Henry Bossett discovered a vintage cartoon panel that may only make sense to an iceboat builder. When I was a kid, my dad and his fellow 4LIYC members built Skeeters in our basement. Extracting the finished hull out of the basement was a carefully orchestrated affair requiring the removal of doors and windows to navigate the boat out to the waiting trailer. Iceboats are sometimes built or repaired in a dining or living room that has been transformed into a workshop for iceboats.
The cartoonist Quin Hall had a successful career, including a stint at the New Yorker Magazine, but I couldn’t find any connection to iceboating. Perhaps he had a neighbor who faced the same problem when living in New Jersey, near Red Banks.
Tip of the Helmet: Henry Bossett
Just like in the cartoon, these kids are having a blast in their home-built iceboats.
If you missed last night’s presentation on the history and future of the Skeeter iceboat class by Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert, don’t worry! The entire session has been recorded and is now available on our YouTube channel. Whether you want to relive the insights or catch it for the first time, dive in and increase your Skeeter iceboat knowledge. Watch it at this link: Skeeter Summit
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club thanks Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert for sharing your expertise and passion for the Skeeter fleet with our ice-sailing community. Your dedication to preserving and advancing the Skeeter class will have a lasting impact on future iceboaters.
1991 ISA Regatta. Notice there’s only one cockpit-forward Skeeter on the line.
Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert have created an exceptional production that covers the past and future of the Skeeter class.
The photo above from the presentation displays the first cockpit-forward “bubble-boat, ” COMING ATTRACTIONS, which marked the beginning of a new phase in Skeeter design. In 1991, Dan Clapp towed this boat from New Jersey to Lake Geneva and emerged victorious in the International Skeeter Association regatta.
If you’ve registered, we’ll email you the Zoom link Wednesday morning. If you have questions during the presentation, we encourage you to ask them using the chat option, and the Skeeter specialists will answer them at the end of the presentation. Or you can email your questions ahead of time to to debwhitehorse@iceboat.org.
What To Know
SKEETER SUMMIT Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Time: 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET The Zoom link was emailed on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.Â
Reserve your virtual seat and join us for a Zoom session with Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert on the journey of the Skeeter class — how it morphed into the speed demon we know today as the fastest iceboat class in the world. We’ll also explore how the Skeeter class is evolving. Join the conversation and bring your questions.
So, please register for the presentation, mark your calendar, grab a cold one, and let’s get ready to talk iceboats, Skeeters, and the need for speed. It’s like a virtual hangout at the iceboat shop. See you there!
What To Know
SKEETER SUMMIT Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Time: 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET
A fascinating thread connects renowned figures, iconic boats, and the ice yachts of the glory years. Here’s a look at the interconnected legacies of Lord Admiral Nelson, Ratsey Sailmakers, Sparkman and Stephens, and iceboaters Drake Sparkman and George Ratsey.
INTREPID, DORADE, COLUMBIA, and SHIVER? Soft water sailors will recognize the first three boats designed by America’s most successful yacht designer, Olin Stephens. Dozens of classes and championship yachts emerged from his partnership with Drake Sparkman and their business, Sparkman and Stephens. In 1929, Drake Sparkman was a yacht broker who gave Olin Stephens his first break and hired the novice Stephens to design boats. Drake Sparkman was an iceboater.
Henry Bossett shared a 1950 news clipping about the Alcort (Sunfish) Skeeter on Peach Lake in New York. What caught my attention was a mention that Drake Sparkman had donated his stern-steerer SHIVER to the Larchmont Iceboat Club. Of course, Henry’s extensive archives have a file dedicated to Drake Sparkman, and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look.
The rabbit hole revealed an unexpected link between ice sailing, a famous naval battle, and the America’s Cup. A 1935 article reported that sailmaker George Ratsey “with his FROSTBITE, passed everything in sight” while sailing with Drake Sparkman on Peach Lake in New York. Ratsey’s ancestors were the sail makers of HMS VICTORY, and a piece of sail from the Battle of Trafalgar is on display at the Naval Museum in Portsmouth, England. In 1905, Ratsey & Lapthorn established a loft in New York. Ratsey sails were famous among America’s Cup boats and the majestic stern-steerers of the east coast.
The December 24 edition of Red Bank Register in New Jersey reported about a yacht with “a new Ratsey Rig. The mainsail will be cut on a more advanced plane, reducing the size of the jib in order to hold the combined sail area size within the limit of 350 square feet of canvas.”
Sparkman & Stephens and Ratsey & Lapthorn had a long connection with the America’s Cup. Ratsey & Lapthorn supplied the sails for the 1958 America’s Cup winning boat, COLUMBIA, designed by Olin Stephens.
Drake Sparkman and George Ratsey’s connection went beyond the design table in their shared passion for ice yachting.
