Ken Whitehorse and WARRIOR on Lake Monona. Photo: Sean R. Heavey
Friendly reminder, we have a 4LIYC meeting tonight, December 21, 2022, at 6:30 PM. We are going ZOOM ONLY tonight. You should have received an email with the link. Contact me if you haven’t received it.
The good news: Lake Monona froze over on December 19, 2022. The cold temperatures will likely keep it locked, unlike past years when the lake tended to go through freeze-and-thaw cycles.
The let’s wait-and-see news: The National Weather Service is keeping an eye on a system for Thursday and Friday. Maybe the 50 mph winds will push the snow to one side of the lake!
Ice Safety Review
From the NOAA Forecast Discussion
LONG TERM…(Issued 341 AM CST Mon Dec 19 2022)
Sustained winds of 30 to 35 mph, with gusts of 40 to 50 mph are currently expected, with the strongest winds near the Lake Michigan shoreline. With these winds coinciding with the time period of snowfall, am growing more concerned for whiteout conditions and very dangerous travel. Thus, will need to keep an eye on the potential need for any blizzard headlines.
Tim McCormick and Skip Dieball on Lake Monona at the 2022 ISA championship. Photo: Will Johnston
Two subjects today, but closely intertwined.
One: Via Renegade Secretary Ron Rosten, 2022-2023 Renegade Newsletter
2022 IRIYRA Championship Recap by Skip Dieball
What a fun weekend in Madison Feb 18-20. The collection of iceboating enthusiasts really encompassed the spec-
trum of abilities, which makes the experience so fun. The way folks light up when they have first ride…and the
hardened veterans that tweak their set up. Continue reading
Two: I’m not going out on a limb to predict there will be ice across Wisconsin in the next two weeks. Accuweather says…
Forecasted temperatures in the Four Lakes for the last 2 weeks of December 2022. Are you ready?
Michigan’s Ron Sherry set up these Skimmers on Lake St. Clair. In his article for the DN class newsletter Runner Tracks, “Be The Guy”, he wrote, “Be the guy that makes sure giving someone their first ice boat ride is a safe, exciting experience that they will tell all of their friends about.” Read the article here.
Last season, several 4LIYC members brought their Skimmer iceboats to the lake for fun and to easily give people their first taste of ice sailing. As of this week, Skimmer manufacturing and sales is now Wisconsin-based.
Via John Hayashi of Windward Boatworks, Princeton, WI
Windward Boatworks is excited to announce the acquisition of the Skimmer 45 Iceboat product line. The past owners, Jon and Nancy Cheris of Wind Power Products, manufactured and sold Skimmers for over forty years.
Windward Boatworks has been focusing on increasing ice sailing participation within the iceboating community and creating opportunities for summer sailors to try the sport. Everything pointed back to an iceboat priced comparable to other outdoor activities and easily shippable. Each time, Skimmer 45 became part of the discussion. That said, adding it to our line of products at Windward Boatworks made sense.
We envision an opportunity to get more iceboaters into the sport. For the more actively involved iceboaters, we are looking forward to re-establishing the Skimmer 45 National Organization and offering even more opportunities.
See You Skimming!
John Hayashi
Windward Boatworks
Bill Mattison and his 75%
The second part of Carol Cronin’s Bill Mattison article in Seahorse Magazine has been published. “Carol Cronin continues her look back at the extraordinary life of a very extraordinary ‘yachtsman’… though such a plain description does not begin to touch the sides.”
The magazine is subscription based and you can purchase the December edition in print or digital format here.
Decades of continuous improvement
An unattributed quote in the book that Bill Mattison’s daughter Lynn produced for him puts the whole sport of iceboating into perspective. ‘It has been rumoured that iceboating is 75 per cent building them, 10 per cent talking about them, 10 per cent waiting around on the ice for the right conditions and five per cent actually sailing them.’ And her father enjoyed all of it. Continue reading.
PREVIOUSLY
In The News: Bill Mattison in Nov Seahorse Magazine
A Life that Dreams Are Made Of
Eight Bells
Home of the Volleyball(?) Champs
Nothing Fickler
Bill’s Circus Life
“The Icing On The Lake”
“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Willy St. Iceboat Shop Archives
Crystal blue persuasion. Pat Heppert’s C Skeeter DRIFTER with Canadian DNer Jack Marzenski at the Great Western Challenge on Lake Minnewaska in Starbuck, MN. PHOTO: KEVIN BARTA
Friendly reminder, we have a 4LIYC meeting tonight, December 7, 2022, at 6:30 PM. We are going ZOOM ONLY tonight which allows for more work in the shop. You should have received an email with the link. Contact me if you haven’t received it.
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
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.
