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!

The High Miles Club

Andy Gratton Mike Kroll with the stern steerers ROSEMARY II and WISCONSIN at Menominee, Michigan

Not only was maximum fun achieved by all who responded to the invitation to sail at Menominee on Saturday, stern-steerer addicts Andy Gratton and Mike Kroll marked 1000 miles of sailing this season. That’s the equivalent of sailing to Toronto and back.or a one-way trip to Augusta, Maine! Nine Nites and Illinois DNer Tim Dixon joined the fun on the bay.
Nite sailor John Hayashi reports from Facebook: “It was an old time club sailing weekend at its finest. It brought out the crowds to the downtown, cars were parked everywhere, the grill was going what more could you ask for. There are a lot of people talking about iceboating again in that town. I will not be amazed if some more boats show up sailing up there next season.”
Photos: John Hayashi

Get Up to Menominee! – Sailing March 24-26

Menekaunee Ice Sailor Ken Kreider at the 2018 Nite Nationals on Green Lake.

The Menekaunee Ice Yacht Club invites ice sailors to join them for a fun weekend of sailing on Green Bay in Menominee, Michigan March 24-26.  Ken Kreider and Mike Derusha have been sailing all day. They report 20″ of ice,no cracks, no shell ice, and some patchy snow that they had no problem sailing through today. The sailable area north-south is 2.5 miles; east-west is 1 mile. In order to preserve the landing, they ask that once you drop your trailer on the ice, please park in the lot.
Launch: Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park just south of the Menominee Marina.You can park your car in the lot there.

Sights at Skeeter Iceboat Club Swap Meet

The rain stayed away for the Skeeter Iceboat Club’s annual swap meet. The swap meet always provides the perfect venue to catch up with old friends and meet new people who are interested in ice sailing. We hope to see all of you out on the ice this season! Thank you Jane and Suzie Pegel for organizing the swap meet and handling the traditional raffle.