2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to March 3 – 5
E Skeeter: Jay Yaeso. Photo: Gretchen Dorian
With 12 or more inches of snow now nearly certain at Lake Pepin, The NIYA Race Committee has decided to postpone without waiting for Wednesday, so the competitors can better plan their week. Next update is Sunday, February 26, 2023.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
NIYA
The Skeeter Iceboat Club Celebrates 90 Years On Ice
The Skeeter Iceboat Club Beauvais Fleet. Date unknown.
Our friends to the south on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin will soon celebrate a milestone, the 90th anniversary of the founding of their club. March 4th, 2023, is the 90th anniversary of the Beau-Skeeter Iceboat Club, now known as the Skeeter Iceboat Club.
MORE SIBC HISTORY
The Women of Iceboating
Four-Runner Iceboat Built by SIBC Commodore Robert Ferris
Wish You Were Here – Skeeter Iceboat Postcards & History
WILLIAMS BAY–ICE BOAT CENTER OF THE WORLD
Via Jane & Susie Pegel of the Skeeter Iceboat ClubWilliams Bay is known as the “Ice Boat Center of the World.” Iceboating was formalized as a sport on the lake with the formation of the Beau-Skeeter Ice Boat Club of Southern Wisconsin on March 4, 1933. The first meeting was held at the home of Arthur Anderson in Williams Bay to organize the club and elect officers. (Art Anderson was an important part of the village of Williams Bay. He owned Bay Oil Company which was directly behind today’s sailboat rigging area on Geneva Street) Elected as officers of the new club were: Commodore Art Anderson, Vice Commodore Don Waterbury, Rear Commodore Chester Granath.
Skeeter Iceboat Club on Geneva Lake, c. 1930s
It was decided dues would be $3 per year, payable at 50 cents a month or in a lump sum. It was decided a burgee be adopted –a triangle 10″ X 16″ with a red background and a white figure, sample to be submitted by Mr. Beauvais. Suggestions were made and discussed as to the time of races and ladies’ races. The club By-Laws stated the object of the club “shall be to encourage ice yachting, to promote the social interest and good fellowship of all persons interested in ice yachting and to stimulate and promote races under reasonable and uniform rules.” Also, “The Northwest Ice Yachting Association sailing rules shall apply to this club.”
There were motions to change the club name at a special meeting held on December 10, 1938. Some suggestions were: Geneva Lake Ice Boat Club, Geneva-Delavan Ice Yacht Club, Big Foot Ice Yacht Club, Arctic Ice Yacht Club, Williams Bay Ice Boat Club, Lake Geneva Ice Boat Club, and Skeeter Ice Boat Club. After considerable lobbying and voting, the Skeeter Ice Boat Club was approved. On March 9, 1940, the club
A 30 mile gale added thrills to the Northwestern Ice Yachting Association regatta on Lake Mendota at Madison, Wisc. January 30, 1938. Here two machines are “hiking”, which is like “heeling” in a sailboat as H.V. Fitzcharles of Chicago, left, sailing High Voltage, and Harry Melges of Williams Bay, Wisc. at the helm of Fancy Flight put up a heated fight to head each other.”
I came across this photo on ebay from a company that specializes in original press photos and snapped it up. NIYA records show Harry Nye as the winner of the 1938 Northwest Skeeter class. Skeeters first competed in the NIYA in 1936. Skeeters didn’t have springboards at that time which must have made for quite an exciting ride in a 30 mph gale.accepted the letter ” I ” to put on sails to represent Delavan and Geneva lakes in the International Skeeter Association.At the regular spring meeting on March 8, 1947, Fleet Captain Art Anderson suggested that a starting procedure for the races be written. The commodore suggested Art appoint a committee to present such a procedure at the November meeting.
At the regular spring meeting on March 13, 1948, club label pins were discussed, and the subject was dropped after Norm Hansen voted “no” twice. It was moved, seconded, and passed that the official racing season shall not extend beyond March 15, thus constituting an amendment to the By-Laws.
At the regular fall meeting on November 13, 1948, a shotgun presented by the Fox Lake Ice Yacht Club to the Skeeter Ice Boat Club was shown to those present. An engraved plate furnished with the gun gave the presentation date as April 3, 1948.
At the November 12, 1949 meeting, it was decided a bulletin board would be posted at Henri’s tavern and the Bay Oil Station by noon on Saturdays as to where and when the club would sail the next day. Also, Norm Hansen brought up the subject of a new class of ice boat called the DN-60. A committee was appointed to look into the possibility of such a boat.After the November 8, 1952, meeting was adjourned, Bill Stenus showed the Fox Movietone roll on iceboating.
