter Association Season Opener
Via Ken Whitehorse of the Wisconsin Skeeter Association:
Wisconsin Skeeter Racers Season Opener
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Lake Monona, Tonyawatha Launch
First race at noon
For Skeeter Classes A, B, and C
P.S. I just found out about this myself! See you there. We must unite and win those trophies back from those Minnesota Skeeter racers!
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.
