As we prepare for the 2025 Northwest Ice Yachting Association Regatta, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the 1925 event, which was held 100 years ago. The 1925 Northwest was supposed to be held on Madison’s lakes, or so the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club (4LIYC) thought. However, a twist of fate, or rather a ‘joker’ (as the Wisconsin State Journal put it) in the bylaws, changed everything. According to the Wisconsin State Journal (Feb. 3, 1925), the Northwest bylaw stated that if a regatta is canceled one year, it must be held on the same lake the following year. As a result, Pewaukee Lake retained the hosting rights, much to the disappointment of Madison sailors. The newspaper noted, “The general feeling among the local club is that Madison has not had an even break.”
Despite this setback, Madison sailors brought home significant victories: 1925 Northwest Class Champions
Class A Stern Steerer: – DEFIANCE – M.D. Bernard, P. Bernard (4LIYC)
Class B Stern Steerer: – LIBERTY – W.P. Bernard, E. Tetzlaff (4LIYC)
Free-for-All Winner: MISS MILWAUKEE Class A1, Camp Van Dyke, Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club
Interesting Notes from 1925
Class A1 Stern Steerers:
MISS MILWAUKEE, the free-for-all winner, competed in the now-defunct Class A1 division, which was for boats with a bigger sail area than Class A Stern Steerers. Built by Camp Van Dyke for $5,000, MISS MILWAUKEE was designed specifically to win the prestigious Stuart Cup but never managed to claim it. The Class A1 division was abolished in 1926, making this one of its last notable appearances in the Northwest.
Junior Division Announced:
The 1925 regatta saw the Northwest announce plans for a Junior Division to debut in 1926, open to sailors under 16 years old with boats limited to 150 square feet of sail area. However, it’s unclear whether this division ever came to fruition—stay tuned to the 2026 NIYA for that story!
100 Years Later
The Carl Bernard scrapbooks have been an invaluable resource for uncovering the history of the 1925 Northwest. Carl attended the regatta at Pewaukee and captured photos of his father’s winning boat, DEFIANCE, as well as the giant MISS MILWAUKEE. Most importantly, he preserved one of those special regatta moments by having someone snap a photo of him with all his pals on his stern-steerer.
Here we are, a century later, carrying on the tradition of the Northwest regatta on Lake Winnebago out of Fond du Lac. Ice sailors will once again compete for top honors—who will become the next champions in the Class A and B Stern Steerers? We are lucky to still be sailing the Northwest and honoring the legacy of those early champions and their stories.
Northwest Home Page UPDATE: Launch information has been updated
Via Northwest Ice Yachting Association Regatta Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The 2025 NIYA Regatta is called on for Fond Du Lac, January 24th, 25th and 26th, with the final call at noon Wednesday January 22nd. Launch ramp will be finalized prior to Wednesday noon. It will be in the southeast corner of the lake somewhere between the Fond Du Lac Yacht Club and the Sunset Bar. Stay tuned for launch site updates on Wednesday, January 22.
The ice condition is excellent and the wind and temperature appear to be cooperating – pretty much optimal in all respects for an epic Northwest Championship.
Via Northwest Ice Yachting Association Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The 2025 Northwestern Ice Yachting Association Race Committee has postponed one week to January 24th, 25th and 26th. The likely site will be on Lake Winnebago at the best possible of several locations.
The morning check by Andy Gratton found the snow conditions ok for most but not DNs. (Styrofoam snow) The forecast eliminates Sunday due to low temperatures and the Friday wind and temperature forecasts show a possible softening of the snow , but a likely blow-out of excessive wind gusts.
The forecast is looking good for multiple options on January 24th. The next NIYA Update is Sunday January 19th after 7 pm.
The 2025 NIYA Regatta is called on for Fond Du Lac,, January 17 – 19 with the final call at noon Wednesday January 15th. Launch will be drive on at the Sunset Bar.
UPDATE: The International Skeeter Association and Renegade Championship regattas are postponed. The NIYA regatta takes precedence.
Steve Schalk, Secretary/Treasurer of Northwest and ISA, has dedicated countless hours to preserving 75 years of essential iceboating history from the International Skeeter Association newsletter, News and Views. In the past few days, I’ve uploaded the PDFs to iceboat.org, making the complete archive easily accessible on the website. It’s a privilege to share this invaluable resource with everyone. Visit the ISA News & Views archives here.
Welcome to the News and Views Archive. This collection has been digitized in searchable pdf format directly from the official document collections of the International Skeeter Association and the Northwestern Ice Yachting Association.
In the 1950’s and earlier, the two Associations published documents such as meeting minutes and race results separately. Beginning in the 1960’s, the publication “ISA News and Views” was used to gather and publish news, meeting information, race results, member lists, local club news, and a for sale section.
The collection is organized by Iceboat racing season, which stretches from fall of one year through spring of the following year. The order of seasons starts with the most recent and goes back to 1948-49 season.
The content gives an insight into developments in iceboating over the last 75 years, with the voices and images of many of the most prominent competitors, designers and builders appearing in these pages.
I hope you enjoy your journey back in time using these archives. LINK TO ARCHIVES
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
INTERNATIONAL SKEETER ASSOCIATION
