2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
Join Us to Celebrate Walter Whitehorse’s 100th Birthday!
The Whitehorse family invites all ice sailors, past and present, to celebrate Walter Whitehorse’s 100th birthday on Friday, March 28, 2025, at the Ho-Chunk Branch Office in Madison, Wisconsin.
Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
Location: Ho-Chunk Branch Office
4724 Tradewinds Parkway, Madison, Wi
Lunch Served: 11:00 AM
Grand Entry Honoring Walter’s Military Service: 12:00 PM
A Grand Entry is a Native American tradition that marks the opening of a gathering with an honor procession and will honor Walter’s WW2 military service. Veterans are encouraged to wear military attire for the event.
Walter and his brother, Harry Whitehorse, were long-time Skeeter sailors in the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. In the late 1960s, they helped build the “Red & White” feet in Madison, spearheaded by Bill Mattison, Dave Rosten, and Paul Krueger. Walter sailed on lakes across the Midwest and beyond, including Lake St. Clair (Detroit), Lake George (New York), Pewaukee, and many others. One of Walter’s fondest memories is the ISA regatta at Pewaukee, where he recalls sailing in a pack of boats arriving at the top mark—20 deep and 10 wide!
Join us to celebrate and honor Walter Whitehorse!
1975 ISA in New York: The usual suspects – Left to Right: Harvey Witte, Gary Sternberg, Susie Whitehorse, Greg, Gary, Barb, Sandy Witte, Ken and Wally.
Christmas in March “From All the Trolls”
Here’s another gem from the Bill and Mauretta Mattison collection: a vintage Harken Vanguard Christmas card starring a Nite iceboat in cartoon glory and a clever poem with a unique ending.
March 13, 2025: Nite in WI
Nite #31
Complete ready-to-sail boat. Includes Harken covers, North sail, runners, and trailer, all in very good condition. Has been stored indoors almost all of its life.
$4000.
Boat is in Ashland, WI.
pwbates@mac.com
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Postponed to March 21-23
Very warm temperatures upcoming for next weekend have moved the 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship out a week to March 21-23. A cool down is forecast starting Sunday the 16 giving a chance for some sailable ice in the vicinity of Boulder Junction, WI for the 21. Next update March 16.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
The Mattison Scrapbooks – Cool Shots
Staging the perfect shot back in the day —no filters, no drones, just a guy in a business suit on the ice and a camera.
I recently visited with Mauretta Mattison and her daughter, Lynn. Mauretta handed over a box overflowing with iceboating memorabilia that she had meticulously collected over the years, detailing her late husband Bill’s and family’s extraordinary life on the ice. It’s a collection that could keep an iceboating historian busy for months. As I quickly flipped through it, two items caught my attention: a pair of photos capturing what looks to be a lazy, light-air day on the ice and another featuring Elmer Millenbach, the Renegade’s mastermind
The first photo is a behind-the-scenes look at a photo shoot on the ice. Wisconsin State Journal photographer Edward Stein is lying on his side, dressed in a business suit and dress shoes—no winter gear.. He’s aiming at Bill Mattison, relaxed on the runner plank of his Skeeter, with another guy peering up at the sail from behind the boom. Next to it in the scrapbook is the finished product—the photo Stein snapped that day, which ran in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Then there’s a second photo that caught my eye—a classically cool image featuring Elmer Millenbach and his wife, Cora Lee, standing beside their Ford Thunderbird (possibly a 1964?) with Elmer’s Renegade on top of the car. Elmer, the Detroit innovator who designed the Renegade, was known for transporting his hull on top of cars instead of using a trailer. The Thunderbird is stylish match for the sleek lines of the Renegade.
Stay tuned as I dig deeper into this box of history.
Elmer and Cora Lee Millenbach have Fun Fun Fun cruising with style.
SOLD! January 29, 2025: DN Mast in NY
SOLD! Kent 3.5 DN mast. Lightly used, awl grip clear coat, hard tang. For someone who’s about 180-200 .lbs. I’m just too light for it.
