2017-2018 Season Archives
2017-2018 Archives
2017-2018 Season:
- DN Regattas
- Northwest Regatta CANCELLED FOR THE SEASON
- International Skeeter Association and Renegade Championship POSTPONED UNTIL DECEMBER 2018
4LIYC Racing Update for Jan 6-7: No Racing
From better days on Lake Mendota. Shown here in February 1979 from left to right are 4LIYC members:Don Ermer, Don Sanford, Steve Arnold,Ty Reed, and Ken Kreider. The Statue of Liberty appeared in the middle of the night as part of a University of Wisconsin’s student campaign promise to bring the statue to Madison.
There will be no 4LIYC racing for January 6-7, 2018. The 1 1/2″ drifts on Lake Mendota have hardened making conditions too marginal for racing. However, some skippers will set up and try to sail and tune their boats on Sunday, January 7 out of Captain Bill’s launch.
In The News: Iceboating Southern Style
January’s deep freeze has been a boon to iceboating around the country in areas that haven’t seen sailable ice for several years. Our friends in Illinois are taking advantage of their conditions.
What wind chill? Ice boaters set sail on Lake Decatur
DECATUR — While Wednesday’s frigid temperatures kept many indoors, a quartet of ice boaters set out to take advantage of what the frozen Lake Decatur had to offer.They had a good time, according to expert boater Pete Johns, but the snow sitting on top of the lake made the conditions less than ideal. Continue reading.
4LIYC Racing Update for Jan 6-7
The 4LIYC will check ice on Friday, January 5 at noon. Please meet at Captain Bill’s.
Saturday morning racing might be out due to low temperatures and light winds, however we may be able to sail Saturday afternoon. Sunday looks even better with winds forecasted at 10-15 mph and tropical 31F temperatures. As of today, NOAA is calling for a “Chance Snow then Slight Chance Wintry Mix” for Sunday.
Commodore Don Anderson set up his Renegade yesterday on Middleton Bay. The snow was just too sticky for him to get going in the light air but Jerry Simon saw a Nite sailing on Mendoter “with no trouble, enough wind and not too much snow…. The Nite likely came from a home on the north side of the lake and [I] wasn’t able to talk to skipper. The 1-2 inches of light snow didn’t have any noticeable drifting with smooth hard ice underneath.”
Next update about 4LIYC racing will be Friday, January 5 by 5 PM.
Throw Back Thursday: The Day ROSEMARY Tipped Over
Many thanks to stern-steerer skipper Michael Kroll for posting a link to Andy Gratton’s story from this website on his Facebook page. Andy’s story about the legendary Oshkosh stern-steerer skipper, Don Ward, gets better with every reading. Michael writes, “I have read it many times, and when I see it, I can’t help but read it again because I’ve been in the back cockpit of this iceboat.”
The Day Rosemary Tipped Over.
© 2009 Andy Gratton
The 1992 NWIYA race was called on for Oshkosh. We had beautiful hard ice, except for
the typical crack in the bay. Nubs Salzsieder and I were discussing the upcoming
weekend, who was coming, etc. The usual plan for hard ice was that I would sail the
Timber Boat and he would sail Rosemary IV. We talked more about the boats, how Don
Ward had built so many, including the Rosemary boats, and how Don was always
interested in what was going on in Oshkosh, his home town. So Nubs called Don Ward
and told him to get on a plane and get back here from Washington State so he can sail on
his home ice. We didn’t really expect Don to do that, but a day or two later Nubs
informed me that Don would be sailing his old boat, Rosemary IV, and Nubs would be
sailing the Timber Boat. I was bummed because I had no other boat to race, so instead I
would help wherever needed.
read more…
Skeeters – At The Front
What an impressive shot for Harken’s monthly digest showcasing Steve Orlebeke’s Class A Skeeter, HONEYBUCKET and Paul Krueger’s RAMBL’N sailing on Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin.
Steve Orlebeke’s Perspective Looking Ahead
“I’m looking out my door onto the engineering section in the Pewaukee Harken offices. It’s almost the end of 2017 and a logical time to look ahead toward next year.” Continue reading.
Geneva Ice Watch
Geneva changing state.
Happy New Year from the frozen tundra of Madison, WI where the temperature has climbed from -14F to -12F since the sun came up. Most of the area webcams haven’t been functional because of the cold except for Gordy’s on Geneva Lake. You can watch Geneva turn to ice by going to Gordy’s website and clicking on the webcam link on the top right of the page.
Pictures of the Year
The fine folks at the Toledo Ice Yacht Club were out in force yesterday on Maumee Bay. Wayne Mckinney was there and shot these eye catching photos. That’s the KAY E BARKER, an 11,948 ton “bulk discharging carrier.” But wait, that’s not just any Great Lakes Freighter, she’s captained by none other than Eric Sawyer, who also skippers the Class A stern steerer, MICHIGANDER.
UPDATE: Yes, according to Eric’s dad, Chip, he was at the helm yesterday and that “he watched the boats sailing as he entered Toledo.”
Photo by Gretchen Dorian. Eric Sawyer’s MICHIGANDER at the 2016 Northwest Regatta on Lake Monona, Madison, WI
Mendota Report 12-20-2017
First of all, there will be no Bloody Mary Classic sailing on New Year’s Day because of the cold temperatures.
Some intrepid 4LIYC ice checkers including Don Anderson, Don Sanford, and Scott Goetz, braved the bitter conditions on Lake Mendota’s west end, Middleton Bay this morning. They found 5″ of hard, smooth ice covered in less than one inch of snow. Don said the sheet looked sailable.
There’s talk of a coming outbreak of the iceboat flu and taking a day off a day of work to sail during the coming week if the temperatures moderate. Stay tuned.
No 4LIYC Racing Dec 30-31, However….
ENTERPRISE on Kegonsa, oil on canvas by Harry Whitehorse Note the old Sunnyside (now Springer’s) on the shore.
There will be no 4LIYC racing December 30-31. Commodore Don Anderson and a large group of ice checkers (and lunch eaters) confirmed that Lake Kegonsa is covered with hard snow drifts, some up to 5″. The drifting and Saturday’s brutally cold temperatures made it an easy decision.
The group will reassemble on Middleton Bay tomorrow, Saturday, 30 at 11 AM at the Captain Bill’s landing. Don walked on Middleton Bay yesterday and thought the ice looked good (except for one goose hole), If there are sailing conditions, club members are tentatively planning on setting up boats there Sunday, December 31 for a day of scrub racing followed by the Bloody Mary Classic 10-lapper race on January 1 with more scrub racing. If you would like to help check ice, please be at Captain Bill’s tomorrow at 11 AM.
Next update will be tomorrow, Saturday, January 30.
Gladstone Ice
The fleet at Escanaba, MI is growing and it’s no wonder with ice like this in Little Bay de Noc. Via Terry Reynolds
Drone pictures and video done at 1330 EST December 26 at Gladstone, Michigan. Ice depth at that time 5 inches. The video [not shown in these pictures-Deb] shows areas of open water within the ice fields. The ice field extends all the way to Escanaba lighthouse. Isolated areas of open water do exist from the Terrace hotel to the Escanaba light house. Drone and photos/video courtesy of Rick Elrod.
Online Ship’s Store
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
4LIYC Governing Documents
Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates
- November 6
- November 20 Elections
- December 4
- December 18
- 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.
