NIYA

Northwest Ice Yachting Association An iceboat regatta first sailed in 1913 in Menominee, Michigan.

Stern Steerers

The NIYA was originally a stern-steerer regatta organized to determine ice yacht supremacy in the Midwest. A,B,C,& D stern-steerers continue to compete in the NIYA.

Skeeters

Class E Skeeters first raced the NIYA in 1936 when Lake Geneva sailor Harry Melges won in MICKEY FINN.

DN Class

Skip Boston of Detroit was the first winner of the NIYA in the DN class in 1954.

Renegade

First sailed as a seperate class in 1958 and won by “Mr. Iceboat”, Elmer Millenbach.

NIYA Centennial

The NIYA celebrated 100 years of iceboat racing in 2013 on Green Lake in Wisconsin.

2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information

March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota

SOLD! December 12, 2022: Nite in IL

SOLD! Nite 482
Selling because of health issues.
Excellent Condition includes Hull, Plank and Mast covers, Newer Seat Pad, New Main Sheet. Good North Sail.
Boat was inspected by S&R Marine. They did a Plank Alignment, Sharpened Runners and adjusted the shrouds last year.
Trailer recently painted, New lights and New Wheels and Tires.
Located in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago.
Ready to Travel. $4,500

2022-2023 Renegade Newsletter & Ice Making

Tim McCormick and Skip Dieball on Lake Monona at the 2022 ISA championship. Photo: Will Johnston

Two subjects today, but closely intertwined.
One: Via Renegade Secretary Ron Rosten,  2022-2023 Renegade Newsletter

2022 IRIYRA Championship Recap by Skip Dieball
What a fun weekend in Madison Feb 18-20. The collection of iceboating enthusiasts really encompassed the spec-
trum of abilities, which makes the experience so fun. The way folks light up when they have first ride…and the
hardened veterans that tweak their set up. Continue reading

Two: I’m not going out on a limb to predict there will be ice across Wisconsin in the next two weeks. Accuweather says…

Forecasted temperatures in the Four Lakes for the last 2 weeks of December 2022.  Are you ready?

See You Skimming

Michigan’s Ron Sherry set up these Skimmers on Lake St. Clair. In his article for the DN class newsletter Runner Tracks, “Be The Guy”, he wrote, “Be the guy that makes sure giving someone their first ice boat ride is a safe, exciting experience that they will tell all of their friends about.” Read the article here.

Last season, several 4LIYC members brought their Skimmer iceboats to the lake for fun and to easily give people their first taste of ice sailing. As of this week, Skimmer manufacturing and sales is now Wisconsin-based.

Via John Hayashi of Windward Boatworks, Princeton, WI

Windward Boatworks is excited to announce the acquisition of the Skimmer 45 Iceboat product line. The past owners, Jon and Nancy Cheris of Wind Power Products, manufactured and sold Skimmers for over forty years.

 

Windward Boatworks has been focusing on increasing ice sailing participation within the iceboating community and creating opportunities for summer sailors to try the sport. Everything pointed back to an iceboat priced comparable to other outdoor activities and easily shippable. Each time, Skimmer 45 became part of the discussion. That said, adding it to our line of products at Windward Boatworks made sense.

 

We envision an opportunity to get more iceboaters into the sport. For the more actively involved iceboaters, we are looking forward to re-establishing the Skimmer 45 National Organization and offering even more opportunities.

 

See You Skimming!
John Hayashi
Windward Boatworks

In the News 2: Bill Mattison in Dec Seahorse Magazine

Bill Mattison and his 75%

The second part of Carol Cronin’s Bill Mattison article in Seahorse Magazine has been published.  “Carol Cronin continues her look back at the extraordinary life of a very extraordinary ‘yachtsman’… though such a plain description does not begin to touch the sides.”
The magazine is subscription based and you can purchase the December edition in print or digital format here.

Decades of continuous improvement
An unattributed quote in the book that Bill Mattison’s daughter Lynn produced for him puts the whole sport of iceboating into perspective. ‘It has been rumoured that iceboating is 75 per cent building them, 10 per cent talking about them, 10 per cent waiting around on the ice for the right conditions and five per cent actually sailing them.’ And her father enjoyed all of it. Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY
In The News: Bill Mattison in Nov Seahorse Magazine
A Life that Dreams Are Made Of
Eight Bells
Home of the Volleyball(?) Champs
Nothing Fickler
Bill’s Circus Life
The Icing On The Lake”
“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Willy St. Iceboat Shop Archives

Picture of the Week & 4LIYC Meeting Reminder

Crystal blue persuasion.  Pat Heppert’s C Skeeter DRIFTER with Canadian DNer Jack Marzenski at the Great Western Challenge on Lake Minnewaska in Starbuck, MN. PHOTO: KEVIN BARTA

Friendly reminder, we have a 4LIYC meeting tonight, December 7, 2022, at 6:30 PM. We are going ZOOM ONLY tonight which allows for more work in the shop. You should have received an email with the link. Contact me if you haven’t received it.

