UPCOMING:
4LIYC Racing is On Hold – Waiting for colder temps
4LIYC Meeting : Feb 25 @ Breakwater More information.
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
A Winter the Media Noticed
This season, major media outlets rediscovered ice sailing.
A few weeks ago, before the latest storm buried the East Coast in snow, strong ice and clear wind brought the Van Nostrand Challenge Cup back to the Navesink River in Red Bank. The historic race ignited a wave of attention. Reporters from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR took notice of ice sailing. Historic iceboats and clubs filled social media feeds with photos and video. The audience expanded in a way we rarely see.
That attention helps recruit new sailors and preserve historic clubs whose traditions stretch back more than a century. It reminds the public that this is not a curiosity, but a serious winter sport with deep American roots and active fleets from Montana to Maine.
For decades, people have asked: why not the Olympics? In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were formal discussions with the International Sailing Federation about bringing ice sailing into the Winter Games. Meetings were held. Surveys were conducted. A purpose-built Olympic ice yacht was even considered. The effort ultimately stalled, largely because the Olympics require certainty, and ice does not cooperate on a fixed schedule. Here’s an article about the situation with more detail in the DN Newsletter Runner Tracks: LINK
This season demonstrated that when conditions arrive in highly visible places, the story of the sport travels farther.
- The New York Times – Ice-yachting race on the Navesink River (Red Bank, NJ)
- The New Yorker – “Move Over, Olympics—Iceboating Is the Hottest Sport”
- NPR (via KUOW) – What to know about ice sailing ahead of the North American championship
- WISN 12 News (Milwaukee) – Ice boaters chase wind and smooth ice on Geneva Lake
- FOX Weather (YouTube) – Ice Boater Rich Stearns joins FOX Weather (video)
- CBS News Boston – Ice boaters on Nantucket make most of Arctic blast
- Red Bank Green – FIRST SAIL OF 2026 (iceboats return to the Navesink)
- Nantucket Current (ACK.net) – Video: Nantucket Ice Boating (drone video)
No 4LIYC Racing for Feb 28 – March 1
Unseasonably warm weather across southern Wisconsin has taken a toll on the ice. Many lakes, including Lake Mendota, are now candled with shoreline loss and unsafe for racing. (Some of our members have had firsthand experience with candling on Mendota recently.) As a result, there will be no 4LIYC ice sailing on February 28 or March 1.
Candling occurs when solid ice breaks down into vertical columns and loses strength, even if the surface still appears intact. Learn more about candled ice here: LINK
In the meantime, here is an ice sailing sighting from an unexpected place.
This video captures the Range Rover campaign featuring Daniel Hearn’s C Skeeter running inside the Oculus at the World Trade Center in New York City. The Oculus serves as the main transportation hub for Lower Manhattan, with thousands of commuters passing through each day.
LINK TO VIDEO
Regatta Watch: WSSA Postponed to March 8-9
Twin-masted stern-steerer with the DEUCE in the background. Oil painting by Harry Whitehorse.
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 7 and 8, 2026. The next update will be Sunday, March 1. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: Northwest Postponed to March 6-8
We Sure Do!
The Race Committee was unable to locate a suitable racing area that had ice surface conditions and launch access for the Annual Regatta for February 27th. The search continues for March 6th. Next update is March 1, 2026.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
NIYA
Little Brother at the Pickle Factory
Via Pat Heppert from Lake Pepin’s Pickle Factory on the 4LIYC Facebook page:
“If it’s less than 75 sq. ft. and less than a 28-foot mast, they’re all Skeeters.”
Parked next to his C Skeeter DRIFTER, this little blue homemade (aren’t they all? – Ed.) iceboat looks like the kid brother tagging along. With enough wind, who knows.
Battle of the Brands
Both commercials have already made the rounds in the ice sailing world. The Range Rover spot filmed in Minnesota last March with Daniel Hearn at the helm. The Škoda commercial shot in Finland in May with Lukas Zakrzewski driving.
This was simply a good excuse to get the two of them in one photo at registration for the 2026 DN World Championship in Sweden.
Regatta Watch: WSSA Postponed to Feb 28 – March 1
Photo: Maureen Bohleber
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to February 28 and March 1, 2026. The next update will be Sunday, Feb 22. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
Regatta Watch: Northwest Update – Starting From Scratch
Green Lake, WI. Photo Jim Stevenson
The wind did not cooperate or obey the computer wind models this weekend (February 13 – 15.) Nobody got chilly, but the DNs and A skeeters got only two races in, and the Renegades, Stern Steerers and B/C Skeeters only got one. The races sailed are discarded, and we start from scratch starting Friday February 27th.
The locations possible range from somewhere on Green Bay, through Madison and out to Lake Pepin.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
Gallery From Jim Stevenson
2026 NIYA News for Sunday Feb 15
Sunday’s NIYA races will start at 8:30. Renegades up first followed by Stern Steerers, then resume the normal rotation. Via Steve Schalk NIYA Secretary Treasurer
Regatta Watch: 2026 Northwest Regatta Called ON for Feb 13-15 @ Green Lake, WI
Online Ship’s Store
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
4LIYC Governing Documents
Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates
- January 2 THURSDAY Honor Roll Nominations
- January 15 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- January 29
- February 12 Business Meeting
- February 26
- March 12 Last Meeting of the Season
Location: In person at the Elks Lodge 711 Jenifer St, Madison, WI 53703
Time: 6:30 PM
YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER
TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
