UPCOMING:
4LIYC Spring Social: April 25 @ Breakwater More Information
4LIYC Meeting: November 2026
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
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Spaight Street Syndicate Update: Chicks Dig It, Plane It, Sand It, and Glass It
The Spaight Street Syndicate has a guest columnist this week, DN sailor Erin Bury US5397:
Since the December Spaight St. Syndicate wrote about me, I bought my own iceboat (DN 5397) and sailed it on two occasions – the day I bought it and at the U.S. DN Nationals. At Nationals, it seemed like anything that could go wrong did go wrong – boom jaw broke off, outhaul on the boom that was loaned to me in the wake of the broken boom jaw disappeared mid-warmup (sorry Daniel), and I was catapulted from my DN in a 40 mph gust. What I learned – my boom jaw was overtightened, things can shake loose on chunky ice, and how far a 109-pound human missile can fly when launched 30-40 mph. The launch was due to my plank being too stiff for my body weight and this would need to addressed in order for me to stay competitive (and in my boat).
It may be indelicate for a lady to discuss her weight, but in this sport, weight matters. (Plus, let’s be done with body shaming already.) In ice sailing, one can use her weight to her advantage. An ice sailor gets to tailor her boat to her body instead of tailoring her body to her boat. Imagine having precise input on how something fits you and you do not have to change anything about yourself to make it happen. Cue plank shaving!
Over the course of a weekend, Daniel Hearn (DN 5352, walking encyclopedia of all things sailing, ranked seventh internationally as of the 2020 Gold Cup, and a killer catamaran sailor) and Dave Shea (motorcycle number 426, engineer who races dirt bikes on the ice and motorcycles in the road race circuit) helped me customize the plank on my DN for my weight. First, we measured how much it was bending under my weight, which was around 21 millimeters, while the ideal range is 42-44 millimeters (translation: I was having zero impact on it). We decided on an arc that could be described as “sexy” and began planing the plank. After shaving off large chunks, we started sanding. Once we achieved the desired shape, it was time to set it in stone (or glass). Once the fiberglass was set, it was time to sand it again to remove stiffness and maintain that “sexy” shape. The goal is to have it ready in time for the Western Region Championship; thanks to Daniel and Dave this will be possible.
These are usual growing pains of buying a new toy and learning a new sport. When trying something new, I ask myself “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?” I’d get flung from my iceboat a hundred more times if it means I get to learn something. I cannot wait to get out on the ice to see how my boat performs and what I am capable of with a new boom jaw, a secured outhaul, and a newly formed and customized plank. Anything worth doing will come with challenges and opportunities for growth. As my late grandma/best friend/inspiration (who was third in the world as an All-American triathlete) would say, “Live while you are alive.”
Thank you to Dave Shea for being hands-on in helping with this new endeavor and supporting this little lady at the helm!
Extra special shoutout to Daniel Hearn who is a marvelous sailing mentor. I would not have had access to the same resources nor be exposed to as many opportunities in ice sailing. Thank you for all you do for the sailing communities and for supporting newbies like me!
Karol’s Winning Moves
No matter what type of iceboat you race, watch and listen closely to this interview with 12 times DN World Champion Karol Jablonski. Karol breaks down every racing move he made on a short course with shifty winds.
Below is the original video Karol and Mike are discussing.
Regatta Watch: 2021 Renegade Championship Postponed
Well, that didn’t take long. Via Renegade Regatta Chairman Don Anderson:
The 2021 Renegade Championship has been postponed until February 26-28, 2021. Too much snow! Next update is Sunday, February 21, 2021.
Regatta Watch: 2021 WSSA Postponed
2010 Northwest Regatta on Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, WI. Photo: gretchendorian.com
Via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton:
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 27 and 28, 2021. The next update will be Sunday, February 21. Check back here at that time. We almost had suitable ice off Menominee if it weren’t for the snow we all received on Saturday.
Regatta Watch: 2021 Renegade Championship Called On for Feb 19-21
Photo: Kevin Chapman
Via Renegade Regatta Chair Don Anderson:
The 2021 Renegade Championship has been tentatively called on for February 19-21, 2021. Potential sites include Green Lake, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan. Final confirmation will be made by Wednesday evening, February 17, 2021.
1976 Northwest Regatta on Lake Mendota
Class E Skeeters line up to race at the 1976 Northwest Regatta on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo: Greg Whitehorse
Greg Whitehorse posted this on the 4LIYC Facebook page.
Mid-70’s Northwest Regatta on Lake Mendota.
