2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
4LIYC Fall Social: Sunday, October 23, 2022
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing on January 15, 2022, Lake Monona. Photo: Joe Berger
Please join us for our Fall Social at the Four Lakes Yacht Club on Sunday, October 23, 2022. All ingredients will be there, including the Packer game on the big screen, club burgees for sale, the traditional ham, beverages, and lots of iceboating talk.
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Fall Social Event
Date: Sunday, October 23, 2022
Time: 11:30 AM – 4 PM (Packers kick off at noon.)
Location: The Four Lakes Yacht Club
6312 Inland Way, Monona, WI
Free public parking ramp at The Current, across the street from the yacht club
What To Know:
Please bring a dish to pass.
Ham and beverages will be provided
Please RSVP to Deb debwhitehorse@iceboat.org
SOLD June 6, 2022: Iceboat Trailer in MI
SOLD All aluminum box drop camper hauler. Multi function hauler/camper. Roof rack, windows with screens, lights in and out, battery, switch panel, heater/fan, side door, full lift up back door, air mattress, mis.c camping equipment, wheel lock, non slip floor, built in storage bins with netting, etc. External power connection port. Side mount spare. I’ve used it to camp in, haul kayak and paddleboard, iceboat and equipment, sheets of 4×8 plywood, go kart, etc. Easily haul 2 DN’s and all equipment
Lightweight and Easily pulled 1300 lbs.
7500$
Via Harken Blockheads: “It’s 96 Degrees in the Shade…Time to Think Iceboating!”
Some people just can’t wait…
Get Started Iceboating!
Our friends at Harken have done it again, utilizing their international reach to promote the sport of ice yachting. Marketing intern Samuel Bartel, a recent University of Wisconsin graduate and DN sailor, created a YouTube video series on how to get involved in this “outrageously fun sport.” Thanks Samuel and Hannah Lee Noll for the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club and iceboat.org shout-out!
Read more and see all four videos on the Harken Blockheads website.
Or view them on YouTube
Preparing for Iceboating
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
22-23 4LIYC Meetings – Zoom & In-Person
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is excited to announce that we will continue our hybrid meeting format this season. If you’d like to meet in person, please join us at Commodore Daniel Hearn’s office in Madison, where the conference room table is the perfect spot to meet with ice sailors from around the country on Zoom. A few days before each meeting, we’ll post the details about how to join us on Zoom.
We are also working on organizing a fall social event for October. Stay tuned for details.
2022-2023 FOUR LAKES ICE YACHT CLUB MEETING DATES
Location: In person at S & B Strategic Marketing @ 1352 East Wilson Street, Madison, WI – or on Zoom, you choose.
Times: Alternate Wednesdays at 6:30 PM CT
November 9
November 23
December 7
December 21
January 4
January 18
February 1
February 15
March 1
March 15
DN Newsletter September Runner Tracks
If you are interested in some of the latest iceboating news, check out this month’s edition of the DN newsletter Runner Tracks. The IDNIYRA Technical Committee has been working on improving the Official Specifications, and they’ve submitted proposals and drawing for the fuselage and runner plank. There’s also an epic adventure about defending a DN World championship title in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by Mike O’Brien. Read it here.
Southern WI Iceboat Swap Meet November 6, 2022
12-pack to go
WISCONSIN
Time to start digging out iceboats and spare parts you want to sell. If you are new to the sport or looking for your first ride, iceboat swap meets are the best place to find what you need and meet the ice sailing community. The Skeeter Iceboat Club has scheduled the Southern Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet for Sunday, November 6, 2022. This year’s event is at the Delavan Yacht Club in Delavan, WI. Stay tuned for more details!
MICHIGAN:
Speaking of swap meets, The ice yacht clubs of Michigan will be holding their swap meet on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
Save the Date:
Saturday November 5th…our tradition of the first Saturday in November for the 2022 Annual Iceboat Swap Meet.
This year we are on our home Lake, Gull Lake, near the South Bay off M-89 at
The Dock ( at Bayview) from
10 am to 1 pm
12504 E D Ave
Richland, MI 49083
Swap, sell, buy, trade. Catch up with friends and make many more who enjoy our unique sport of Ice Yachting.
Sponsored by:
Gull Lake Ice Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club
West Michigan Ice Yacht Club
and Grand Traverse Ice Yacht Club
MINNESOTA: To be announced.
NEW ENGLAND: Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ Thompson Speedway Golf Course, Thompson, CT. More information.
The Wings of Ice Fields
Here’s another find from Henry Bossett, The Winds of Ice Fields, a Russian booklet published in the 1970s. In addition to some crucial DN history, the booklet features some epic photos of 12-meter wing sail iceboats.
All Wing Sail posts.
1 Ice Yacht Racing Way
From the vast files of ice sailing researcher Henry Bossett, here’s an idea from the 1800s that never caught on, a planned community centered around ice sports and refrigeration. George Newnes originally published the illustration in his British weekly magazine, Tit Bits, “Tit-Bits from all the interesting Books and Newspapers of the World.” Newnes was an “early father of popular journalism”, and Tit-Bits had a surprisingly long run from 1881 to 1984. (I enhanced the iceboat sails with color.)
Plucky Kids Beat Snobby Kids in 1922 Iceboat Race
SIRIUS at the 1913 Northwest Regatta at Menominee, Michigan. (See all the photos from that regatta here.)