The minutes of the March 14, 1953 spring meeting indicate Mel Jones suggested that the trophy dinner be an OLD TIMERS PARTY and reunion of former members and friends in as much as this year was the 20th anniversary of the club’s founding.
The Skeeter Ice Boat Club still exists today and runs races on Lake Como, Delavan Lake, and Geneva Lake and hosts many regattas.
SOME PAST COMMODORES OF THE SKEETER ICE BOAT CLUB
1933-36 Art Anderson
1936-39 Donald Waterbury
1939-41 Chester Granath
1941-42 Robert Ferris
1942-45 World War II
1945-49 Robert Ferris
1949-50 John Clifford
1950-52 Mel Spence
SEASON’S RESULTS
1934 season champion Don Waterbury
ladies champion Lucille Fitzcharles
1935 season champion Don Waterbury
ladies champion Vera Granath
1935-36 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1. GALE, Bettye Nye
2. RANDOM SHOTS, Ethel Koehler
3. HI VOLTAGE, Lucille Fitzcharles
4. SU JAC, Ariel Clayton
5. ARIEL C, Sue Vilas
6. VEE GEE, Vera Granath
7. HOLY SMOKE, Helen Campbell
8. HEL MEL, Ariel Clayton
9. WARHORSE, Rose Anderson
10. SANDY, Medora Adams
1936-37 SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
1. GALE, Harry Nye
2. SKIP IT, Chester Granath
3. HI VOLTAGE, H. Fitzcharles
4. BLUE BILL IV, Don Waterbury
5. HOLY SMOKE, Don Campbell
6. WARHORSE, Art Anderson
7. SU JAC, Jack Vilas
8, SANDY, Charles Sawyer
9. RANDOM SHOTS, Franz Koehler
10. ZEPHYR, Bill Mereness
11. SU JACK, Jack Vilas, Sr.
12. FANCY FLIGHT, Henry Ferris
13. X, Mike Ambrose
14. MICKEY FINN, Eph Banning
15. TORMENTOR, Robert Ferris
16. ARIEL C., H. MacMurtrie
17. GONE WITH THE WIND, William Brown
18. JACKIE B, Dr. Sanders
19. RIFF, Tucker
20. GREEN GHOST, Mel Jones
21. HEL MEL, Mel Spence
22. RAFF, Barton
“That Will Buff Right Out”
Via 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn:
Wow, what a time we had on Lake Pepin over the weekend! Such a beautiful place to ice sail, with the surrounding bluffs and bald eagles flying everywhere. Thanks to Pat Heppert, who scouted ice on Friday, we knew we were in for a special weekend, if the wind cooperated. We had a massive sheet of nice ice. Not perfect, but plenty smooth even for the little boats. And no heaves to deal with. The light wind forecast for Saturday kept many interested sailors away, but the C-Skeeters were able to sail all morning. And then the breeze filled in nicely in the afternoon. Pat and I ripped around for hours working on tuning, joined by three DNs (Bob Cummins, Matt Meyer and Erin Bury) and one Mini Skeeter (Tom C).
Also got a chance to sail my wing boat for just the second time. Great fun, and I was particularly amazed at the upwind performance. Couple local kids hovered around the pits all afternoon, asking lots of questions and helping out. When I asked if they wanted to give the wing boat a go, at first they thought I was kidding. Patrick and Philip both made her go nicely, and returned to the pits impressively with smiles as wide as the lake.
Breeze was up considerably on Sunday. Pat and I put up our small sails, loaded up with lead and slacked our stays. It was game on, for sure! Looking to catch Fast Pat in our first official race, I was striving to minimize my end plate effect. I definitely closed the gap between my boom and hull, but it exposed my weak spine. (Yeah, I know, not the first time).
With the help of my sailing mates, we removed the boom and sail, and then “de-penetrated” the mast. No damage other than a spine that needs to be rebuilt. Ahhh, but a scratch! So I pushed in to retrieve my wing boat that was already set up and ready to go. And GO it did! Even with next to no wing driving skills, the boat was fast and smooth. In particular, I was blown away with the upwind performance. A hard wing climbs the upwind ladder like nobody’s business.
To complete our amazing weekend, Pat and I sailed all the way down to the infamous Pickle Factory for a delicious lunch. (Picture taken through the window of the bar). It’s 6 miles one-way, and we never had to even negotiate a heave. There, we met up with local Ed Newcomb, who is the owner of two Madison-built A-Skeeters–a Mattison and a Whitehorse–both of which were on the ice, having just completed a sporty session.
About a dozen DNs sailed numerous scrub races while Pat and I were on our adventure. Lots of good tuning took place, with great times reported by all.
Hopefully the fun can continue at the Northwest next weekend!
