2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
MISS MADISON to Iceboat Foundation
MISS MADISON Archives
In the early 19th century, the first American ice yacht designers tested their ideas near Poughkeepsie, New York, giving rise to the Hudson River style of Stern-Steerer iceboat. Eighty years later, William Bernard, owner of a boat livery on Gorham Street on Lake Mendota refined the Hudson River design and named it after the city where he had grown up.
Many Madison-style iceboats came out of the Bernard Boathouse, winning prestigious ice yachting titles such as the Hearst, Stuart, and Northwest. Eventually, the Hudson River style became more popular, and William and his son, Carl, built the last Madison-style iceboat in 1927, naming her MISS MADISON. MISS MADISON actively raced with the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. She also competed in the Northwest Regatta and for a famed trophy donated by newspaperman Randolph Hearst. Newspaper accounts and captions from the Bernard scrapbooks mention her skippers as Carl Bernard, Herb Teztlaff, and William Van Keulen. Carl Bernard stated that MISS MADISON “was the best hull ever built” in an interview on tape in the Wisconsin Historical Society archives.
The Bleck family of Monona, WI, bought her sometime between 1940 and the 1980s. Mari Ann Lichtfeld purchased her from the Blecks to surprise her husband, Richard Lichtfeld. Lichtfeld strived to keep her in period condition, which is unusual because most iceboat owners refashion vintage crafts with modern hardware. Lichtfeld and his kids would play hooky from work and school to take advantage of a perfect ice-sailing day on Lake Monona.
MISS MADISON is one of the best-preserved Madison- style ice yachts in existence, thanks to the efforts of her late owner, Richard Lichtfeld.
Mari Ann Lichtfeld donated MISS MADISON to the Iceboat Foundation this week. She’s now safely stored indoors, like she was at the Lichtfeld shop, with MARY B. Thanks to the Lichtfeld family for donating this piece of history.
On her way to join the MARY B.
Dick Lichtfeld left detailed instructions and photos showing how to rig this vintage boat.
First Annual Mattison- Ripp Week
Bill Mattison Archives
Jack Ripp Archives
Two highly respected Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club members, Bill Mattison and Jack Ripp, defined our club motto as “Home of the Champions.” They not only shared a passion for building and sailing iceboats, they were born six days apart in August 95 years ago. (Bill beat Jack in that race!)
Be it resolved that August 11-17 is an official holiday to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of Bill Mattison and Jack Ripp during their birthday week.
Jack, Bill, and Paul Krueger are seen here with buckets of Gougeon epoxy to build a new hull for the world’s largest iceboat, the DEUCE, back in 2005. Note Bill’s shirt from the 1992 America’s Cup victory, where he helped make the boat go faster.
Read about “A New Hull for the DEUCE” here.
Announcing the DN Senior Shuffle Regatta!
Announcing the DN Senior Shuffle Regatta!
Get ready for North America’s take on the European DN Grand Masters Regatta.
It’s the first, maybe annual, no-running regatta for the “more seasoned” DN sailors. It will take place the three days following the Western Regional Championships, hopefully on the same ice.
TENTATIVE DATES
- January 8 – 10, 2024, the three days after the DN Western Region Championship, which is scheduled for January 6 – 7.
WHO’S INVITED?
- Open to Seniors (50-59), Masters (60-69) and Grand Masters (70+) who will race under Shuffle Rules with one start.
- Open to “aspiring” Seniors (49 or younger) who will also race under Shuffle Rules with a separate start.
WHAT ARE THE SHUFFLE RULES?
- No running. Not at the start. Not during a race. No track stars allowed in a Shuffle race!
- Starting positions will be determined, in advance, by random draw for every race. No one is advantaged or disadvantaged with a starting position based on their previous race performance. It’s all luck of the draw.
- Racers must start with one foot on their plank, and are limited to five kicks.
- Racers must stay in their boats unless they come to a complete stop during a race. In that event, a racer will have one additional 5-kick opportunity to complete a race. A second stop is an automatic DNF.
- No more than 4 races which count on any one day. Scrub racing may continue after official races for any who are interested.
