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Here’s the final installation of the Elmer Millenbach interview with historic video footage of Elmer winning a race on Lake St. Clair in the 1940s. Elmer’s wife, Cora Lee, also makes an appearance in the audio track. Cora Lee was vital in building the Renegade fleet, serving as Renegade class Secretary for many years. She also worked race committee at iceboat regattas.
Elmer Millenbach Archives
Here’s the second of the three-part Mystic Seaport Museum interview with Elmer Millenbach, designer of the Renegade class iceboat where he details the different design phases of the Renegade.
Detroit’s Elmer Millenbach (1912-1996), the creator of the Renegade iceboat, was arguably one of the most influential men in North American iceboat development. The boom of Ontario, Canada’s Class A Skeeter sailor Rob Intini carried the message “We All Play Elmer’s Tune” as a reminder.
Greg Whitehorse recently dropped off an interview with Elmer on a cassette tape recorded in 1989 by the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. Over an hour-long, I edited the interview into different parts for the listener’s convenience and added a slide show.
In part one, Elmer recalls the beginning days of the DN and his frustration that he “…couldn’t find out what a DN was,” inspiring him to develop new ways of designing iceboat components such as runners. He knew there would soon be competition from the new front steering boats to see who could go the fastest. “You get enough kiddie cars together, and pretty soon, there’s a race.”
The ice sailing community is glad that photographer Reb Resnick keeps an eye on our doings. He was on Green Lake over the weekend during the Renegade Championship and Nite Commodore’s Cup with his drone. Check out his gallery of Wisconsin ice sailing images here.
4LIYC members Tim McCormick, left, and Ron Rosten, right, line up in the one and two blocks for the fourth Renegade race. Results
Sunday’s conditions were a paradox of wind with intermittent fog. The Nites were the first to sail, and Green Lake Ice Yacht Club’s Byron Hill won his first race of the day.
The wind picked up, which made for an exciting and competitive Renegade race won by Tim McCormick. The Nites were able to sail one more, again won by Byron Hill.
The Renegades lined up for race four which was a four-lapper. After two laps, a competitor pulled in and informed the Race Committee that the weather mark had fallen because he had hit it. Chief Judge and Nite Commodore John Hayashi, assisted by Pat Heppert, immediately decided that sailors fishing around for the weather mark in the ever-lower visibility was a lousy situation and black-flagged the race.
Congratulations to Jim Gluek for his second Renegade Championship and Byron Hill for his victory in the Nite Class. Thanks to John Hayashi, the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club, and Pat Heppert for all his help.
The celebratory braunschweiger and onion sandwiches provided by Green Lake Ice Yacht Club’s Debbie Biermann at the trophy presentation were much appreciated. Her husband, Dan’s, birthday is coming up, and he asked her to make them rather than a birthday cake. We all hope it’s a new tradition.
Class A Skeeter sailors Ken White Horse and Paul Krueger haven’t had the conditions to sail this season. Mike Ripp made sure Ken kept his racing skills tuned up and lent him his Renegade to race in the regatta. Paul Krueger joined Ken as a coach, pit crew, and ATV driver.
Thanks, Peter Sarelis, for traveling to the regatta from Michigan and representing the Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club.
Green Lake 3From Left, Green Lake Ice Yacht Club Deb Bierman, 3rd Daniel Hearn, 5th Ken Whitehorse, 4th Tim McCormick, 2nd Greg McCormick, and 1st Jim Gluek.
Light air and sticky, granular ice were the keywords of Saturday. Patience paid off for the Renegades, and they were able to sail two races. In the first race, light air specialists Greg McCormick, Tim McCormick, and Jim Gluek arrived at the leeward finishing line simultaneously for an exciting finish where Greg inched out the other two. Winds dropped during the second race, and just three sailors, race winner Jim Gluek, Greg McCormick, and Daniel Hearn, were able to make the time limit. The Nite fleet gave it their best try, but the light air brought out the black flag.
Pilot Jim Stevenson flew up for a look at the regatta and shared these photos with us. Thank you, Jim!
Boats should have no trouble getting around the course in today’s winds, forecasted to be 10-15 mph with possible gusts to 30mph.