With the help of my sailing mates, we removed the boom and sail, and then “de-penetrated” the mast. No damage other than a spine that needs to be rebuilt. Ahhh, but a scratch! So I pushed in to retrieve my wing boat that was already set up and ready to go. And GO it did! Even with next to no wing driving skills, the boat was fast and smooth. In particular, I was blown away with the upwind performance. A hard wing climbs the upwind ladder like nobody’s business.Certain Uncertainty
Race Committee at Ullnasjön for DN Sweden Ranking Regatta 8.
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is – John Allen Paulos (received PHD from UW Madison)
There’s another tricky weather event sliding towards the Midwest this week. Europe is experiencing the same weather pattern as the DN class tries to find ice for the European Championship. Their primary site in Latvia received too much snow, and they are on the way to Lithuania today. I flew back last night, opting for the more familiar uncertainty of Wisconsin’s weather. A big thank you to DN Sweden for their hospitality at the Grand Masters and Ranking Regattas. What an experience!
The ice optimists (in all classes!) will have their boats ready for the Northwest at Lake Pepin in MN or local 4LIYC racing this coming weekend. Sleet and ice are on tap for the Madison area this week. With a 12″ base of ice, Kegonsa may be an option for club racing. Watch for the Northwest update on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and the 4LIYC racing update on Friday, February 24.
If you don’t have plans for ice sailing this weekend, the Iceboat Foundation has you covered with certainty. Via Don Sanford:
Mary B fans…
If you have time on your hands this Sunday, February 26, 2023, come on over to the Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Rd. in Monona.
Gretta Wing-Miller and I will be guests of the East Side History Club. They invited us on the condition that we bring along our film, Mary B: Madison’s Legendary Iceboat (the fastest thing on ice). And, of course, we will!
Doors open at 1:30
Film starts at 2:00
Come early for a good seat
Mary B fans…Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 4 – 6
Photo: Gretchen Dorian
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 4 and 5. The next update will be Sunday, February 26. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: NIYA Tentatively Called On
The 2023 NIYA Regatta is called on for Lake Pepin, launch site Lake City Minnesota. Registration will not open until the final call is made at noon Wednesday February 22nd.
Steve Schalk NIYA Secretary/Treasurer
Steve Schalk
The Regatta That Wasn’t
WSA Official Ice Hunting Vehicle
The Wisconsin Skeeter Association President, Ken Whitehorse, has been doing everything to find ice for the Skeeters. He thought he had a site lined up on Lake Petenwell in central Wisconsin with the prerequisite bar and restaurant at the landing, but “nothing fickler” came into play. Looks like Madison area lakes received another dose of snow yesterday meaning we wait for the big Zamboni to roll through again. I’m in Stockholm, soon heading to Latvia for the DN European Championship. The weather over here isn’t making it any easier either.
The Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Championship Race is called off. The Director of Competition, Tom Hyslop advised me to evaluate the smoothness of the racing surface. The surface is race worthy provided there is light wind velocity. However the racing surface is more than 1 1/2 miles out. We would need a safety committee and vehicles. This is a mammoth lake and there are very few sports people on it. Today people drove their trucks all the way across. 12″ to 14″ of ice is the report. If the ice surface were closer to the shore and the Lure Restaurant launch site you can bet M-197 and M-165 would be rippin’ it up this weekend. Let see what happens during this week. Fair winds to all!
-Ken Whitehorse
The Consultant
Dash and PK
4LIYC members have been diligently creating content on our Facebook page while I’ve been in Sweden. Here’s another Facebook post, too good not to post on the website, via Daniel Hearn.
4LIYC Skeeter guys, Kenny Whitehorse and Paul Krueger, flew in a heavyweight coach over the weekend in their quest for more speed. Dash Percevecz (Daniel Hearn’s grandson) reports that, “the guys have potential, but they are easily distracted by beer and pretty girls. They also need to upgrade their kit. I mean really…who considers blue jeans a performance fabric?”
MARY B Makes a Visit
MARY B visits the old neighborhood.
Madison’s historic stern-steerer, MARY B, has been set up on Lake Mendota for the past few weekends at the Frozen Assets Festival and the University of Wisconsin Winter Carnival. The Iceboat Foundation volunteers made the special visit, a stop in front of Mauretta Mattison’s house.
Via Don Anderson of the Iceboat Foundation
We took MARY B to Bill and Mauretta Mattison’s house for a photo shoot. Mauretta came out and took a picture, and Bill helped build many parts of this boat, including the current mast, which Bill signed.