Maybe we’ll award prizes…maybe we won’t. But what we do know, is that this is all about fun and camaraderie. - Oh, yeah. And that means no protests. We’re going to race like a Wisconsin intersection. “You go. No, you go. Ohhhh, please, I insist der my friend. Oh, cripes, tanks, der good buddy!”
OTHER DETAILS
- $50 registration fee to cover prizes and extras
- All registration will be online. If you’re tech-challenged, ask a youngster for help.
- Because we’re so green, race documents will only be published online.
EVENT CONTACTS
- Daniel Hearn dhearnUS5352@gmail.com 608-692-4007
- Deb Whitehorse debwhitehorse@gmail.com 608-347-3513
SOLD Class B Stern Steerer in WI
SOLD! Class B Stern Steerer
Includes trailer with full box that will hold 1 sail and the boom and any necessary rigging equipment.
Ready to hit the ice.
Asking $2000 obo
4LIYC Burgee in the Netherlands
Previous: Iceboat Tourist in the Netherlands
Dutch Style Iceboats Archive
The Dutch ice sailing club, DeRobben, and Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club completed a burgee exchange. Our burgee is now displayed in Alexander De Vos’ reconstructed 19th-century Dutch shipyard. Don Sanford, a 4LIYC Nite sailor, received a DeRobben burgee during his visit to the Netherlands in the spring. Maybe we will see the 4LIYC burgee flying on one of DeRobben’s historic Dutch ice yachts in the future!
Iceboat Design Lab
“Henry is starting his own class and Jack is working on a new futuristic design.” Mike Ripp
4LIYC Renegader Mike Ripp is keeping his boys, Henry and Jack, busy in the shop designing iceboats this summer. It’s never too early to start thinking ice!
4LIYC in Antigua
If you happen to visit Antigua Yacht Club, keep an eye out for the 4LIYC burgee, courtesy of Doug Kolner, a Renegader from 4LIYC.
Upcycle Your Fuel Tank Shell to an Iceboat
Here’s another intriguing discovery shared by Henry Bossett. At the dawn of the age of composites, Popular Mechanics suggested creating iceboat hulls from repurposed jettisoned plastic Naval fuel tank shells.
UPDATE: Here’s a note from someone who actually tried this.
After seeing your last post about discarded fiberglass fuel tanks, I thought I would send you two pictures of attempt by two knuckleheads putting together five pieces of the discarded Navy tanks for soft water version of our boat, later to be converted for use on the ice. The plan was by two seniors in high school to launch our dream boat in Northbrook IL. To then travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans and on return, to add runner plank, mast, runners and sail for our great venture in to ice sailing. Alas, we only made our river trip as far as Wheeling, IL before our spring trip became the second version of the Titanic! All former plans canceled.
Retired Iceboater
Ed Evans
Nite 433 & 72
SOLD! July 17, 2023: DN in Iowa
SOLD! Complete DN
Hull, aluminum mast, wood/carbon fiber, aluminum boom, 170# skipper plank, 225# skipper plank, rigging, Sarns runners (rusty), sail is still crispy (has iron stain).Previous owner won the nationals many years ago.
Located Decorah IA
$600
The Crawfish
An unusual iceboat from the Richard Lichtfeld collection is up for auction on a website. Many years ago, Richard purchased the CRAWFISH from the Eibisch brothers in Columbus, WI. They presumably built the boat using plans published in a DIY magazine, potentially Modern Mechanics, in the 1930s or 1940s. Download the plans in a pdf file. The auction ends on July 19, 2023.
Being the Marks
Human-powered Mark Set Bots?
Thanks to Jerry Simon, Paul McMillan, and Jeff Russell’s hard work on the 4LIYC marks, we’re ready to start as soon as the ice forms. Grateful for their efforts.
