Welcome to iceboat.org

The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is one of the most active iceboat clubs in North America. We’ve been building and racing iceboats for over 100 years in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Ice Is Never 100% Safe.

Our ice reports are strictly for iceboat racers. Recreational iceboaters, kite boarders, cross country skiers, and ice fishermen should not rely on our ice reports. We have safety equipment. Do you?

Buy or Sell Your Iceboat

One of the best pages in North America to buy or sell iceboats and their parts. There’s also a complete list of vendors who will supply iceboats, sails, and their components.

Common Questions:

How can I get started? How fast can they go? How much do they cost? Is it safe?

Regatta Watch

Information about the ISA, NIYA, WSSA, Nite, and DN regattas.

Iceboat Classes

Learn about Skeeters, DNs, Stern Steerers, Renegades, Nites, and Ice Optimists.

The Rules.

The purpose of iceboat racing rules is to prevent collisions.

Ice Yacht Clubs

The best way to learn about iceboating and make life long friendships is to join a local club.

Why We Sail.

“If all our ice were glass, slightly wet, and all our air reasonably steady with lifters just where needed, sailing would be perfect. Sometimes we do find this, and it is worth waiting years to have. Meanwhile we must accept the more ordinary ice conditions, ordinary weather and wind, and gracefully accept snow, sometimes for weeks. Our ideal comes from time to time, the Great Maker gives only so much of the very best.” Charles H. Johnson.

Iceboating for Kids

Ice Optimists were created specifically as a youth trainer, designed to be easily built using commonly available materials, and to keep costs to a minimum.

UPCOMING:
It’s Swap Meet Season!
4LIYC Meeting : November 5, 2025 via Zoom More information.
Midwest Hardwater Sailors Swap Meet:
November 8, 2025 @ Delavan Yacht Club More Information
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE:
 Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online

Richard Lichtfeld: 1935 – 2021

“Remembered For Doing It All”

Richard “Dick” Lichtfeld of Monona, WI, passed away this week. He was a generous Renaissance man who filled his garages and storage sheds with unusual finds, vintage cars, and iceboats. He was the caretaker of a distinguished historic stern-steerer iceboat, MISS MADISON, the last “Madison-style” iceboat ever built by Carl Bernard in 1927. He kept her in period condition and raced in regattas a few times but was happiest sailing her in front of the Madison skyline on Lake Monona. Sometimes he pulled his kids and grandkids out of school to join him for a day of ice sailing because he knew that sailable ice was fleeting and the importance of living life to the fullest. In 2016, Dick enthusiastically opened his property for a 4LIYC iceboat show. I’ve posted photos of that weekend below. When the ice calls to you in the middle of the week, take the day off in honor of Dick Lichtfeld.

Here’s a video I put together from footage that Dick had given me a few years back.

 

 

read more…

2021 DN U.S. Nationals Video

Watch this DN U.S. Nationals regatta film shot by professional videographer and DN sailor Peter Norton KA2 (yes, that’s an Australian sail designation because Peter’s by way of Australia.) Peter shared the raw video with DNer and University of Wisconsin Madison student Sam Bartel for editing. The result is outstanding.

 

Harken Iceboats


At The Front Newsletter February 2021

Harken’s latest newsletter is an ode to iceboating with articles and videos featuring Will Perrigo, Steve Orlebeke, Peter Harken, and a name we hope to read a lot more about in the future, Samuel Bartel. Sam is a student at UW Madison on the sailing team, and iceboating instantly clicked with him. Sam placed 4th in the Silver Fleet at last week’s DN U.S. Nationals in his first regatta. Many thanks to Hannah Lee Noll for pulling together these stories, videos, and photos highlighting the special place that ice sailing has within the Harken organization.

4LIYC Racing Update for Jan 30-31, 2021


There is no 4LIYC racing scheduled for January 30-31, 2021. We are hoping for the Great Zamboni in the the sky to visit and rid us of this pesky snow. The next 4LIYC racing update will be Friday, February 5, 2021, by 5 PM.

In DN World: U.S. Nationals

Dave Elsmo at the 2021 US Nationals Photo: Gretchen Dorian

U.S. Nationals Information Preliminary Results

Good morning from Cheboygan, Michigan, site of the DN U.S. Nationals. We are on 10,000 acres of hard ice on Black Lake,, a 20-minute drive from Cheboygan. The first day of the regatta had plenty of breeze and plenty of cold. We were able to bang off 10 races, 5 in each fleet. Looks like we’d best be prepared for another cold day but a lighter breeze. There are some drifts to be avoided but it’s totally raceable. This would make a great site for any type of future regatta as long as the lake effect snows stayed away.

 

Regatta Watch: 2021 WSSA Postponed Until Feb 6-7

Andy Gratton and the lovely ROSEMARY on Lake Winnebago  Photo: Gretchen Dorian

Via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton:

The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 6 and 7, 2021. The next update will be Sunday, January 31. Check back here at that time.

Andy Gratton

WSSA Secretary/Treasurer

Bar Karate Podcast with Steve Orlebeke

Well bugger them, these Aussies are thinking about iceboating as they watch the ongoing America’s Cup. They dialed up Steve Orlebeke for a podcast episode about inland sailing and iceboating. “Bar Karate is a new sailing podcast. You might learn nothing, but you will have fun doing it.” Listen here.

No Go on Mendota


Well you have to figure that since Paul and Ken had their boats set up on Lake Mendota, they’d be obligated to give sailing a try. Paul reports that he “got a little ride, and the snow was too sticky to make it around a racecourse.” Ken said, “The snow was only an inch, yet the razor-sharp quarter-inch runners couldn’t cut through it. Paul got a ride with his draft sail. A special Kau- Bossett design. I pushed back to the pits. Thumbs up to the race committee for canceling racing this weekend; they knew more than the skeeters fleet!”

Big Boats on Geneva Part 2

Here’s the last “missing” installment from this series of videos. In this video, you’ll see how to wrangle a stern-steerer through the open water at the shoreline, typical of spring ice sailing.

Many thanks to 4LIYC Nite sailor Don Sanford for taking the time to find the nuggets in old movie footage and editing them into something worth watching.
Previous: Big Boats on Geneva Part 1.
Big Boats on Geneva Part 3

 

Online Ship’s Store

Regatta Dates 2026

  • DN Western Challenge
    December 5 – 7, 2025
    Information
  • 2025 International Skeeter Association Regatta
    December 2025
    Information
  • DN Western Region Championship
    January 3-4, 2026
    Information
  • International Skeeter Association Regatta
    Scheduled January 9–11, 2026
    Held on first good ice, week-to-week updates as conditions allow.
    Information
  • DN NA Championship
    January 24-32, 2026 Information
  • DN World & European Championship
    February 14 – 21. 2026 Information
  • DN & Ice Optimist Junior Championship
    Information
  • Northwest Regatta Information
  • Nite Nationals Information
  • WSSA Championship Regatta
    Information.

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National Iceboat Authority Web Page



Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates

2024-2025

  • 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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Lake Access Permits

A year-round permit required for designated launch sites in the City of Madison and Dane County Parks. Locations include:

    • Lake Mendota Warner Park Mendota County Park
    • Lake Monona Tonyawatha Tr. Olin Park
    • Lake Waubesa Goodland Park

Purchase Lake Access Permit Online.

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