Minnesota First!


Who claims the title of the first iceboat sailed in North America this season? That’s hard to say, but Minnesota definitely takes the win for the first ice! Reports of ice are popping up all over the state, lighting up Facebook feeds. While the honor of being first is unclear, we do have a report from Pat Heppert, who got his mini-Skeeter on the ice today:

“A fantastic day to sail today. A little bit cold. My repaired bulkhead is good. All my mods for single Allen wrench assembly are good. I love iceboating!”

The season is officially underway—are your runner sharp?

Flying with Bald Eagles after Turkey Day


Via Minnesota C Skeeter skipper Pat Heppert

“Blade Nite” in Minnesota

The largest Nite iceboat club in Minnesota, the Bald Eagle Ice Yacht Club, gathered last night for the annual “Blade Night” runner sharpening party and kick-off to the season. Not only is this the largest iceboat club in Minnesota, it is also arguably the best dressed, with plenty of custom club attire worn and available for purchase. Commodore John Stasieluk was gracious enough to host in his 2-story barn filled with iceboats and workshop machinery. While the upstairs social area was kept toasty warm with heaters and sailor’s hot air, the downstairs was maintained at a perfect runner sharpening chill for serious business.

 

Among the comradery of lifelong friendships and numerous conversations, every once in a while you would hear someone shout out the battle cry of the BEIYC, “Nite Nats!” While some of the fleet is laser focused on aspiring to dominate the top echelon of Nite fleet for certain lifelong glory, 100% of the fleet is focused on creating a fun atmosphere that is welcoming and inviting to all who want to participate in sailing. A great kick-off to the season, here we come, “Nite Nats!”

Spaight St. Syndicate Update: Daniel 2.0

The Daniel 2.0 

Daniel 2.0

If you are not smart like Pat Heppert, I would highly recommend getting yourself a Daniel 2.0. You see, Pat designed this slick sheeting system for our Mini Skeeters. Rather than pulling downward off the boom, our sheet runs underneath the deck, which allows us to trim with the full benefit of our legs and torso. Now Pat is plenty strong enough to sheet the traditional way, but his much older and weaker travel mate is a total wuss. The system was likely designed with this in mind, but Pat is too nice to say so. It also allows us to crouch down deep into the cockpit keeping our elbows in, reducing windage. Even Pat, with his superior musculature, can nearly disappear inside the cockpit.

My first attempted Mini build ended with my mast listing to leeward at about 30 degrees. I told everyone I was testing an on-the-fly adjustable stay system. I said it with such conviction that no one immediately pointed out that the Mini has a stay-less rig. Given the wreckage that was left on my deck, I doubt anyone bought it, but it was worth a try. I have made a living spinning tales for decades, so I just could not help myself. This configuration certainly was not fast!

The playa fact checkers uncovered that the spinmaster’s boat blew up on the second day of racing last May. Regatta Manager extraordinaire, Dennis Bassano, provided the “tow of shame” back to the pits, while interested parties gathered around to survey the wreckage. “That one’s not going to buff out,” one helpful observer offered. “Hardly a scratch I replied,” simultaneously wondering what I was going to do in the desert for the rest of the week? Fortunately, Ironman Renee Fields (for those not in-the-know, the adjective is gender neutral), graciously offered to withdraw from the Mini Class, to allow me to race Pete John’s spare boat. Renee routinely races in every class. Pete is still going fast nearing 90 years old. Two amazing people!

Truth-be-told, the builder was too much of a weight weenie, removing structure he considered unnecessary. Guess we all know how that turned out! Sorry John. Sorry Pat. In my defense, it worked for Senna. At least the hull was still in primer, so the eventual paint would hide my ineptitude.

Since I was performing major reconstructive surgery, I decided to move my ratchet block further forward underneath the deck. This, to give me more un-tapered mainsheet to clutch before reaching maximum block-to-block. And, to still have only the tapered sheet running through all eight blocks at race trim. If I were smart like Pat, I would have left a tracer line in my hull before closing it up. No matter how I attempted to contort my body, there was no way I could reach that far forward. And my access panel underneath, was not quite big enough. Enter Daniel 2.0. Dashel Daniel , my grandson. Among the greatest honors of my life, he was named after me.

