UPCOMING:
4LIYC Meeting : Dec 17 @ Breakwater More information.
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship December Outlook
Steve Schalk sailing a B Skeeter on Lake Kegonsa at the 2023 ISA. Photo: Will Johnston
2025 NOTICE OF RACE
ISA HOME PAGE
Via ISA Secretary/Treasurer Steve Schalk:
The ISA & Renegade Championship Race Committee is cranking back up to find the location for the postponed 2025 ISA. The conference calls restart on November 30th. There is a cold front moving through Minnesota as I write this, with none of the sites yet frozen, so the current snow is just falling in open water. The following cold will close up the lakes and allow for the search to begin. Minnewaska and Battle Lakes are favored sites with their launch facilities.
The ISA Race Chairman believes that it should be possible for a DN Western Challenge by December 5th, with the two following weekends available for the ISA. Of course the weather will dictate the outcome. We will post Sunday 7 pm updates starting November 30th.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
First!
He’s done it again. DN sailor Paul Chamberland is first on the ice in North America, just as he was on November 22, 2023. He’s back on Owlseye Lake while visiting family near his home town of St. Paul, Alberta. This time Paul brought a crew of family and friends, and they spent the day taking turns on the two DNs he hauled north.
A strong start to the season, with temperatures forecasted to drop toward in the Four Lakes region which will help bring ice.
4LIYC Gathers at the Fast Champions Iceboat Shop
Ken Whitehorse with Daniel’s grandsons, Dash and Enzo. Kenny swears they kicked the tires and asked about the top end.
Last night the club gathered at the Fast Champion Iceboat Shop of Ken Whitehorse and Paul Krueger, for a combined meeting and celebration of many years of iceboat and auto racing shop excellence. The building, which has been a business, auto racing and iceboat shop, is soon to be demolished for redevelopment, so this night felt especially meaningful.
We had an excellent turnout of members and friends. After mingling and taking in the displays, we held club elections. Outgoing Commodore Daniel Hearn deserves our thanks. He set the record for longest consecutive term and served four years. Moving into the role of Commodore is Ron Rosten, formerly Vice Commodore. Elected Vice Commodore is Greg McCormick. We also thank Rhonda Arries who will continue as Treasurer, and I, your Secretary, will remain in that role.
Ken worked unbelievably hard to create what I think is the perfect representation of what an iceboat hall of fame should look like, not in a formal museum but right here in a shop. Paul’s Class A Skeeter RAMBLN was set up as part of the display; oil paintings by Harry Whitehorse, historic trophies, many photos and the most prestigious trophy of all, the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant, were all present. It was good to see so many faces. People sat in chairs or, when chairs ran out, on the springboard of Paul’s Skeeter. It was classic.
We shared stories. How the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant started around 1881 on the Hudson River for stern steerers, how the Roosevelt family were involved, how in 1951 Ed Rollberg from the Fox Lake Ice Yacht Club in Illinois went out and brought it to the Midwest, and how our own 4LIYC sailors including Bill Mattison, Dave Rosten, AJ Whitehorse, Ken Whitehorse and Paul Krueger have competed for it. We talked about the team race nature of the pennant and how the rivalry developed between the Lake Geneva Skeeter Iceboat Club and the Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club for it. Ken explained why 4LIYC boats are red and white and, to my surprise, it does not go back to matching Budweiser cans.
A giant thank you to Daniel Hearn for arranging the food and beverages, and most of all to Ken for all his hard work in assembling the evening and the display. It truly was a magical evening.
Here is to the next chapter. The shop may go away, but our club’s commitment to racing and our shared history remain strong.
LEARN MORE:
Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant Archives
White Wings & Black Ice Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America
Roosevelt’s Icicles
Photos by Maureen Bohleber
A New Ghost in the Machine: AI Designs a DN Plank
Iceboating has seen its share of firsts, and this may be another one. In the 1930s the stern-steerer DEBUTANTE showed up with the first aluminum runners, and Chuck Kotovic Jr. won the 1954 ISA with one of the first Dacron sails.
