Some big developments at the Krueger/Whitehorse Boatbarn-
The Krueger/Whitehorse Boatbarn hosted a sort of swap meet on Saturday, January 26. Recent NIYA and ISA Class A Skeeter regatta champ, John Dennis, made the 5 hour drive from the Minneapolis area to pick up Ken’s Class A Skeeter, WARRIOR 5. This will double the size of the Class A fleet in Minnesota!
That frees up space on the trailer for Ken’s latest acquisition, a very fast modern Class A skeeter originally owned by Bob Kau and built in the attic of a Suamico Skeeter builder. Everyone has had their eye on Kau’s blue Class A Skeeter since its been for sale and the 4LIYC is glad that Ken decided to make the boat part of our Skeeter fleet. The paint schemes will switch up with JD putting WARRIOR 5 in blue and Ken changing the blue Kau Skeeter to the traditional 4LIYC red and white livery.
JD and PK talked at length about runner technology. JD shared his vast knowledge of the numbers on crown and flat. Much thanks and credit to Jay for coordinating the sale. All participants are very pleased with the exchange. The Skeeter fleet is growing!
NIYA Secretary/Treasurer receives key to Lake City from Mayor Mark Nichols
There are a thousand little stories that happen at a Northwest regatta. Watching the magnificent stern-steerers take to the stage brings us back to the roots of this sport. Here are a few random stories from the regatta. And hey, you should plan on going next year!
I’ll post more photos and commentary tomorrow.
Regatta like the Northwest do not happen without the time and work from volunteers like the following:
NIYA Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk
NIYA Regatta Chair Tim McCormick
NIYA Race Committee members Jay Yaeso, Andy Gratton, George Gerhardt, Chip Sawyer, and John Davenport.
PRO Joe Norton
Assistant to the PRO Scott Goetz (who also brought the 4LIYC ATV)
Tabulating from the Fontana Home Office: Mary Jane Schalk
Lake City Mayor Mark Nichols
The Residents of Lake City
PRO Joe Norton receives key to city from Mayor Mark Nichols
The support that iceboaters receive from the entire town of Lake City is phenomenal. Mayor Mark Nichols has made sure that a porta-potty has been at the landing for the last 3 weekends. He attended our banquet. Saturday night and gave out 3 keys to Lake City (Steve Schalk, Joe Norton, and myself) that recognized our efforts as regatta volunteers. Not only that, but he sailed out to the course on Saturday in his DN and raced! Think about that, how many mayors do you know of that sail iceboats?
3 times 3
There are 4 of us who have attended all 3 regattas in Lake City this January (the DN Western Regions, the ISA, and the NIYA) : John Dennis, Jim McDonagh, Steve Orlebeke, and myself. JD & Jim McDonagh have spent more than half of January on Lake Pepin checking ice and sailing.
ACE OF SPADES & LITTLE WIND line up to race. Photo: Pat Heppert
The Davis stern-steerer family never miss a Northwest regatta. John was thrilled to only have a 3 hour drive this year, the closest the regatta has ever been held to his home in Clear Lake, Iowa.
Daniel Hearn gets ready to race Fred Stritt’s D Stern Steerer Photo: Pat Heppert
Daniel Hearn not only raced and did pretty well in the DN (1st) and Renegade (2nd) classes, he took up Fred Stritt’s offer to race Fred’s D Stern Steerer. Daniel was also seen test driving Pat Heppert’s fast C Skeeter earlier in the day.
Mike Kroll and Gretchen Wilbrandt.
Stern Steerer fanatic Mike Kroll gave soft water Minnesota sailor Gretchen Wilibrandt a ride in his D Stern Steerer. He handed the tiller over to Gretchen and she drove it like she owned it. Could there be a new stern-steerer sailor at the next WSSA?
DN Western Region Commodore and regatta organizer Daniel Hearn with Eloise and her dad, John Dennis who was second in Gold. JD statistically tied in points with Ron Sherry for first place but Ron won the tiebreak.
Time to review the DN Western Region Championship from a 4LIYC perspective. Congratulations to mega multi-tasker Daniel Hearn who not only organized the regatta and volunteers, he also managed to place 5th in the Gold Cup. Fellow 4LIYC sailors in the Gold were Steve Orlebeke, 3rd, Tim Sugar who placed 7th and Dave Elsmo who placed 11th,
Silver Fleet: Brian Hearn mirrored his brother’s finish by coming in 5th in the Silver, Robert Cummins was 9th, and University of Wisconsin student Soren Hughes earned top Junior sailor and placed 12th in his first regatta.
Special shout out to longtime SIBC sailor, Lou Loennecke, who had two second place finishes in Silver. It was really cool to see sailors who have been participating in these events for so many years like Bob Cummins and Lou Loennecke line up next to each other in the two and four block in Silver race 4. Final results can be seen here.
The Wisconsin Skeeter Association held a Spring Fling on March 3-4, 2018 in Suamico, Wi on Green Bay. Friday night’s Smoker was a festive event; stories were told and Commodore Ken Whitehorse reflected on past events dating back to the 70’s. We sure we’re impressed with Ken’s recollection of these events in years past.
A discussion was had with regard to the lack of wind on Friday. Ken graciously volunteered to chat with Mother Nature hoping to convince her to show up Saturday.
Photos below are proof that we did sail. Tom Hyslop and Mark Isabel at top mark. John Dennis was the speed demon on Sunday demonstrating his fine sailing ability along with the perfect setup. John is crowned champion of the Spring Fling with one race completed
Jim Gluek accepted the “bottle trophy” from Ken. It is a piece of art hand crafted by the talented Harry Whitehorse. The whiskey associated with this trophy was the hit of the event!!
