2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
Eight Bells: Scott Goetz
Read Scott’s Obituary
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Scott Goetz, an invaluable member of our Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. Scott passed away on December 24, 2023. He left behind a selfless legacy of service to the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club and the ice sailing community.
Always ready to go the extra mile, Scott offered assistance wherever and whenever needed. Jim Nordhaus referred to Scott as a “boat brother” who was part of a group that met every Tuesday night at Jim’s shop to work on iceboats and enjoy the camaraderie. Whether helping with race committee, building or repairing iceboats, or simply being a friendly face at our gatherings, Scott was a true friend to all. Scott’s departure serves as a reminder of how one person can impact a community.
Details to come on celebration of life. See Cress Funeral Home for details on arrangements. Family and friends are invited to join us to celebrate Scott at the Cress Center, 6021 University Avenue, Madison, on Saturday, January 13 from 1-4 pm.
The Iceboaters Universal Challenge
Henry Bossett discovered a vintage cartoon panel that may only make sense to an iceboat builder. When I was a kid, my dad and his fellow 4LIYC members built Skeeters in our basement. Extracting the finished hull out of the basement was a carefully orchestrated affair requiring the removal of doors and windows to navigate the boat out to the waiting trailer. Iceboats are sometimes built or repaired in a dining or living room that has been transformed into a workshop for iceboats.
The cartoonist Quin Hall had a successful career, including a stint at the New Yorker Magazine, but I couldn’t find any connection to iceboating. Perhaps he had a neighbor who faced the same problem when living in New Jersey, near Red Banks.
Tip of the Helmet: Henry Bossett
Just like in the cartoon, these kids are having a blast in their home-built iceboats.
Whole Lotta Boinging Goin’ On
Here’s the latest Spaight Street Syndicate Update on the baker’s dozen Nite mast project:
Whole Lotta Boinging Goin’ On
Yesterday was boinging day at the Spaight Street Syndicate. With a baker’s dozen of Sitka Spruce Nite Racing Masts nearing completion, it was time to determine the boingosity of each. Freshly back from the American Magic camp in Barcelona, the smart person job was handled by Kyle Navin, while the old man (the reigning Nite National Champion) recorded the data. “Funny, but every time the weight needed to be hoisted onto the sling, the two old guys had “business” to conduct on their phones,” commented the junior Navin. Little did Kyle know, but this was actually a training session on the fundamentals of business management–the day’s focus being on delegation and empowerment.
Precise boing data was collected with a top secret amount of weight (it was 80 lbs.) suspended at the mast center, with readings taken at the bottom third, halfway and two thirds points. The builders were pleased to note that the boing was remarkably consistent from side to side, even prior to final tuning. Over the range of masts, centerpoint boingosity was recorded from 3.2″ to 5.8″. In the days ahead, comparisons will be made to other existing masts that have performed well on the ice in the past.
Key questions–
1.) How much boing is ideal?
2.) How much is too much boing before mast failure?
3.) Since we now have the option to lose the lead, are softer masts more practical? Inquiring minds want to know.
SOLD! December 4, 2023: Cruiser in WI
SOLD! Nite hull.
Wood plank, mast and springboard.
Set up was done by Nubs Salzseider.
Plank is 16’. Have another 11’ plank also. Trailer included. $1500 or best offer.
Think Christmas Ice
Beer Barons & Ice Sailing – The Ruppert Brewery of NY
Oshkosh ice sailor Rosie McDonald getting ready to tap a Fauerbach beer on Lake Monona c 1955. Note the Fauerbach Brewery in the background. Photo: Carl Bernard slide collection.
Previous
Vassar Brewery, Iceboating’s First Iceboat Bar
Fauerbach Brewery Archives
After a day pulling sheet, there’s nothing quite like the camaraderie of fellow iceboaters reliving the day’s races over a cold dipper.
In 19th and 20th-century America, a unique correlation emerged among a specific industry – second-generation German beer brewers who had a passion for sports, all things fast, and ice sailing.
Besides the Vassar Brewery in New York (which had English roots), Pabst* in Milwaukee, and Madison’s favorite Fauerbach Brewery, Henry Bossett told me about another famous brewer who loved ice sailing: New York brewer George Ruppert. Furthermore, Jacob, George’s brother, owned the New York Yankees and famously signed Babe Ruth in 1919. In addition to being Vice President of the Yankees and president of the Ruppert Brewery, George was an active officer of New Jersey’s North Shrewsbury Iceboat and Yacht Club. In 1938, he organized a meeting at the brewery where 170 ice sailors attended and formed the Eastern Ice Yachting Association.