Andy’s Iceboat Board Game
Lake Winnebago ice sailor Andy Gratton checks in with his version of an iceboat board game:
I was doing some catching up tonight and saw the nice iceboat game from Michael Young. That reminded me of the game my two kids and I used to play way b
ack when they were in grade school. I dug it out and included some pictures. We used markers and a spinner from another game. I would have made 3D-printed stern steerers for markers, but 3D printing was barely known. Everything on the game happened in the 1992 regatta at Oshkosh – Rosemary capsized, Todd Haines was thrown from Mary B, Country Woman broke the halyard, I think John Davis got stuck in a snowdrift, there was an ice shanty on the course, and more than one boat spun out. This isn’t nearly as fancy as the new game, but it’s fun for small kids. Print it off and play it if you want. Three laps!
Read Andy Gratton’s classic story, The Day The ROSEMARY Tipped Over.”Â
Iceboats Displayed @ Wayfarer Boatworks Open House in MI
Recently, Tim Bellerd from Wayfarer Boatworks in Ferrysburg, Michigan, organized an open house event where he showcased his Renegade boat. The windy weather kept the sail from being raised. If you are in the western Michigan area and are interested in building or repairing an iceboat, contact Tim.
SOLD! July 6, 2023: Vintage Skeeter in Madison, WI
SOLD! ($825) Vintage Skeeter from the Richard Lichtfeld estate. Always stored indoors and well maintained.
This is an auction that ends July 19, 2023. Click here to bid.
SOLD! July 6, 2023: Vintage Skeeter in Madison, WI
SOLD! ($1025) 22′ Crawfish Iceboat from the Richard Lichtfeld estate. Always stored indoors and well maintained.
This is an auction that ends July 19, 2023.Click here to bid.
Fourth of July
John Dennis sailing EAGLE, a Class A Skeeter, at the 2023 International Skeeter Association Regatta on Lake Kegonsa in Madison, WI. Photo: Will Johnston.
Happy Fourth of July to all the ice sailors out there. JD’s Skeeter in patriotic livery again represents the annual July 4th post here.
Icy Rider – Harley Powered Iceboats
1940 Harley-Davidson Propeller-Driven Ice Boat that will be auctioned in September 2023.
Wisconsin is famous for iceboating and for being the birthplace of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. A rare iceboat powered by a 1918 Harley-Davidson J model 61/24 HP V-Twin engine is going up for auction in September. The Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust in New York is interested in acquiring this sled for its collection. The iceboat was likely constructed by someone using plans available in Popular Mechanics magazine or a similar source.
Backyard mechanics in the 1930s also used Harley engines in the Mead Ice Yacht Company’s ice sled kits, like the one below, from an article about rare Harley artifacts and ideas “that didn’t stick.”
Tip of the Helmet: Bob Wills, President of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust
Mead Motor-Sled Kit with Harley Engine
Nite Rager Report 1
Shop dog Mike knows wood is good.
Nite sailors Daniel Hearn, Dave Navin, and Nite Commodore Maureen Bohleber gathered at 4LIYC Renegader Damien Luyet’s shop last Friday to kick off a ten-mast build. Under the watchful eye of Jerry Simon, they spent the day using a table saw, bandsaw, and planer to shape Sitka Spruce boards into mast blanks. Brad Wagner, Jim Lafortune, and Don Anderson dropped in to check on the process of making sawdust. The mast blanks are now at Daniel Hearn’s shop for the next steps of routing for the mast track and production of metal components.
Explore Monona Skeeter Iceboats
In the weekend mail, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club makes the cover of the Guide to Monona, Wisconsin. That’s Paul Krueger in his Class A Skeeter RAMBL’N at the 2022 International Skeeter Association Regatta held on Lake Monona with Renegades and the 4LIYC Jim Payton Memorial ATV in the background.
The Nite Rager – This Friday, June 23
The 2023-2024 ice sailing season officially kicks off this Friday in Madison with a full-on Nite Rager.
The Nite Rager is on for this Friday, June 23 starting at 9:30 AM. We will meet at Damien Luyet’s shop at 9:30 AM. Address is 2618 Industrial Dr., Monona. Tasks for the session are to re-saw and plane all wood to side board thickness. Weigh and deflect all boards for individual mast pairing. Cut all mast halves to correct profile and mark for internals. Cut leading edge pieces to prepare for glue up. Possibly route trailing edges for mast track. All are welcome to join. I imagine we’ll order some lunch delivery.
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