You are looking at just one side of the starting line, so I’ll guess there are probably 28, maybe more, Class E* Skeeters in this race. M-54 is Gary Sternberg’s “So What,” but I think Vic Whitehorse is at the helm for this race. That would be Dave Nelson’s M-150, “Tuff Ship” lined up next. Racing in the Skeeter class with 30-40 boats on the line was a blast back in the day.Between the late ’60s and early ’70s, I believe club members helped build ten or more Class E Skeeters in Dave Rosten’s basement. It wasn’t unusual to see Dave, Paul Krueger, Bill Mattison, Jack Ripp, the guy who the boat was being built for, and a host of others all helping out. It was an incredible time.
Skeeter Ice Boat Club’s Sparky Lundberg aced out Paul Krueger for the Class A Skeeter win that year. It may have been the first year for PK’s rear seater.
January 21, 1976, Wisconsin State Journal: Paul Krueger’s first rear-seat Class A Skeeter.
1976 NIYA Regatta Winners:
Class A: No entry
Class B: WINTER BELL, B. Herman
Class C: TWIN BEDS, Bill McCormick
Class D: RED WITCH, Dick Slates
Class E Skeeter: Sparky Lundberg
DN Class: Jane Pegel
DN Class Junior:Mike O’Brien
Renegade Class: Elmer Millenbach RENEGADE III
*The Reason Class A Skeeters are called Class E Skeeters in the Northwest Regatta
The International Skeeter Association designates bow-steering Skeeters Class A as “Single place yachts, or two-place tandem Whose mast, when measured along the mast, does not exceed 28’-6″ from the deck to top of mast, including all mast and deck hardware.” Class A Skeeters carry a maximum of 75 square feet of sail. However, when Class A Skeeters sail in the Northwest regatta, they are listed as “Class E.” (When I was a kid, I thought the E stood for “Experimental.”)
Class A Skeeters turn into Class E because there was already a Class A, B, C, and D in the Northwest, and those designations applied to Stern-Steerers. Skeeters got the left-over E. It reminds us that the Northwest regatta is a Stern-Steerer regatta, organized in 1913 by ice yacht clubs, which only sailed Stern-Steerers at the time. 1936 marks the year that the Northwest recognized Skeeters as an ice yacht class.
Ice Magic
Lake Baikal. Photo by Kristina Makeeva
It’s -5F/-21C in Madison, WI this morning. Oh, and it’s snowing, thus proving that it’s never too cold to snow. Many of us are spending another weekend off the ice. Why not get your ice-science geek on and read DN sailor Ken Smith’s article about ice’s magical properties and learn about peel-outs.
WHY ICE WORKS
Push your boat over ice, and it slides almost friction-free. Why is there no friction? Because ice is magic. Ice floats on water.
Professor, explain why runners are almost frictionless on ice? Well, pilot, most materials live by phase diagrams that display what pressure and temperature does to the material “phases,” liquid, solid and gas. Take a gas, put it under pressure and it becomes a liquid. Take a liquid and put it under pressure and it becomes a solid. Works for lava. Works for steel, works for most anything that has a liquid state. It works for water, too. The magic stuff, ice will become water (or slush) if it gets above 32 degrees F, 0 degrees C. But there is a special condition found in ice where the phase transitions are a little wacky. This wackiness means the solid is less densethan the liquid. Ice floats. Stay with me here.
Continue reading in the February 2021 edition of the DN class newsletter, Runner Tracks, page 8.
4LIYC Racing Update for February 13-14, 2021
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club will not be holding racing this weekend of February 13-14, 2021. The sign above explains all – too much snow on area lakes. Next 4LIYC racing update is February 19, 2021.
Meanwhile, over in Holland, the birthplace of our sport, they have ice for the first time in 10 years! Every iceboat in the entire country must have been sailing in Holland today.
Steve O Goes
When was the last time you clocked in at 100 mph in your sailboat when the breeze was a steady 15 knots? Not recently? Let’s chat with Harken Director of Engineering Steve Orlebeke. He brought his freaky fast Class A Skeeter and brand new DN into the factory to give you an inside look.
Here’s the link to the full video of Steve racing his Skeeter.
Sail Iowa!
Okoboji or Spirit Lake in Iowa would be a great place to iceboat some day.
Some years the stars align for just one day. Some years for a week or even two. Some years the right conditions never come together at all.
But even just one great outing in an ice boat is enough to keep its captain coming back winter after winter. Continue reading.
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.