New York
$1600
4LIYC Meeting News: March 12 @ Breakwater
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club – Final Meeting of the Season
It’s hard to believe, but the last Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club meeting of the season is coming up! Join us on Wednesday, March 12, at 6:30 PM at The Breakwater in Monona to wrap up what has been the best season in decades.
We’ve scheduled this meeting for March 12 so that members can attend a special event on March 5 sponsored by Hoofers: “Jerome Rand – Sailing Into Oblivion.” This event promises to be an incredible talk about solo ocean sailing and adventure. More information here.
Spring awards banquet news coming soon—stay tuned!
SOLD January 21, 2025: Nite Sail in WI
SOLD! Nite Sail
North Rocket with battens/maybe used 5 times- $600
4LIYC Scores Posted
That’s sharp! Photo: Marcus Berghahn
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing scores are now posted, thanks to our tabulator Damien Luyet.
4LIYC Scores
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Postponed to March 14-16
The ISA and Renegade championship regatta for 2025 is postponed to March 14th -16th, 2025. The Race Committee is hoping for a freezing period to stabilize some of the locations that still have thick ice. Next update, Sunday, March 9, 2025.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
4LIYC Racing Report for March 1, 2025
Don Anderson sailing Renegade EASY RIDER on Lake Monona. Photo: Marcus Berghahn
Saturday, March 1, was one of those days that reminded us why we love this sport. With perfect wind and great ice, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club welcomed our Nite friends from Lake Geneva for a full day of racing. Nite Commodore Maureen Bohleber joined in, helping wave the flag and record scores.
4LIYC Vice Commodore Ron Rosten said It was the perfect day to tune your boat—figuring out what worked and what didn’t. And with conditions this good, nobody was in a hurry to leave. Renegaders Donny Anderson and Damien Luyet kept everyone fueled with a grilled lunch, and the sailing continued until the last dog was hung, with boats rolling into the pits just as the sun set. Sunday may be a different story as the wind forecast isn’t so good.
Check out Marcus Berghahn’s photos here for a glimpse of ice sailing on Saturday.
4LIYC Racing Update for March 1-2
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing is ON for Lake Monona! March 1 – 2. Note: The landing has changed from Olin Park to the Tonyawatha Landing. Please roll trailers onto the ice—do NOT drive on the ice.
4LIYC Racing Tentatively Called on for Lake Monona – March 1-2
BLADE RUNNER
4LIYC racing is tentatively called on for Lake Monona out of Olin Park. The first race kicks off at 10 AM on Saturday, March 1.
Important: We have entered spring-sailing conditions. NO trailers on the ice – boats MUST be carried on. The landing is deteriorating, so please do everything you can to save the landing. We will monitor the landing situation and provide an updated report at the end of today.
FRITZ Heads to Minnetonka
FRITZ ARCHIVES
After 25 years of stewardship, Fred Stritt has passed the helm of the historic Class A stern-steerer FRITZ to a new caretaker. The iconic iceboat, built by Carl Bernard, has found a new home on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
Fred shared his thoughts on the transition on the Midwest Hardwater Sailing Facebook page:
FRITZ is an incredible machine—smooth in light air, exhilarating in medium air, and on the edge of terrifying in heavy air. She’s like hanging onto the tail of a dinosaur—if they want you gone, you’ll be flicked off and flying! Congratulations to Bill and his group and I look forward to seeing Fritz blossom under your guardianship!
Some History:
The Class A stern-steerer FRITZ, built by Carl Bernard, roared into iceboating legend as a Madison, Wisconsin icon. Owned by Frederick Jungbluth and sailed by Bernard, FRITZ achieved an extraordinary feat in 1934, winning all four major trophies—the Stuart Cup, Hearst International Trophy, Northwest Class A, and Northwest free-for-all—in a single year, a record unmatched at the time. FRITZ was a powerhouse, and her victories were celebrated in the Wisconsin State Journal and beyond.
