State of the Lakes & Grand Slam Open Tentatively Called on For Dec 20-21

by | Dec 18, 2025 | 2025-2026, Home Page

Lake Monona: Hollywood with asterisks. Courtesy of the waterfowl.

State of the Lakes – Monona and Kegonsa

Lake Monona is Hollywood with asterisks. It looks extraordinary in photos and video, but the holes change everything. We are optimistic that Monona may begin to heal over the next few days, but today’s rain, wind, and temperature swing will be a factor in what comes next.

Perfect ice that you cannot sail – yet!

Lake Kegonsa is a different story. It has been freezing in stages and has likely been locked in for more days than Lake Monona. Reports so far suggest rough ice, but it has not been properly scouted yet. The rain today followed by a sharp freeze could bring Kegonsa close to almost Hollywood conditions.

GRAND SLAM OPEN TENTATIVELY CALLED ON FOR DEC 20-21 ON LAKE KEGONSA
Because of that, the club will spend the next two days scouting Kegonsa with the hope of calling on the Grand Slam Open. We know people are itching to get on the ice and go racing. The Grand Slam Open is traditionally sailed on the first sailable ice of the season, and it has been a long time since we’ve been able to hold one. We are tentatively calling the Grand Slam Open for Saturday and Sunday on Lake Kegonsa, pending ice checks.

This will be a fun set of races for Renegades, DNs, Nites, and Mini-Skeeters. We expect to have  final confirmation by Friday afternoon and more details posted here.

This quote from the late Charlie Johnson fits Lake Monona almost too well right now. “If all our ice were glass, slightly wet, and all our air reasonably steady with lifters just where needed, sailing would be perfect. Sometimes we do find this, and it is worth waiting years to have. Meanwhile we must accept the more ordinary ice conditions, ordinary weather and wind, and gracefully accept snow, sometimes for weeks. Our ideal comes from time to time; the Great Maker gives only so much of the very best.”
— Charles H. Johnson 4LIYC member

Nite Recap

by | Dec 29, 2020 | 2020-2021, Home Page


Via Nite Treasurer Maureen Bohlehber:

Nite Holiday Regatta
December 26 – 27, 2020

With a total of 19 boats over the weekend on ice that was as Hollywood as you can get, the Nites completed 13 races on Lake Puckaway in central Wisconsin, a great early season iceboating venue. The Nites competed for a Saturday, Sunday, and overall series.
The ice was so smooth you could not even hear your runners glide over the ice. These are the perfect conditions for ice boaters, hence the name “Hollywood Ice.”

 

With a large fleet in attendance, the competition was close. The 2020 Nite National champion, Chad Rechygl of Pewaukee Wisconsin, and Mike Jankowski of Green Lake Wisconsin battled it out throughout the weekend for the overall top spot. Split-scoring the event by days allowed sailors to try different settings and tactics. As they say, everybody has a favorite condition. Jim McCabe was the hot sailor of the weekend, cracking the top three on both days. Another local favorite, Byron Hill, also placed consistently in the top three. Chad Rechygl took first, Mike Jankowski second, and the Vandervelde brothers in the next two spots in the overall standings.

 

We were happy to see a strong showing of sailors from Lake Kegonsa and the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club as well, with Lars, Henri, Brad, and Don in attendance. They sailed fast and showed a considerable step in improvement from last year’s event. We were also lucky to have Daniel Hearn join in the racing and experience the close roundings and the back and forth position changes that make Nite racing unique and fun.

 

It was interesting to watch from the Race Committee view, learning from Deb Whitehorse, John Hayashi, and George Gerhardt. While Saturday’s course was more straightforward, the Race Committee had to chase the wind and change the track. When the wind settled in, the Nites sailed six races before the snow started to fly.

It was a memorable weekend of Nite racing. It was ICE COLD FUN!

A Mesmerizing Iceboat Ride

by | Dec 28, 2020 | 2020-2021, Home Page

Ride along with Chad Rechygl in race 10 at Sunday’s Nite regatta on Lake Puckaway:

Come join me for a ride during a race win. Not sure what I was doing to get in the boat, that was a new move lol. Sorry the camera shook loose and started pointing up.. enjoy the black ice!