2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
The Ice Line Marches Southward
Puckaway Nite
The ice is moving south. The Puckaway Ice Sailing group and the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club are reporting that racing will take place on Lake Puckaway this weekend. A bit east of Puckaway, a group of DNs are gathering this weekend near Fond du Lac on Lake Winnebago for some scrub racing as well.
Western Challenge: Lost & Found Department
DN Runners Missing since Battle Lake.
3/16 carbon runners with wings. Built by Ron Sherry. In black Harken runner bag with a Colorado College luggage tag that says 3/16 w/wing. May also have regatta stickers on them.
I sailed them on Sunday at the Great Western Challenge but they never made it home. I had to have taken them off in the pits.
Contact Mike (Six one two) 598-38 zero zero
2018 ISA Regatta Called ON For Battle Lake, MN Dec 7-9
The 2018 International Skeeter Association Regatta has been called ON for December 7, 8, 9 in Battle Lake Minnesota. Please see the ISA page for pre-registration, launch, lodging, and schedule of events. This regatta holds races for A,B,and C Skeeters and the Nite class.
2018 Western Challenge Debrief
4LIYC sailors Dave Elsmo, Doug Kolner, Hugh Sugar, and Tim Sugar are probably a bit tired and sore after sailing at the DN Western Challenge regatta over the weekend in Battle Lake, MN. Following are some photos and reports.
Resourcefulness at its finest.
Doug’s report lifted from his Facebook page:
4987 still looks great. New tenderized plank performed beautifully. Tough racing in 20-25 mph.
1st race tangled with an old friend at the leeward mark when he luffed up in front of me after dropping his main sheet. Had to go in and realign my runners. My next race, I was rounding the weather mark in a good hike when my port runner blew up. (No stiffeners. Would have helped. Longer chocks and big air overloaded them. 21st century DNers have carbon bodied 440c stainless. Rest if the platform is pretty deluxe though.) Did a 360 and parked with a boat heading right at me goin’ a million mph. Missed me. End of a great weekend of sailing with world champs and sailors from Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland and old friends from when I used to race these boats many years ago.
Battle Lake, MN full of Minnesota nice!!! Special thanks to Lars Barber for comin’ to play.
2018 ISA Regatta Update
Photo: gretchendorian.com
The 2018 International Skeeter Association Regatta has been tentatively called ON for December 7-9, 2018 for Battle Lake in Battle Lake, Minnesota.
Final confirmation will be made on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 by 12 PM CT.
2019 WSSA Newsletter
Learn what’s new in the world of the big boats in the 2019 Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association newsletter via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton.
2019 WSSA Newsletter
2018 Renegade Championship Regatta Postponed
Via Renegade Secretary Ron Rosten:
The 2018 Renegade Championship Regatta has been postponed one week. We are hoping to find ice in central or northern Wisconsin. Next update is Sunday, December 9, 2018.
The DN World Descends On Battle
A boy and his iceboat
DN sailors from around the world have gathered on Battle Lake in Battle Lake, Minnesota for the Western Challenge fun-regatta. I counted about 30 masts at noon and there were more arriving. The ice is hard with a bit of snow. A couple of marks were set up and DNers scrub raced all day in the lightish air. As you can see in the photos, the visibility was low and sailors took care to sail safely.
2018 ISA Regatta Tentatively Called ON
The ISA race committee is tentatively planning for the 2018 championship
December 7,8,& 9. Tentative site Battle Lake, Mn.
The Western challenge will be held this weekend and we expect detailed scouting reports.
Next ISA Championship update will be Sunday evening. Get your gear ready for an 2018 event!
1930s Winnebago Iceboating Video
Great grandfather’s 8mm film of iceboating on Lake Winnebago in the 1930s. from r/OldSchoolCool
LINK TO VIDEO
This is an amazing video found on Reddit by Tom Lothian featuring Stern Steerers and early Skeeters in front of the Legion in Oshkosh. I’m certain there are photos of this regatta in the Carl Bernard collection. I recognize the DEUCE and at the very end, the 4LIYC’s Carl Bernard on the MARY B, I think. If you recognize any boats or people in this video, take note of the screen time and let me know. I’ll look over the photos from the Carl Bernard collection to see what I can find.
A big tip of the helmet to Tom Lothian!
Youth Movement
ICE SAILING 101
Current UW students Soren, Will and Jonathon; and recent college east coast college graduate, now Epic employee, Clark, workin’ it in the Spaight Street Syndicate lab. New steering posts and plank attachments, runners shimmed, sharpened and aligned…ready for first test of the semester at the Great Western Challenge. Tip of the helmet to Steve Duhamel at Northwind Iceboats for the donated parts to resurrect P154.
