Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Regatta Postponed to March 11 – 12
Via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association Regatta has been postponed until March 10 – 11. Next update is on Sunday, March 5, 2023.
Via WSSA Secretary Andy Gratton
The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association Regatta has been postponed until March 10 – 11. Next update is on Sunday, March 5, 2023.
The NIYA Race Committee has postponed the Regatta to March 10th, 11th and 12th 2023. The surface at Kegonsa has not been able to firm up, and will not be available until some colder weather – which is on the way mid-March.
The next update will be Sunday March 5th by 7 pm.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
Previously: Where It All Began
If two subjects belong in the same photograph, it has to be ice yachts and the northern lights. The Dutch ice sailing club, De Robben, trailered traditional yachts to Rattvik, Sweden, for their annual ice sailing holiday at the same time the northern lights appeared. (Below is a photo from Mora, Sweden from their 2020 trip.)
Via 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn:
I read recently that a documentary about Buddy Melges will soon be released called, “The Wizard of Zenda.” If there’s a sequel, it should be called “The Oz of Green Lake.” It would tell the story of another living legend from the sailing world, Joe Norton. What Joe lacks in height, he makes up for with personality and generosity. Joe was a fixture in DN racing for decades, and finished up his active racing career in a Nite. I was fortunate enough to purchase his Nite when he decided to hang it up. It was a nameless boat at the time, so I jumped on the opportunity to name her JoJoe. The wood components Joe made for the boat are works of art. He’s a guy who knows his way around a wood shop. He’s made a living restoring, building and maintaining some of the most beautiful Chris Craft style boats that I have ever seen. He insists the only way to varnish one of these beauties is in the nude. “You see, clothing is a magnet for dust”, he claims, “and the last thing you want is dust gathering on your wood.” I think he was pulling my chain, but I’m not really sure.
Although his racing days are over, Joe continues to give back to the sport in multiple ways. This season already, Joe has served as the PRO for the Nite Nationals and assisted Pat Heppert at the DN Worlds/North Americans. I paid a visit to Joe in Green Lake last Friday. One of my off-season projects will be building a couple Nite masts, so I figured there was no one better to consult with than the Oz of Green Lake. He sent me back to Madison with all sorts of goodies. Along with some of the carnage from his own Nite mast exploration. Sharing one’s failures can save another aspiring builder boatloads of time!
But Joe also sent me back with something else. Something that is uniquely Joe. He doesn’t even know what to call the device, so I’m going to call it a “Nortometer”. Functionally, the device measures changing wind angles. When setting a course, PROs are hawkishly watching for the mean direction, so that starting lines and marks can be set for fair racing. Artisitcally, calling this thing a “device” seems kind of insulting. Joe constructs his Nortometers out of salvaged Chris Craft decks. The contrasting wood stripes provide a beautiful indication of a square race track when the yarn is flowing in parallel. If the yarn is at an angle, then it’s time to wait for the wind to settle in, or consider moving the course. When not set up for racing duties, the Nortometer cleverly stores its uprights in pockets underneath, where a true artist, and all around great guy has inscribed his name and date on the gift. Joe has already donated Nortometers to the Green Lake Club, Skeeter Iceboat Club, Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club, Nite Class, International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association, Minnesota Ice Sailors and the International Skeeter Association. If any other club or judge could use a Nortometer of their own–close your eyes, click your heels, and say, “there’s no place like home.” Alternatively, you could email Joe at nortonboatworks@gmail.com.
Previously: “That Will Buff Right Out”
Via Daniel Hearn, Spaight Street Syndicate
Trust The Engineer…Or Else!
Since it was determined last weekend at Lake Pepin that I have a weak spine, this weekend it was time to man up. First I removed the ragged skin to the closest bulkheads, sideboard or stringer. Then I cut out the what remained of the old spine. The original T-beam was constructed of 5/8” Sitka, 2-1/2” wide with triangles underneath. I made the new T-beam out of 1” x 3” White Oak with two verticals on the bottom, triangles underneath and horizontally at the bulkhead joints. For additional peace of mind, I added a layer of 45 degree carbon and a layer of biaxial carbon around the entire beam, plus one more layer of carbon on the top. And finally, carbon gussets at each of the corners were the beam and bulkheads meet. This construction should be dramatically stronger than the previous, which would have been fine, had I just followed Pat’s plans.
Rather than using a traditional top-mounted mast ball track, which would have spread the load out across 14” or so, I used a 6” countersunk style. This required the removal of a fair amount of material directly under the mast ball, when the shorter length was already concentrating the load in a smaller area. The mistake I made was not accounting for these impacts. But the countersunk style looked cooler. (That’s what we call “solid” marketing thinking!)
The spine didn’t actually collapse, rather, the track twisted, blowing out the side of the original beam. It was breezy that day on Lake Pepin, so in addition to carrying a bunch of lead, the stays were slacked off, which caused more side load on the mast ball, hence, the twist.
Hopefully the Northwest will be “On” for the coming weekend, so I can give Lorem Ipsum another shakedown, and try to catch Pat!