Now a new kind of experiment is underway. Tomasz Zakrzewski, a Polish DN sailor who has raced many championships on our lakes, has built what may be the first runner plank designed entirely by artificial intelligence. It was not a shortcut. Tomasz spent hours feeding the system with detailed files and measurements to train it. With enough data, the machine can analyze patterns and generate something that has never been built before.
This week marks a milestone for me — and possibly a first in the history of iceboating.
I have just finished building a runner plank designed entirely by artificial intelligence.
Over the past days, I trained an AI model by feeding it detailed information about more than 100 runner planks built over the last decade — including materials used, layup schedules, structural failures, stiffness measurements, field results, and performance notes. Based on this dataset, ChatGPT proposed its own optimized layup concept… and the design was so interesting that I decided to build it. Continue reading.
Gretchen Dorian’s Pre Holiday Sale
AI- generated examples of the type of keepsakes available on Gretchen’s website.
One of the greatest allies in iceboating is Gretchen Dorian. We have all watched her at the weather mark in bitter cold, waiting for the perfect shot. Her photos have carried this sport around the world. She is running a pre holiday sale on her site through December 15, and it is a good time to support the person who spends as much time on the ice as many of us who race and help with race committee.
You can order prints of your favorite shots or download digital images right away. You can also put them on coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments, coasters, and even fleece blankets. If you want prints delivered before Christmas in the USA, place those orders before December 1. Discounts run as high as forty five percent. These make simple gifts for sailors who already have every tool and every runner in the box.
Take a look at her site, enjoy the savings, and support the photographer who has been telling the story of this sport for years.
gretchendorian.com
4LIYC Meeting News for Nov 19 – Current Fast Champions Iceboat Shop
Current/Past Champions Iceboat Shop Farewell Tour
Please join us for our next 4LIYC Meeting on Wednesday, November 19 at 6:30 PM to take care of business and celebrate the final days of the legendary Whitehorse Iceboat Shop. Word has it that red/white boats will be on display, along with memorabilia you’ve probably never seen.
The longtime home of legendary ice sailors Kenny Whitehorse and Paul Krueger has finally surrendered to developers after decades of keeping the ruthless capitalists at bay.
Fresh off his TV shoot for an upcoming PBS Documentary, Kenny commented, “the shop hasn’t been this clean since the day it was built. Paul and I found runners and sails we’ve been missing since the Nixon administration.”
Outgoing Commodore Daniel Hearn will officially pass the torch to Ron Rosten to kick off the meeting promptly at 6:30. Since Daniel always had too much to say, and Ron on the side of too little, this will be a short meeting.
Bring your appetite for catered Mexican food, adult and minor beverages. Please RSVP, so that we can get a rough count for the food/bev order. RSVP by emailing: debwhitehorse@iceboat.org
The Bubble Expands & a World Champion Joins the Skeeter Fleet
Two Clapp-built Class A Skeeters with deep pedigrees.
The world’s fastest iceboats, the Class A Skeeters, the Formula One of iceboat racing, have grown their fleet this season with two new Clapp-built additions. Both boats come from the shop of Dan Clapp, innovator of the renowned bubble boat design that transformed Skeeter performance back in the 1990s.
PREDATOR Finds a New Home
The Class A Skeeter PREDATOR has a new owner, Fritz Good of Pewaukee, well known in Scow sailing circles from his years sailing on Pewaukee Lake. PREDATOR was most recently owned by Rob Evans, from whom Good acquired the boat. Welcome to the fleet, Fritz, and congratulations on bringing PREDATOR back on the ice.