SOLD! November 27, 2022: Vintage DN in IN

SOLD! Vintage DN. Built for the DN World Championship races back in the 1990’s, this boat is in great shape. It has Kenyon aluminum mast and boom, Harken hardware, SS stay wires, one set of runners and two sails that are in very good shape. There is no trailer and the boat cover is from another boat and is in poor shape. Great beginner boat or a boat just for cruising. The boat has been in inside storage since 2007.
Located in the Indianapolis area. May be willing to meet half way if I can find a way to transport.
$1,200.

Big Sky Journal: Montana Ice Sailing

The winter tradition of sail-powered ice boating finds the right combination of ice, wind, and speed-seeking participants in Montana

BIG SKY JOURNAL
in Winter 2022 | Feature Stories | Written by Andrew McKean | Photography by Sean R. Heavey
Just as surfers will spend the balance of their year waiting for just the right wave, and skiers will rearrange their lives in pursuit of fluffy mountain powder, so do ice boaters watch for fresh ice and stiff winds. They’re monitoring long- and short-term weather forecasts for their version of powder days, says Flathead Lake ice-boat builder John Eisenlohr, one of the dozens of Montana winter sailors who travel the West in search of perfect ice. “For us, that’s the first black ice thick enough to play on, plus a certain amount of wind,” Eisenlohr says. “Not too much wind, and no packed snow on the ice. And, if I’m really lucky, the ice will have just a little stippling on it to hold the runners.” Continue reading.

4LIYC Meeting Reminder for November 23, 2022 – ZOOM ONLY

Thankful for Ice Sailing

Thanksgiving Edition ZOOM ONLY Meeting.
Join us from the comfort of your own home while you make pumpkin pies for your Thanksgiving feast. Deb has sent the email with log on information. Please contact her if you haven’t received it.

WHAT TO KNOW:
Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Time: 6:30 PM CT

ZOOM MEETING
Didn’t get an email with the Zoom link? Contact Deb debwhitehorse@iceboat.org

DUES
If you haven’t already done so, please pay your dues, only $20! Information here.

Drawing BLADE RUNNER II

Greg Whitehorse in his Renegade BLADE RUNNER on Lake Monona.

Previous: Drawing Blade Runner
Lifetime 4LIYC member Greg Whitehorse has followed in his father, artist Harry Whitehorse, footsteps. Greg’s been honing his artistic talents in the past couple of years by sketching open-wheel midget race cars, another Whitehorse family tradition. Last year, Greg shared his first sketch of his Renegade, BLADE RUNNER. The cold weather must have inspired him to have another go at it; here’s his second sketch.

BLADE RUNNER’s new owner, Chad Atkins, and trailer partner, Chris Gordon, who bought a former Simon Renegade, have been tuning them up in Rhode Island for the past few weeks. They are in the trailer and will return to Four Lakes soon.

FIRST!

As far as I can tell, John Eisenlohr threw the opening ball today, close to his home, for the 2022-2023 ice sailing season. John and a friend rigged up their Mini-Skeeters on Smith Lake near Kalispell, Montana.

Via the Mini-Skeeter Facebook Page:
So begins the season. Pretty good ice in some spots with some 2” drifts in others. I got a few one way runs right on the edge of sailing. At any rate it was a nice 20 degree sunny day to be outside.
John Eisenlohr

SOLD! September 5, 2022: DN in WI

SOLD! DN Package with Trailer
Wide body DN fuselage w/cover
Sherry plank, 185 lb. w/Struble chocks
Mast, Sherry glass “WHIP” w/ cover
Dyform rigging w/Struble spreader
Sherry Rocket Carbon mast w/cover
Sail, North FO1 (Like new)
Sail, Quantum JD speed sail
Forstmann boom with custom infinite block adjustment
Harken tielite blocks, 2 Harken ratchets, Harken track & cars,
Carbon steering rod
Telescoping carbon fiber tiller
Set of 3 Sarns Bullnose plates w/ carry box
Pair 36” x 3/16” 440c Sherry inserts w/CF stiffeners & padded carry case
Pair 30” x 3/16” 440c Sherry inserts & padded carry case
1 Polish T steering runner
Enclosed trailer on Karavan bed w/12” tires plus spare.
Spare Plank 180lb w/sarns chocks and cover
$5900

Skeeter Iceboat Club Bestows Honors

Skeeter Iceboat Club Lifetime Member, Mary Jane Schalk

Via Skeeter Iceboat Club member Susie Pegel:

On November 12, at the annual fall meeting of the Skeeter Ice Boat Club, four individuals were honored for their support of the sport of iceboating: Bestowed Life Membership included Fritz Button who races a self-built B Division Skeeter; B Skeeter skipper Bob Mereness whose father was a Life Member and a founding member of the SIBC; and Lou Loenneke who began iceboating when a youngster and eventually won Skeeter and DN championships. Mary Jane Schalk was granted Honorary Membership. When help is needed, she is the first to step forward to do scoring, service the chow line. or hold the end of the tape measure.

SOLD! November 9, 2022: Skeeter in WI

SOLD! A-Skeeter “Notorious” for Sale.
Complete boat is ready to sail & needs no work. Good condition.
Has faster, newer style 13” wide x 26’ 2.5” long mast, fiberglass hull built by Melges is more durable than wood hulls. Includes hull, mast, plank, sail, boom, runners, covers & all hardware.
$1,100 (no trailer – I will loan you my trailer to get boat to your destination)
$1,500 (with trailer).
NW Chicago / Lake Geneva area.