Iceboating Goes to University

Boecraft Continuum

Boecraft Website
Meet Jared Kaesmeyer, a former Lake Geneva, WI resident and a recent graduate with a Master’s in Architecture. Jared’s thesis project was on iceboating, again proving that iceboating is a highly creative endeavor. Please let me know if you want to see Jared’s remarkable and unique 165-page thesis.

My name is Jared Kaesmeyer. I used to live in Lake Geneva, WI, and grew up hearing about and seeing ice boating. It always intrigued me. Since that time, I’ve gone to college at North Dakota State University and graduated with my Master’s in Architecture. As part of that degree, I had to create a thesis project. My thesis was on ice boating.

I spent 9 months developing a proposal for an iceboat cultural center in Lake Geneva’s downtown. I did research, and worked with Steve Schalk to get a better idea for the history and background. In the end, I designed a destination establishment that featured year-round display of ice boats in a prominent location downtown, with a workshop and event space for hosting year round training and events. The thesis went on to win an award, and in all was just such a fun process!

I have sent this to Steve, and thought I would share it with iceboat.org. Maybe you will find it interesting, or know someone else who may!

The Regatta That Wasn’t

WSA Official Ice Hunting Vehicle

The Wisconsin Skeeter Association President, Ken Whitehorse, has been doing everything to find ice for the Skeeters. He thought he had a site lined up on Lake Petenwell in central Wisconsin with the prerequisite bar and restaurant at the landing, but “nothing fickler” came into play. Looks like Madison area lakes received another dose of snow yesterday meaning we wait for the big Zamboni to roll through again. I’m in Stockholm, soon heading to Latvia for the DN European Championship. The weather over here isn’t making it any easier either.

The Wisconsin Skeeter Racing Championship Race is called off. The Director of Competition, Tom Hyslop advised me to evaluate the smoothness of the racing surface. The surface is race worthy provided there is light wind velocity. However the racing surface is more than 1 1/2 miles out. We would need a safety committee and vehicles. This is a mammoth lake and there are very few sports people on it. Today people drove their trucks all the way across. 12″ to 14″ of ice is the report. If the ice surface were closer to the shore and the Lure Restaurant launch site you can bet M-197 and M-165 would be rippin’ it up this weekend. Let see what happens during this week. Fair winds to all!
-Ken Whitehorse

Kayla Wolf ISA & Renegade Championship Photo Gallery

Start of a Renegade race at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Kayla Wolf
KAYLA WOLF PHOTO GALLERY

Freelance Photographer Kayla Wolf was there for the action Sunday on Lake Kegonsa at the ISA & Renegade Championship. Renegade and Nite sailors will want to make sure to look through her gallery for some fantastic shots. Link here

C-Skeeter Polish Championship


The Western Region of the DN Class (WI, MN, IL, IA, IN, UP of MI) is hosting the DN World & North American Championship in just a few days. Ice sailors from Poland and Sweden are here to train on Lake Kegonsa. The regatta site information will be announced on January 18, 2023, on idniyra.org. Regatta information.

Boat preparations are underway for the first-ever C-Skeeter Polish Match Racing Championship. Current DN World Champion, Robert Graczyk, will face off with former DN World Champion, Tomek Zakrzewski, on Lake Kegonsa in Stoughton, Wisconsin this Wednesday, January 18. Weather permitting, of course. At stake is a meal of Polish delicacies including pirogies and Polish sausage. But none of that cold soup. The loser will treat the winner and the boat owners/race committee at the prize giving ceremony, which will take place sometime during the ‘23 DN Worlds/North Americans.

To date, only the Black Ice/Loren ipsum camp has responded to requests for information about boat prep. The Drifter camp remains shielded under a cloak of secrecy, no doubt working on another traveler-like innovation to create an unfair advantage.

To make sure the race track is level, the two competitors will trade boats after each race, and the championship will conclude after an even number of races. Clearly the Drifter camp strategists have failed to read the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions.

2023 ISA & Renegade Championship Awards

Renegades line up to race at the 2023 Renegade Championship on Lake Kegonsa, January 14, 2023. Photo: Will Johnston

RESULTS
A stronger breeze made it a wind hat trick on day three of the ISA and Renegade championships on Lake Kegonsa. The A & B Skeeters elected to watch the Nites and Renegades take to the course for spirited racing. All agreed they couldn’t remember when Mother Nature blessed the ISA with three sailable days. Renegaders discussed how this ISA was a record for them in the number of races (8.)

Many thanks to the Race Committee, including
Joe Norton, Jerry Simon, Scott Goetz, Paul McMillan, Afan Ottenhemier, and 4LIYC Commodore Daniel Hearn, who helped to organize the equipment. Also, many thanks to Ann Foeller, who tabulated remotely from Lake Erie’s shores and is a Toledo Ice Yacht Club member. And thank you to the many competitors who didn’t hesitate to pick up starting blocks, call numbers, and anything else to make the regatta run smoothly.

Will Johnston ISA & Renegade Championship Photo Gallery


Class A Skeeters in perfect harmony. Photo: Will Johnston

WILL JOHNSTON PHOTOS

Photographer Will Johnston joined us for a second year in a row for the 2023 ISA and Renegade Championship. He even hitched a ride in an airplane (friend of Jeff Russell’s) for some aerial shots. Will has generously shared a link to all of the photos. See all of them here. If you use Will’s photos for anything other than personal posts, please get in touch with me so I can give you his contact information.

C Skeeter on Lake Kegonsa. Photo: Will Johnston