The newspapers of the time are full of stories about George and his fast, stern-steerer, PIRATE. In 1938, he jumped on the Skeeter bandwagon, one of the first in the East to acquire a front-steering iceboat from the Midwest, THE DARE. (See Skeeter Summit for Skeeter history.)
I couldn’t find any photos of PIRATE or THE DARE, but Brian Reid’s invaluable “White Wings and Black Ice” has pictures of another of Ruppert’s stern-steerers, DASH. In place of a picture of PIRATE, we’ll use a photo of Rosie McDonald getting ready for a cold dipper of Fauerbach beer on Lake Monona with the brewery in the background to represent the connection between breweries and ice sailing.
Learn More:
Jacob Ruppert’s Brewery
A Tour of the Ruppert Brewery in 1939
Jacob Ruppert Wikipedia Page
North Shrewsbury Iceboat & Yacht Club
*Soon to come, a post about the Pabst family and ice sailing.
SOLD! September 14, 2023: Stern-Steerer in WI – RUM RUNNER
SOLD! RUM RUNNER
Classic class B Stern-steerer. 32′ Keelson, 17’plank, 32′ spruce mast. Originally a
Detroit boat, I rebuilt it in 2001. Stainless rigging, Fully battened Dacron main and jib.
2 or 3 sets of runners, Cast Irons and snows.
Aluminum Gin Pole with 12 v. winch. Custom tandem axle trailer with the boat.
$2000 or best offer.
SOLD! December 13, 2023: DN in OH
SOLD! DN with dark green hull. Good starter/cruising boat. No trailer/not licensed. Wooden mast, one set of sails, and one set of runners with storage box. Stored in a heated garage. Came from the Minneapolis area originally, isn’t being used, needs a new home.
$900 or best offer
2024 ISA Notice of Race
Nite sailor Marek Valasek 444 finds some air and lift a runner at the 2023 ISA on Lake Kegonsa.
ISA Home Page
Click here to read 2024 International Skeeter Association Regatta Notice of Race.
The ISAA Regatta will be held on January 12, 13, & 14, 2024 and may be postponed until ice conditions are suitable.
2024 Northwest Regatta Notice of Race
B Skeeter: Fritz Buttons
Northwest Home Page
Click here to read the 2024 Northwest Ice Yachting Association Notice of Race.
The regatta is scheduled to be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 19, 20 & 21, 2024 but may be postponed until ice conditions are suitable.
2024 Senior Shuffle Notice of Race
The inspiration for the Senior Shuffle – the 2021 Grand Masters Regatta in Sweden.
Click here to read Senior Shuffle NOTICE OF RACE
Previous: Senior Shuffle Announcement
The Senior Shuffle DN Championship Regatta is January 8 – 10, 2024, the three days after the DN Western Region Championship, which is scheduled for January 6 – 7.
SOLD! December 13: Sarns DN Runners in WI
SOLD! 26” Sarns DN runners and carrying box.
Wisconsin
Asking $450 OBO
rothgreg53@hotmail.com
FDR Presidential Library Historic Stern-Steerer Display Dec 21 – Jan 7
“John A. Roosevelt at the tiller of Kriss (not Vixen) on the Hudson, 1902” Photo & caption courtesy of White Wings and Black Ice
If you are a fan of the classic Hudson River stern-steerers, this exhibit is worth a visit. Via the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust and Brian Reid’s White Wings and Black Ice
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum to host a display of authentic Hudson Valley Ice Yachts
December 21, 2023 through January 7, 2024
Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home
Ice yachts on display will include KRISS, built for FDR’s uncle John Aspinwall Roosevelt, CYCLONE, built for Herman Livingston Rogers, son of the Roosevelt’s Hyde Park neighbor Archibald Rogers, and 999, built for the owners of the J. G. Bodenstein Ice Tool Company in Staatsburgh, New York in the 1870s.The display is presented by the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust and Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. The boats can be seen — with full rigging — in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home, during regular operating hours (9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.), with free admission. The facilities are closed on Christmas and New Years Day.
Evolution of a Mast Project
The sanding crew, from left Paul McMillan, Jerry Simon, Steve Holtzman, Stefan Schmidt, Lars Barber, Don Anderson, Mike Ripp.