News From the National Iceboat Authority
Photo: Jeff Russell
The National Iceboat Authority Releases Updates to the Racing Rules and Launches a New Web Page
National Iceboat Authority
Via NIA Secretary/Treasurer Tim McCormick:
With the help of Deb Whitehorse, the NIA now has its own web page to make it easier for sailors to find information related to the racing rules. The page is pretty simple but it meets the following goals:
1. Share the purpose of the National Iceboat Authority which is to advise sailors on how to conduct iceboat races through an established set of racing rules and to provide a venue for appeals and rules interpretations.
2. Provide a location for the current version of the Constitution & Racing Rules of the NIA.
3. Provide a contact email for inquiries.
4. List current and former Directors of the NIA so sailors can easily associate a name with a face.In addition, the Racing Rules of the NIA have been updated to clarify:
1. When and how to ABANDON a race.
2. The compensatory points which may be awarded to an assisting yacht. We’ve also added appeal decision #9 related to filing a protest in a timely manner. A detailed list of the changes can be found in the revision history on the last page.We hope you find these updates useful and that we’ll all be a part of iceboat racing which is safe, fair, and fun!
Thanks,
Tim
Western Challenge @ Battle Lake
4LIYC sailor Lars Barber sanding Doug Kolner’s DN plank.
Dust is being made and runners sharpened in preparation for the first unofficial fun DN regatta of the season, the Western Challenge. Stay tuned to the Minnesota Ice Sailing Association website for the latest. Battle Lake has been chosen as the site. Look for final confirmation on Wednesday. The ISA regatta was sailed at Battle Lake 2 years ago and the town was very welcoming to all the sailors.
Centennials
From a recently published book commemorating the Toledo Ice Yacht Club’s 100th Anniversary. ‘Unknown” is Lorne Sherry from the Detroit Ice Yacht Club.
Our friends at one of the most active ice yacht club’s in North America, the Toledo Ice Yacht Club, are celebrating 100 years of iceboating in 2019. They’ve published a book edited by Ken Dickson commemorating their history. Be sure to have a look at their book if you are lucky enough to sail on Maumee Bay this winter. 4LIYC members who attended the Renegade regatta there over 10 years ago still talk about the good times they had with the TIYC.
Black Friday Ice
Stern-steerer fanatic Michael Kroll assembled his first video of the season from yesterday’s sailing highlights on White Potato Lake in northwestern Wisconsin.
Iceboating White Potato Lake with Andy Gratton, Dave Lallier, Mike Peters, Mike Derusha. Also Robbie and Bob Everhard from Oshkosh showed up with a Nite. We had DN’s, a Lockley Skimmer, and my small Stern Steerer. The wind came up quit nice and See if you can guess who was sailing the stern-steerer Sunshine when only 2 runners were on the ice. Fun time had by all. Great day of sailing!
College Syndicate
Via Daniel Hearn:
P154 coming back to life in the hands of University of Wisconsin sailors, Soren and Will, at the Spaight Street Syndicate shop. Thanks to the legend, Peter Burczynski, for the donation!
Silver Potato
The ice line is creeping south. The Minnesota sailors opened their season over the weekend on Silver Lake, 20 miles west of ‘Tonka. Mike Bloom reported, “4 inches of ice with 1/4 inch dusting of snow. Short course racing. Multiple races. 7 boats.Great day.” The Menekaunee sailors also opened their season on White Potato Lake, 30 miles west of Menominee/Marinette in Wisconsin. It won’t be long before the runners hit the ice here at Four Lakes!
First Meeting of the Season Tonight Nov 14
Please join us tonight for the first meeting of the 4LIYC ice sailing season. Same place (Angelo’s Italian Restaurant), same time, and same great all you can eat pizza buffet for only $10.
Location: Angelo’s Italian Restaurant
5801 Monona Drive
Monona, WI
Time: 6:30 PM alternate weeks
We meet downstairs and all are welcome.
First, Eh!
Thunder Bay, Ontario DN sailor, Mike Madge is once again the first to ice sail in North America (as far as we know). Last year, he was sailing on November 9. Another box ticked!
Just back from Whitefish Lake
4″ of Black ice with maybe 1/4″ covering of Snow.Wind 15 gusting to 20 made for a fast ride
Meanwhile in Minnesota, lakes are coming online in the usual places near Alexandria and with tonight’s low at 10F, it will only get better! Stay tuned to the Minnesota ice boating website for the latest.
Steve Arnold
Steve Arnold
Some sad news to share, Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club member Steve Arnold passed on over the weekend. Steve served as 4LIYC Commodore for several terms from the late 1980s to early ’90s. He started racing in the DN class, then moved onto Nites and Skeeters, and was very competitive in club races. Steve also helped run our club races and regattas. He was an avid pilot and in the last 20 years, we’d see him circling above us in his plane while we raced and often landing on the ice for a visit.
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