Clapp shared some of the boat’s storied history:
“PREDATOR was the first bubble boat, COMING ATTRACTION. I won my first ISA with this boat on Lake Geneva in 1991. Afterwards, I sold it to Art Apy, who renamed it GOTCHA. A few years later, the boat was sold to Rick Stavola and became MONA LISA. Rick raced it successfully for many years before selling it to Rob Marsh, who renamed it ILLUSION and modified the rear deck to match the newer slant-back design. Eventually, the boat was sold out West.”
Struble Steps in to the Bubble
Perhaps the biggest buzz of the season comes from the DN ranks. DN World Champion Matt Struble has thrown his helmet into the Class A Skeeter ring, purchasing the bright yellow AMPHETAMINE from Pewaukee’s Tom Hyslop.
Clapp recalls building the boat:
The yellow boat was built for Jack Jacobs. It was the first slant-back-deck bubble boat. I built it alongside BALLISTIC (for Bill Stavola) and MADJAKE (for myself) around 1998. It originally had a 26-foot mast and 22-foot plank. Later, Jack bought my all-carbon MADJAKE and renamed it MERLIN. He wanted both boats to be identical, so I built him a new mast and plank for MERLIN that matched the carbon boat. I then took the original shorter mast and plank in trade, painted them orange, and used them on INSANITY for many years. Tom Hyslop bought MERLIN from Jack and renamed it AMPHETAMINE II or III. He experimented with mast and plank lengths before settling on a setup with a new mast by Jay Yaeso and a 22-foot plank I made for him.
Now the distinctive bright yellow Skeeter returns to the line with Struble at the helm, a DN sailor stepping up to the elite level of A Skeeters. Struble’s arrival in the Skeeter fleet is sure to turn heads and raise the competitive bar.
Dan writes, “Here’s a Gretchen Dorian photo of me at Lake Geneva following Buddy around in the Northwest. I ended up 2nd. No matter what I did, I couldn’t beat him that day….on his home ice. Jack (Jacobs) owned the boat at the time. I was “testing” the new 30’ mast and 25’ plank.”
PREDATOR (Rob Evans) and HELLSBELLS (Mark Isabell) sailing on Lake Monona, a living bubble boat history lesson.
Video by OVJ Photography. Link to video.
Skoda Meets Iceboating
Iceboats in Advertising Archives
Marketing cars with iceboats has a long history. Even the DN itself is named after The Detroit News, and over the years this site has shared plenty of examples from the “Mad Men” era, when Detroit advertisers paired cars with wind power to sell speed and style.
This video came out today from Skoda featuring a well-known Polish DN champion, Łukasz Zakrzewski, who has sailed our own lakes more than a few times.
Video link.
First 4LIYC Meeting: Zoom on Nov 5
The War Room awaits orders from the Fleet.
4LIYC 2025–2026 Meeting Schedule Announced
Pay DuesYour 4LIYC governing group, with help from Renegader Don Anderson, has finalized plans for the upcoming season’s meetings. Our first meeting will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:30 PM.
Don is coordinating with Breakwater Restaurant in Monona for in-person gatherings, with the Four Lakes Yacht Club as a possible alternate location. Watch for details about a special meeting on November 19.
Please make sure your 4LIYC dues are paid. We will email the Zoom link to all members on Wednesday, November 5. This is a great opportunity to reconnect, especially with members who live farther away.
2025–2026 4LIYC Meeting Dates
Time: 6:30 PM (in-person or virtual)
- November 5
- November 19
- December 3
- December 17
- January 14
- January 28
- February 11
- February 25
- March 11
Attention Iceboat Clubs: NIYA 2025–26 Dues Notice
2025 Northwest. Photo – Jim Stevenson
Iceboat club secretaries and treasurers, take note! It’s time to send in your Northwestern Ice Yachting Association 2025–26 club dues. Details in the PDF.
Online Ship’s Store
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
4LIYC Governing Documents
Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates
- January 2 THURSDAY Honor Roll Nominations
- January 15 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- January 29
- February 12 Business Meeting
- February 26
- March 12 Last Meeting of the Season
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.