Just as changing a light fixture in a house frequently evolves into a room renovation, replacing a broken sheave on the mast of MARY B became a more extensive project.
In August, the Iceboat Foundation showcased two boats – the MARY B and the Class A Skeeter INSANITY – at Marshall Park during the E Scow Nationals. While both boats impressed the onlookers, the crew encountered an issue with a faulty sheave when they tried to take down the sail.
Mike Ripp, paint specialist
As they were replacing the sheave, the crew decided to take the opportunity to give the mast a fresh coat of paint. Mike Ripp, volunteered to do the entire paint job and will apply two coats of the traditional white paint, one side at a time over the course of the week.
Regatta Causes Lake Geneva Traffic Jam
Evron Kline, Battle Creek Ice Yacht Club, photos
PREVIOUS: Evron Kline’s 1947 NIYA Photos
Northwest Regatta Page
Here’s a scrapbook page filled with 1948 Northwest photos from Lori Klein-Clossen’s grandfather, Evron Kline. Evron was a member of the Battle Creek, Michigan Ice Yacht Club.
The 1948 NIYA was likely the first time an iceboat regatta caused traffic jams as spectators hunted for parking spots between Fontana, Williams Bay, and Lake Geneva. The FRITZ, a 4LIYC Class A Stern Steerer, was the boat to beat. A young Bill Mattison crewed on 18-year-old Jim Lunder’s FRITZ to win the A-Class title. New Jersey’s Art Siebke won a tie-break with Elmer Millenbach to take the Skeeter championship. Menominee, Michigan’s Dick Sawyer, and Sam Wells took Class B honors in RITA. Class C championship went to Bud Stroshine of Oshkosh, WI, sailing SUSAN JO, and Don Ward’s ROSEMARY won Class D.
SOLD! December 14, 2023: DN Hull & Sail in IL
SOLD! C2 Ron Sherry Hull
This hull served me well over the years. It has done a lot of racing and has the scars to prove it, but it is still a good hull and ready for some more action. Includes adjustable mast step, carbon tiller and carbon reinforced steering rod.
$700
I also have a North Sails Allspeed DN sail available. Includes battens with adjusters. The sail is in excellent condition. It probably has 10 days of use on it max. More likely 7 or 8 days.
$300
Renegade Newsletter Published
Via Renegade Secretary Ron Rosten, the annual Renegade class newsletter is out. Click here to read the newsletter.
Skeeter Summit Presentation – Now on YouTube
If you missed last night’s presentation on the history and future of the Skeeter iceboat class by Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert, don’t worry! The entire session has been recorded and is now available on our YouTube channel. Whether you want to relive the insights or catch it for the first time, dive in and increase your Skeeter iceboat knowledge. Watch it at this link: Skeeter Summit
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club thanks Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert for sharing your expertise and passion for the Skeeter fleet with our ice-sailing community. Your dedication to preserving and advancing the Skeeter class will have a lasting impact on future iceboaters.
Friendly Reminder – Skeeter Summit Wednesday @ 6:30 PM CT
1991 ISA Regatta. Notice there’s only one cockpit-forward Skeeter on the line.
Henry Bossett, Dan Clapp, and Pat Heppert have created an exceptional production that covers the past and future of the Skeeter class.
The photo above from the presentation displays the first cockpit-forward “bubble-boat, ” COMING ATTRACTIONS, which marked the beginning of a new phase in Skeeter design. In 1991, Dan Clapp towed this boat from New Jersey to Lake Geneva and emerged victorious in the International Skeeter Association regatta.
If you’ve registered, we’ll email you the Zoom link Wednesday morning. If you have questions during the presentation, we encourage you to ask them using the chat option, and the Skeeter specialists will answer them at the end of the presentation. Or you can email your questions ahead of time to to debwhitehorse@iceboat.org.
What To Know
SKEETER SUMMIT
Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET
The Zoom link was emailed on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Cancelled
Northwest Regatta Home Page
The Northwestern Ice Yachting Association 2023 race committee has not located any location suitable for the regatta for next weekend. With holidays filling the following two weekends, the 2023 Regatta is cancelled.
The 2024 NIYA Regatta is scheduled Friday January 19 – 21, 2024.
Steve Schalk
Northwestern Ice Yachting Association
Secretary/Treasurer
New! ISA News & Views Newsletter Archive
