Stern-Steerers line up on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin at the 2025 Northwest regatta. Photo by Rob Resnick.
Fall in Wisconsin means it is time to start thinking ice and time for the annual iceboat swap meets.The Main Event — Back to Where It Began
The fall swap meet was started many years ago by Jane and Bob Pegel of the Skeeter Iceboat Club in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. For decades, anyone looking to get into iceboating or to buy or sell gear was told to “call Bob and Jane.” The swap became an annual tradition at Sailing Specialists in Williams Bay, timed for a Packers bye week .In recent years, the event has rotated between the Skeeter Iceboat Club in the Lake Geneva area, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club in Madison, and the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club in Green Lake, Wisconsin. This year, it returns to its original home turf in the Lake Geneva area, hosted at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. Expect plenty of gear, camaraderie, a cookout on the lawn, and even a Bloody Mary bar.The Other Swap — Midwest Hardwater Sailors
The second Fall Swap Meet, organized by Fred Stritt and the Midwest Hardwater Sailors, will be held at the Delavan Yacht Club. Along with food, bar service, and football, this year’s gathering will also feature a Dragon Force remote control sailing event after the swap.2025 Swap Meet Dates and Details
Lake Geneva Swap Meet — Sunday, October 19, 10 AM
Lake Geneva Yacht Club
1250 S Lake Shore Dr,
Fontana-On-Geneva Lake, WI
New England – Saturday, October 25, 2025
Thompson Motor Speedway
Thompson, Connecticut More information
Minnesota: Saturday, November 1, 2025, 9 am – 12 pm.
Sailcrafters
7450 Oxford Street
St. Louis Park, MN
Tim Carlson at Sailcrafters ((952) 540-7474) is hosting his annual Iceboat Swap meet on Nov 1, 2025. We hope you join us. You can expect to see all types of iceboats and all types of used gear. If you are new to iceboating, this is the perfect place to meet local sailors and check out used equipment. If you are looking for new gear, Tim caters to the local iceboat community and can provide new sails, stays, line and everything in-between.
Delavan Swap Meet — Saturday, November 8
Delavan Lake Yacht Club
1501 Cedar Point Dr, Delavan, WI 53115
More Swap Meets Coming Up
Dates for these events are still to come, but here is what is usually on the fall calendar:
Canadian Swap Meet
Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club Swap — Michigan
New England Ice Yacht Club Swap — Usually in Connecticut
Whether you are new to the sport or a seasoned sailor, the swaps are the perfect chance to find parts, boats, and gear and to reconnect with the iceboating community before the season begins.
We are saddened to share the news of the passing of Shari Lundberg, a long-time member of the Skeeter Iceboat Club and wife of Skeeter sailor Sparky Lundberg. For decades, Shari was a steady presence —always there to support Sparky, their family, and the lasting friendships built through the sport of ice sailing.
Long-time iceboaters will know the Lundbergs well—Sparky and Shari have been a fixture in the community for decades.
On a personal note, my brother Ron Rosten and I have known Shari and Sparky our entire lives. We remember many happy times with them on Lake Geneva, and they would always stay with us whenever there was a regatta in Madison. Her presence will be deeply missed. Service information and obituary: https://www.derrickfuneralhome.com/obituary/SharonShari-Lundberg
As Jason Thompson of the SIBC so thoughtfully said:
SIBC joins the Lundberg and Button families in mourning the loss of Shari Lundberg, Sparky’s wife and Cody’s grandma. Shari is survived by a sister who also married an iceboat racer—Donna Button (Fritz’s girl). Spark and Fritz collaborated on many iceboat projects with innovative ideas coupled with superior workmanship. They are pretty good on the race course as well.
Condolences to Sparky, Cody, Donna, Fritz, and Scottie. You are in our thoughts.
Iceboaters, we have a horse in the Youth America’s Cup race starting in Barcelona on September 17, 2024. Just down the road from Four Lakes, Fontana, WI, home of the Skeeter Iceboat Club, has the highest concentration of Youth America’s Cup sailors in North America, all with a background in ice sailing. Kyle Navin, Harry Melges IV, and Finn Rowe have been selected to represent the USA in this prestigious event. Their iceboating experience has prepared them well for the high speeds and intense competition of the AC40 boats, which can reach 45 knots downwind (almost as fast as an iceboat.) WHAT TO KNOW When: Begins September 17, 2024 Event website How to Watch About the Team Photos courtesy of Nite sailor Dave Navin
Harry Melges IV in his M80 Skeeter
Kyle Navin and Finn Rowe
Kyle Navin, finished 2nd at the Nite Nationals
Kyle Navin, finished 2nd in the Nite Nationals
Kyle Navin began his ice sailing career in an Ice Optimist
Gloria Melges with her husband, Buddy, at the 2007 Northwest Regatta at Menominee, MI. Buddy won the Skeeter title that year.
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club and ice sailing community extend our deepest sympathies to the Melges family on the loss of their matriarch, Gloria Melges. Via Sailing Scuttlebutt:
Gloria Melges, 93, a beloved member of the sailing community and an esteemed race committee officer, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2024. Born in New Jersey on May 27, 1931, Gloria was raised spending summers aboard a Great Lakes cruising sailboat out of Chicago, where her father served as Commodore of the Columbia Yacht Club. This unique upbringing instilled in her a lifelong passion for the water and sailing.
Gloria pursued higher education at Northwestern University Dental School, where she graduated with honors. During her time at Northwestern, she met and fell in love with Wisconsin yachtsman Harry C. “Buddy” Melges Jr. Their relationship blossomed, but their time together was interrupted when Buddy went to serve in the Korean War. Despite the distance, their love grew stronger through the heartfelt letters they exchanged while he was away.
Upon Buddy’s return, he proposed to Gloria, and they were married shortly thereafter. Their deep bond and unwavering love for sailing became the foundation of their 69-year marriage, a passion they passed on to their three children: Laura, Harry III, and Hans. During their seven decades together, Gloria was a steadfast supporter of Buddy’s illustrious career, cheering for him both on and off the water.
Gloria’s legacy extends beyond her family. She was the first female Commodore of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, a testament to her trailblazing spirit. Continue reading.
Gloria and Buddy on the plank of Buddy’s Skeeter MICKEY FINN, talking to Bill “Curly” Perrigo and his son Will.
Iceboaters have a cliché: we spend 50% of our time building them, 35% talking about them, and 15% sailing them (your mileage may vary.) Ice sailors gathered at the Southern Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet and fulfilled the talking-about-them quota on Sunday, November 6, at the Delavan Lake Yacht Club in Delavan, WI. Veteran and new ice sailors gathered to exchange complete boats, sails, planks, hulls, and runners. It was a lovely sunny and windy day to be back where the iceboat swap meet all began, with the Skeeter Iceboat Club.
Next milestone – who will have first runners on the ice in North America?
Ron Sherry and Skip Dieball
Nite guys Don Sanford, Mike Peters, and Brad Wagner.
More ice talk next to some DNs on offer.
Iceboaters love models!
Susie Pegel continuing the family tradition of organizing and staffing the raffle table.
There’s a big story behind this guy and this boat. Ron Sherry and a Bob Kau-built Class A Skeeter. Ron won the 1996 Northwest Free-For-All trophy in this boat.