Tragedy struck in 1935 when a mysterious fire—suspected to be arson—destroyed FRITZ and her companion, Miss Alice in Madison. Yet FRITZ endured, and Carl rebuilt her after the fire; she was painted bright red to honor her survival. By 1948, with Bill Mattison crewing for 18-year-old Jim Lunder, she reclaimed the Northwest Class A title on Geneva Lake. Please see the FRITZ archives for more history on this boat.
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Postponed to March 7 – 9
Photo: Kevin Chapman
The ISA Race Committee has postponed the regatta to March 7-9, 2025.. The weather forecast of high temperatures and high winds for February 28th made it impossible to predict the ice condition for the following two days, and the Sunday wind forecast made it unlikely to get two race days in any case.
The forecast ahead looks very promising for both Lake City (24” of ice) and Madison (18” of ice). Temperatures go to 40 degree highs with mid 20 degree lows, with at least half of each 24 hours below freezing.
Both locations will be sailed and thoroughly checked prior to March 7th. We have a good chance for a solid three day regatta this time, so check your equipment and sharpen your runners. Next update is Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
February 26. 2025: DN in MI
DN complete racing package with enclosed trailer: $6,400
Sherry clone fuselage with custom hiking rack, carbon-fiber steering rod. Sherry carbon fiber Rocket mast with reinforced hound. Sherry standard carbon mast. Heavy duty rigging with Struble spreader-bar and toggles. Aluminum boom with tapered sheet, Harken blocks, 3-inch ratchet for light air, rear block track adjustable. Sherry plank with Sarns chocks. Thirty runners collected over 35 years: 4X 3/16×36 440c inserts with Sherry carbon fiber sides. 1X 3/16×34” steering 440c carbon insert. 4X soft-ice ¼ x 36 inserts carbon sides. 8X Sarns 1/4-inch plates, all shapes and lengths. 3X 3/16×30-inch snow inserts. 3X Polish min.-width 36” Ts. 2X max.-width 36” Ts. 5X slush runners. Six sails: nearly new North F-01; 2X old F-01s; ABSS speed sail; small speed sail; storm sail. Boat-assembly tools, cover, horses.
All of these components interchangeable with Sherry clone: wide cockpit fuselage built by Tom Hamill with wood veneer mast. Second Sherry plank. Second heavy-duty rig with Struble spreader. Wood boom with ratchet and 3-inch blocks, adjustable track.
Racing marks. Regatta gear box. Heavy-duty spud. Shop box for maintenance. Spare parts.
Enclosed trailer for these two DNs and all this gear. Located in Muskegon, Mich.
Randy Rogoski, dnus4192@aol.com
SOLD! September 9, 2024: Skeeter in MI
SOLD! A- Class Rear-seat Skeeter NOTORIOUS
Wood mast 26
No Trailer
Runners in good conditions
plank in good great condition
Multiple sails in like new condition
Asking $1,500 OBO
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Called ON for Lake City, MN
Photo: Will Johnston
The 2025 ISA and Renegade Championship are on for Lake City, Minnesota for Friday February 28th, Saturday March 1st and Sunday March 2nd 2025. The ice thickness is over 18 inches of smooth black stuff.
The snow cover is now an average of 2” but it will likely be gone by the time the Wednesday check is done, based on the forecast temperatures upcoming.
The final call will be made by noon Wednesday February 26th. Next update will be Wednesday, February 26.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
4LIYC Racing Scores Now Published
Renegades on Lake Monona. Photo: Marcus Berghahn
The racing scores for the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club are now available online. A big thank you to Damien Luyet, who has stepped up to handle score tabulation this season. His efforts ensure we can all track the results from our latest races.
Check out the scores here Stay tuned for more racing updates as the season progresses!
4LIYC Meeting – Wednesday, February 19 at The Breakwater
MARY B at Frozen Assets Festival
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to meet in person, but we’re finally getting together! Join us at The Breakwater in Monona on Wednesday, February 19, at 6:30 PM.
WHAT TO KNOW:
4LIYC Meeting
Breakwater
6308 Inland Way
Monona, WI
6:30 PM
There’s so much to talk about—don’t miss it! Looking forward to catching up with everyone. See you there!
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