Dash was happy to scurry into the cockpit abyss, skillfully rerouting my mainsheet through bulkhead bushings, around my ratchet block in the correct direction and back to my waiting hand. So, if you find yourself with a similar dilemma, let me know, and I will share contact info for his mom. Dash has yet to learn his marketable value, but rest assured he will. His “Pappy” (and his Dad) will see to that! For now, he is most satisfied to work for chocolate!

From Ice to Dust – Ivanpah 2024

From Ice to Dust – Ivanpah 2024

NALSA RESULTS

Iceboat.org has been covered in dust while visiting the spring training grounds of Ivanpah, Nevada, where ice sailors have traded their runners for wheels. Last week, I spent a few days as a tourist at the North American Land Sailing Championship. It was an opportunity to hang out with 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn, Pat Heppert, SIBC’s Bob Cave, Ken Smith, John Eisenlohr, Bill Dale, brothers Jim and Dave Gluek, and Pete Johns, to name a few. There was a high concentration of ice sailors in the Mini-Skeeter class, developed by John Eisenlohr, several years ago. The sight of Pat Heppert’s green C Skeeter, DRIFTER, on the dirt, created a surreal juxtaposition, as I’m accustomed to seeing it on ice.

Racing highlights included watching competitors cross the finish line, the speed battles between John Eisenlohr and the Gluek brothers, and Daniel Hearn dialing in the Mini-Skeeter he borrowed from Pete Johns. (Why he had to borrow a boat in the first place is a story for Daniel.) The race committee’s longstanding familiarity with each other translated into effortlessly managing races and enjoying the task.

Social events on the playa were unique. I learned about the tradition of mixing margaritas in a repurposed cement mixer (thankfully, I missed the “gritty” years.), ate freshly prepared fish tacos seconds out of the fryer, and enjoyed the chili cook-off.

Competitors remarked that the playa was in the best condition they had seen in many years, comparable to our black ice – smooth and hard with very few humps or cupping.

Later this week, I’ll be back on the playa for another exciting event, the 2024 Blokart World Championship. Competitors from 11 countries include several 4LIYC members, Jim Nordhaus, Geoff Sobering, Brett Husley, Lars Barber, and Brad Wagner.

Recent rains on the playa have left the Blokart regatta organizers in an eerily familiar position, reminiscent of the same uncertainties often faced by ice sailors. The Federal Bureau of Land Management, responsible for overseeing the playa, has enforced gate closures during rainy periods to safeguard the integrity of the dry lake bed. Unlike snow on a lake, the arid conditions of the high desert typically facilitate the rapid evaporation of moisture. With a sunny forecast ahead, regatta organizers are hoping that the playa will soon be accessible once again for the Blokart regatta. Racing is scheduled from Saturday, April 6, through Friday, April 12. You will be able to see Blokart results here.

 

Mosquito Season Comes Early

Video Link

Mosquito Season Comes Early
By Pat Heppert

Despite the vast postponing of most regattas due to warm weather this weekend, the first annual “Minnesota Mini-skeeter Mayhem” regatta was completed as scheduled on 2/3/24. The warm humid weather sure does bring out the skeeters! The small fleet size of three Minnesota boats, piloted by Bruce Wegger, Tom Kvale and Pat Heppert were fully dialed in and wound up around a 0.5 mile course on tiny Lake Riley, Eden Prairie, MN. The small lake size in a metro area seriously did make for a lot of tactical decisions with plenty of shifts, gusts, and shoreline effects, which was super fun. The mini-skeeters shared the course concurrently with about 10 boats total from around the lake including DN’s, Nite, JX-14, and Skimmer. The PRO, race committee chairman and venue provider John Bushey took great care in ensuring a safe, fair competition among a competitive fleet. The 12” of flat black ice with zero obstacles stayed hard until 2 PM, which was plenty sufficient to get the regatta completed in one day. Boat speeds were so blazingly fast that I thought the loud “crack” I heard was me breaking the sound barrier, but it turned out to be a broken bulkhead apparently from builder error. No problem, kept sailing. The scoring team had incredible difficulty writing finishing numbers at the speed and tight formation of this group, but the conclusion of the day was that everybody was a winner, and the trophy awarding is being held off until next year.