Photo by Jeff Miller | University Communications Hundreds of people watch as fireworks launch into the night sky above an inflatable replica of the Statue of Liberty’s head, arm and torch on frozen and ice-covered Lake Mendota during the conclusion of the Wisconsin Union’s Winter Carnival on Feb. 11, 2023. The event was held along the shoreline of the Memorial Union Terrace at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Lady Liberty tradition began with a prank in 1979 by the Pail and Shovel Party.
HVD 2023
Regatta Watch: 2023 Wisconsin Stern-Steerers Regatta Postponed
2010 Northwest on Lake Winnebago. Photo Gretchen Dorian
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 25 and 26. The next update will be Sunday, February 19. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to Feb 24-26
Renegades at the 2023 Renegade Championship. Photo Will Johnston
The Northwestern Ice Yachting Regatta is postponed one week to February 24th, 25th, and 26th 2023.
Steve Schalk
NIYA
Secretary/Treasurer
4LIYC Racing Update: No Racing for Feb 11-12, 2023
Class A Skeeters hiking out at the 2016 Northwest on Lake Monona, Madison, WI. Photo: Joe Stanton
There will be no club racing this weekend Feb. 11-12. Ice checkers found 2-3“ of stiff snow with a layer of water underneath before reaching hard ice. Hopefully the warm temps and sun will turn the top snow to liquid and then we’ll get a hard freeze. Keep’m sharp!
4LIYC Commodore Daniel
University of WI 2023 Winter Fest, Feb 11 – 12
Bucky Badger on the MARY B at the Frozen Assets Festival on Lake Mendota.
The Wisconsin Memorial Union is having a winter fest this weekend, February 11 – 12, 2023, and the 4LIYC has been invited to display iceboats. The MARY B will be there, and I believe, INSANITY. Looking for others who would be willing to display boats from other classes. This will be excellent exposure for our club and sport. Not to mention, that there will be many attractive coeds looking to meet a big, strong, iceboatin’ man. As an added incentive, there’s a free case of beer chilling for the skipper of every displayed boat. You’ll probably meet several coeds with whom you could share it. Wow! Please let me know if you’re willing and which boat(s) you’ll bring. Thx! Commodore Daniel
The Iceboat Tourist
Swedish Skeeter
Results
DN Sweden Community Facebook Page for Live Reports
I’ve been in Rattvik, Sweden, on Lake Siljan, helping with the fourth annual 2023 DN Grand Masters Regatta, a three-day event for sailors 60 years and older. Hal Bowman US1277 and Mike Bloom US123 are the first Americans to ever participate in the regatta.
Lake Siljan is 137 square miles, formed 377 million years ago by a meteor. It’s almost as big as Lake Winnebago at 215 square miles.
There were three Skeeters that came out to watch yesterday. I was too busy to be able to get a closer look. I’ll try to get better pictures today, the last day of the regatta.
-Deb
Ice Sailing Speed Symposium
A group of top DN sailors gathered at 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn’s office during the recent World Championship to answer questions about iceboat racing. Thanks Sam Bartel for shooting the vide, editing, and posting to YouTube.
Link here.
Navins Nab Nite Nats
Via the Nite Facebook page, Kyle and Dave Navin.
2023 Nite National Results
Congratulations to father and son Dave and Kyle Navin for their one and two finishes at the Nite Nationals sailed on Lake Geneva February 4-5, 2023. (I’ve been waiting over 20 years to write that alliterative headline, “Navin Nabs Nite Nats – even better having to add the s to make it Navins -Ed.) 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn took 4th in the Gold fleet, while Brett Hulsley took 7th in the Silver fleet.
Regatta Watch: 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association Regatta Postponed
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 18 and 19. The next update will be Sunday, February 12. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to Feb 17 – 19
The 2023 NIYA Regatta has been postponed one week to February 17th, 18th and 19th 2023. The potential sites are Lake Winnebago, Green Bay and Petenwell, with melting making for a number of possible locations.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
NIYA
4LIYC By Laws Proposal for Feb 15 Business Meeting
Joe Norton flags Damien Luyet at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Will Johnston
Proposal to Change the 4LIYC Bylaws & Racing Rules
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club scoring chair, Tim McCormick, has submitted a proposal to change the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Bylaws and Racing Rules. Tim’s proposal will “alleviate the confusion we had last year in the Skeeter fleet and clarify scoring classes with multiple fleets at regattas.” The changes are marked in red in the pdf document and affect the following:
- Bylaws: Article 6, Section 6
- Racing Rules, Part III Race Management, 7. Scoring, h. Fleets
- Racing Rules, Part III Race Management, 8. Stay-At-Home-Series & Regattas, c.
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club members in good standing will vote on the proposal at 4LIYC Business Meeting on February 15, 2023. Please review the proposal.
New! ISA News & Views Newsletter Archive
