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
2020-2021 Winter Forecast: There Will Be Iceboating Somewhere…Again

“Ice Yachts On The Hudson River” by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick. “They work primarily in the fields of photography and installation art, specializing in fictitious histories [much like winter weather forecasts – Ed.] set in the past or future. Website
You can trust our winter forecasts here at iceboat.org. We guarantee that there will be ice sailing somewhere in North America and around the world, hopefully near you! And make plans to attend your local iceboat swap meet this Saturday, October 24. Information below!
WINTER WEATHER GUESSES
Farmer’s Almanac
NOAA
Accuweather
John Dee’s Winter Outlook
ICEBOAT SWAP MEETS
EAST – THOMPSON, CONNECTICUT
New England Ice Yacht Club Swap Meet
Saturday, October 24
10 AM
Thompson Motor Speedway Golf Course
205 E Thompson Rd, Thompson, CT 06277
We will have lots of outdoor space for the swap meet, Lunch, and our Annual Meeting. You don’t have to come inside if you are not comfortable doing so but everyone should meet up in the parking lot. You do not have to be a member to attend the swap or other activities.
More information
WEST – GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN
Green Lake Ice Yacht Club
Saturday, October 24
10 AM – 2 PM
Green Lake Town Square Parking Lot
Green Lake, WI
More information
WEST- DELAVAN, WISCONSIN
Delavan Yacht Club
Saturday, November 7, 2020
10 AM – 3 PM
Location: Delavan Yacht Club
1501 Cedar Point Drive
Delavan, WI
More information
How Do You Say HOLLYWOOD in Norwegian?
An intrepid ice skater who goes by the name “The Dutch Ice Finder” found the first of the season today on Lake Juvvanet in Norway and posted these heart-wrenchingly beautiful photos of perfect, fresh, black ice on his Facebook page. The season is soon upon us, folks.
See the “B” This Week
In addition to the autumn colors, apples, and pumpkins, fall in Four Lakes means setting up your iceboat to make sure everything fits. The MARY B group set her up in a Westport field on Saturday.. Daniel Hearn also took advantage of the beautiful day and the large area to set up his C Skeeter. If you’d like to see the MARY B, she’ll be up all week. Don Sanford sends the following:
Mary B is waiting for you! Have you ever wanted to get an up-close and personal look at the Mary B but just haven’t felt up to braving the cold and hiking out onto the ice?
Well, here’s your chance. Our volunteers set her up today and now you can even visit from the comfort of your car.
She’s waiting for you in a wide-open field near the intersection of Hwy 113 and County Hwy M.
Set your GPS for 5341 W. River Road., Waunakee 53597. Once you’re on River Road, just follow the Mary B signs.
Volunteers will be there to show her to you, answer questions and maybe tell you a story from 1 pm – 4 pm as follows:
- Sunday, October 11
- Tuesday, October 13
- Wednesday, October 14
- Thursday, October 15
- Friday, October 16
Come on out this week, you won’t need a winter coat, gloves or your ice creepers!
Sorry about the late notice, but you know how it is with iceboats—conditions are always changing.
See you on the
icegrass.Please wear your mask.
Don
DN Tech Talk: Gluing Chocks
Previous: Shimming Runners
Polish DNer Tomek Zakrzewski’s is back with another instructional Youtube video.
One of the ways to glue chocks to the runner plank using simple jig and MMA adhesive. Building ice sailing gears can be easier when we learn one from the other.
2021 4LIYC Notice of Dues
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Meeting Schedule
Like sharpening runners, a notice of dues is another hopeful sign that the ice sailing season is weeks away. The 4LIYC remains committed to promoting iceboating and continuing to bring you all the news from our Four Lakes to the ice sheets of the world. Your dues support iceboat.org, the Buy and Sell page, the 4LIYC ATV, and the equipment to run club races and regattas. It’s more crucial than ever to pay your dues by mail this season. You will not be able to hand our treasurer, Jerry Simon, your $20 membership fee at a 4LIYC meeting because we are temporarily moving to Zoom. You’ll receive this nifty membership card in the mail when you pay your dues. Club members will also receive an email with a link to our Zoom meetings where you will continue to learn the latest about the iceboating scene. Please make sure to include your email address with your dues.
THANK YOU for helping to support the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club.
Annual Dues:
Senior (Regular) Member $20
Student Member $10
Under 18 Years Old $10
Jerry Simon, Treasurer 4LIYC
3788 Highridge Road
Madison, WI 53718
Click here to download and print the membership form.
“Frank Tetzlaff: A Woodworking Genius”
An old windowsill from Madison house remodel leads to an iceboating story posted on the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation website.
Previous: 1934 Northwest Regatta
By Don Sanford
Ask any Madison iceboater if they know who Frank Tetzlaff is, you’ll get an earful. They’ll probably bend your ears for hours about two revolutionary iceboats he designed—the Fritz and the Mary B. In 1930, Frank established himself as one of the foremost iceboat designers in the Midwest when he designed and built the 38-foot Class A[1] stern steerer iceboat, the Fritz, for Madison iceboater and furniture dealer Fritz Jungbluth. The Fritz was a work of art and radically different from her contemporaries. But in iceboats beauty is only skin deep. It’s speed that counts and the Fritz was fast–real fast, winning regatta after regatta, bringing honor to her owner and hometown. Continue reading.
C is 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
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.