Here’s another find from Henry Bossett, The Winds of Ice Fields, a Russian booklet published in the 1970s. In addition to some crucial DN history, the booklet features some epic photos of 12-meter wing sail iceboats.
All Wing Sail posts.
Via Natali Burdukovskaya Facebook page.
Not so fast – the Fat Lady is merely warming up. DN sailors in Bratsk, Russia, took advantage of their snowmelt and raced today.
Tip of the Helmet: Natali Burdukovskaya
A few weeks earlier in Russia, a mere 71-hour car drive east in St. Petersburg, the S8 and Monotype XV held their regatta 27-28 March 2021. “11 racers in S8 class and 4 in M-XV took part during the racing days at the end of the season in complicated racing conditions, soft spring ice and weak wind , 4-7 knots with gusts up to 8-12 knots.”
Tip of the Helmet: Andre Ivolgin
For your listening pleasure, a 1983 Russian music video with Monotype Stern-Steerers and DNs. This video has grown on me since first seeing it on Facebook yesterday. The innocence and goofiness of it seem appropriate now.
The song is VIA ′′ Faithful Friends ′′ – Blue Song (Blue Inay)” and the translation describing it reads, “In the 80s, there is a boom of Sailing in the USSR, the mass construction of sailing yachts, monotype buers, DN, sports clubs at factories buy match, yacht clubs open, popularization is huge.”
These Russian S-8 Open Class stern-steerers are a blast to watch. Video was shot in March 2020 on Syamozero Lake in Karelia, Russia which is about a 6 hour drive northeast from St. Petersburg. Their class website is here.
Tip of the helmet: Andrey Ivolgin
Google Translate sometimes misses the mark: “All You Need to Know About Sailing Cars Gliding On Ice” though it does seem fitting considering the guy in the Skeeter, Paul Krueger’s other speed passion is open-wheel racing.
Ran across this in-depth article via Facebook about iceboating from “The Power of Wind” a Russian sailing website. The MARY B even gets a mention! Google’s translation could be better but if you are interested in the history of the sport around the world and in Russia, it’s worth taking a few minutes to read.
In the minds of most people who first heard the word “iceboat”, there is absolutely no association. Yes, and the description that it is a boat, put on skates, also does not particularly clarify the already confusing picture. Paradoxical in this situation is that the iceboat is not a newfangled entertainment and not the pampering of amateur designers, but a real sport with all the attendant attributes: international competitions, division into classes, clearly stipulated regulations and, most importantly, its long history.
Continue reading. (Links to Google’s English translation.)
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
Location: In person at Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club or Online using the Zoom App Members please email debwhitehorse@iceboat.org for the link.
Time: 6:30 PM
YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER
TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
