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
C is OG
Daniel with Jerry Simon, another OG.
Daniel Hearn unveiled the C Skeeter’s new livery last weekend. Of course there’s a story….
Yo, Yo, Yo…What Up, Homies?
I’ve got less street cred than Mr. Rogers. Yet my kids call me “OG.” I know it’s actually to poke fun, but I’m perfectly comfortable with my dorkiness. Kind of like calling your iceboating buddy who’s last name is Davenport, “Couch.”
OG is short for “Original Gangsta.” To me it sounded like a good name for an iceboat. Yeah, it’s a skinny old white dude behind the bubble, but that’s what the tint is for. Perception is everything.
In Madison, we pride ourselves in “taking it to the man!” Early in their college careers, my kids were on board with that. Until they realized, “wait a minute, OG is “the man,” and that pays for my tuition. Maybe reality does trump perception now and then? (Not a political statement).
I was happy to have the Original, Original Gangsta, Jerry Simon, my brother Brian and the Global Communications Director of Ice Sailing, Deb Whitehorse for the assembly. Once I clearcoat the mast, align the runners, make an anti-mast flogging device and apply a few more decals, I’m ready for ice. Can’t wait!
BLACK ICE Discount
Photo: Sail Racing
Previous: “Introducing Black Ice”
Sail Racing recently introduced their Black Ice concept inspired by “dedicated sailors in the northern parts of North America that were designing and building advanced ice yachts capable of massive speeds on clear black ice.” (On a personal note, their gear has kept me warm and functioning on the ice from Lake Baikal to the middle-of-nowhere Montana.)
As a thank you to the ice sailing community, Sail Racing is offering a substantial discount and free shipping to the US.
Thank you Olivia and the rest of the Sail Racing team!
We would like to give you a 40% discount code, that you can share with the whole ice sailing community.
Code: blackice2020
The code is valid worldwide and throughout the year. You enter the discount code at the checkout and 40% will be deducted.
And right now there is free shipping to the US.
“Consumables”
Activities at area iceboat shops are in full swing as everyone prepares for the upcoming season. Over at the Krueger-Whitehorse Skeeter shop, PK vacuum-bagged his Class A Skeeter plank last week. In this short video, they are removing the burlap skin. The plank will be seeing some red soon.
In the News: Steve Orlebeke @ Seahorse Magazine
Pewaukee’s Steve Orlebeke is an accomplished iceboater who always has to save room in the truck to bring home the trophies when he competes at DN and Class A Skeeter regattas. Check out his article about DN racing in Seahorse Magazine.
Introducing Black Ice
Black Ice from Sail Racing on Vimeo.
Explore Black IceIn January of 2020, the Swedish high-performance clothing company Sail Racing sent their crew on an expedition to Lake Pepin on the Wisconsin Minnesota border to film Skeeters for their fall 2020 advertising campaign. They have filmed Skeeters in previous years including the 2013 International Skeeter Association Regatta (ISA) on Lake Kegonsa. Skeeter sailors and the Sail Racing folks had hoped for another ISA but regatta conditions never came together. However, Lake Pepin’s ice provided conditions for C Skeeter sailors Daniel Hearn and Pat Heppert which enabled the Sail Racing folks to complete their mission. Today they released the new line fittingly called Black Ice.
“Graciousness, attention to detail a way of life for Bill Mattison”
Bill & Mauretta Mattison. Photo: John Hart
Wisconsin State Journal
Graciousness, attention to detail a way of life for Bill Mattison
By Barry Adams
Idle is a rarely used gear for Bill Mattison.
The proof can be seen in the intricacies of miniature circus wagons that line the living-room shelves of his Madison home.
The wooden wagons, modeled after those at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, sport working brakes, tiny hinges and detailed paint jobs. One has a working steam calliope and another a series of thimble-sized cast iron bells tuned to specific pitches.
Continue reading.
4LIYC Meetings Join the Virtual Revolution
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is pleased to announce that our meetings for the upcoming season will continue through the Zoom app. Club officers believe it is critical to maintain our meeting schedule in order to keep our members informed about ice conditions, regattas, and fleet news. Currently, in Dane County, restaurants and bars have a 25% capacity limit which makes holding our club meetings next to impossible. Even though we can’t meet indoors, club members are excited and looking forward to the upcoming ice sailing season. Ice sailing is the perfect way to continue socializing and having fun outdoors. Club meetings could move back indoors if the COVID situation changes.
4LIYC club members will receive an email next week with more information about the Zoom meetings. If you have questions, please email debwhitehorse@iceboat.org.
2020-2021 4LIYC ZOOM MEETING DATES
November 4POSTPONED- November 18 FIRST MEETING
- December 2 Elect Fleet Captains. Vote on ISA & NIYA Agenda Items
- December 16
- December 30
- January 13 Honor Roll Nominations
- January 27 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- February 10
- February 24 Business Meeting
- March 10
Location: Online using the Zoom App
Time: 6:30 PM
NSHOF Virtual Induction Ceremony
If you missed it last Saturday night, the National Sailing Hall of Fame has kindly made available the induction ceremony on YouTube. The embedded video begins with Peter Harken’s introduction of Bill Mattison. You’ll see many familiar faces in the photos and hear from Bill’s wife, Mauretta, a driving force supporting Bill’s passions for the water and boat shop.
Socially Iceboating
One of the tenets of this sport is adaptability – being ready for whatever Mother Nature throws our way. 4LIYC Nite sailor Lars Barber has been planning for the season like any good ice sailor and created this portable propane grill for some after-race cookouts. In normal times, a cookout on the ice is a treat. With COVID likely limiting our access to the local watering spots, a fire on the ice with brats, bags of shelled peanuts (Tip of the Helmet Tom Hyslop), and our favorite beverages will almost become mandatory. So take a few extra minutes to plan when heading to the lake. Throw a bag of pre-cooked brats, snacks, and garbage bags into the cooler. Iceboating will get you out of the house this winter.
Shop Day: Plank and Fire-pit
Paul trimming a little carbon off of his Class A Skeeter plank.
Paul Krueger and Ken Whitehorse were back in the Skeeter Shop on Saturday preparing for the upcoming season. Paul focused on the runner plank while Ken welded up a portable fire pit. Is there room in the trailer for a portable fire-pit? A fire on the ice at the end of a sailing day could be the answer to the social-time dilemma that COVID has presented.
Ken utilizing his blacksmith skills. Wait, what’s that in the background, a Skeeter bus?
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.