One hundred years ago, a newspaper insert geared towards children, Golden Days For Boys and Girls, published this gem of a story in nationwide newspapers. The fictional action takes place around what appears to be the Lake Winnebago area. One of the boats in the story is named SIRIUS, and perhaps the boat with that same name from Lake Winnebago was the inspiration. Take a few minutes to read the story. (Click on the image to enlarge.) The author was not credited but the story would make a terrific movie.
Eight Bells: Terry Erwin
The ice sailing community mourns another one of our sailors. Terry Erwin of Wayzata, MN, passed on August 15, 2022, after a long illness. Terry sailed in the DN and Nite classes and knew how to make an iceboat go fast. His presence has been greatly missed these past few years. He was always willing to share his knowledge. An example is an article from the 2012 Nite Newsletter, posted below as a way to honor and remember the remarkable sailor he was.
Jeff Lallier 1960-2022
Via Jeff’s brother, Dave Lallier: “…[here’s] Jeff when he was pulling sheet and I was at the tiller of our C Class Stern-Steerer, COUNTRY WOMAN. He sailed Renegades as well as the Johnson A Class Stern-Steerer that we have, and of course, the Flying DUTCHMEN that he restored back to sailing condition.”
The iceboating community extends our deepest sympathies to the family of Jeff Lallier who passed on August 8, 2022. Jeff was a lifelong Lake Winnebago Stern-Steerer sailor and had raced a Renegade in recent years.
Link to obituary and funeral events.
Mystic Seaport Iceboat Zoom, August 4, 2022
ICICLE, the first iceboat of John Roosevelt, uncle to President FDR. Read more about ICICLE here.
UPDATE: If you missed the presentation or want to watch again, here is the link and passcode kindly provided by the Mystic Seaport Museum:
Passcode: U5S9h=C*
Please join Henry Bossett and me today on Zoom as we discuss the history and current state of North American ice sailing. Here are links to explore further some of the topics we will delve into today. I’ll add more after the presentation if necessary. You’ll find links to iceboat clubs and class organizations in the right sidebar (on a laptop) or towards the bottom of the page (on a phone.)
Mystic Seaport Museum Facebook Page
Let’s cool off
Ice boating experts, Deb Whitehorse and Henry Bossett, will discuss the sport of ice sailing on August 4, at 2:00 PM ET in a free virtual presentation.
Click here to register: http://ow.ly/EHL550K1uEg
HUDSON RIVER HISTORY
White Wings & Black Ice: Hudson River Ice Yacht History
Hudson River Shorts: Footage of VIXEN in action
Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant History by Ray Ruge
DN CLASS
Bend It Like…a DN Mast
DN Ice Sailing World Portal
International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association
For the Glory DN Racing Video
SKEETER CLASS
Ice Sailing Speed Records
Ride the Runner Plank with Steve Orlebeke Video
VIDEOS
How Does Iceboat Racing Work?
4LIYC Video Channel
DN North America Video Channel
Ice Sailing Zoom Presentation August 4, 2022
Iceboat Race Committee
Previous: Mystic Arrow
Mystic Seaport Museum Facebook Page
In conjunction with their current exhibition, Story Boats, Mystic Seaport Museum is hosting a virtual presentation about ice sailing on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at 1 PM CT/2 PM ET. From Stern-Steerers to Skeeters, Henry Bossett and I will discuss the roots, social history, and development of North American ice sailing. Henry is a DN class champion and retired sailmaker who has spent years combing through newspaper and museum archives finding the stories that define our sport.
Let’s cool off
Ice boating experts, Deb Whitehorse and Henry Bossett, will discuss the sport of ice sailing on August 4, at 2:00 PM ET in a free virtual presentation.
Click here to register: http://ow.ly/EHL550K1uEg
The Oshkosh Models of 1931
In the annals of what-great-timing, iceboat sail maker (retired) and iceboating historian Henry Bossett recently sent this clipping about a model building contest in the 1930s Oshkosh, WI area. I forwarded the clipping to Lake Winnebago ice sailor Mike Peters. He replied, “I picked up another of the original model stern steers that were built in Oshkosh in the 1930s
Mike Peter’s latest model acquisition.
.
Previous Posts about Ice Yacht Models:
One More Model: ACE OF SPADE
Sculptural Stern Steerer
Super Models
Model B
Ice-Boat Racer Says…
Frank Lloyd Wright & Iceboating
Arden Scott: A Life in Art, Ice Sailing & Madison Connection
Arden Scott Metal Sculpture Photo: Mike Acebo
Dan’s Papers :Arden Scott Shares Her Art & Life with Pair of Greenport Harbor Brewing Shows
Orient Ice Yacht Club (OIYC) member Mike Acebo shared news about a sculpture exhibit. OIYC member and highly accomplished artist Arden Scott’s minimalist metal sculptures, inspired by iceboats, are on display at the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company in Greenport, NY. Scott’s artistic journey brought her to Lake Mendota’s ice when she was a University of Wisconsin student in the early 1960s.
Arden Scott recalls:
Fond memories of Lake Mendota- the iceboats I remember were old Stern Steerers. A friend found one under his back porch, and the landlady said, “Oh my, by all means, use it! I have the sails somewhere.” Someone must’ve known what they were doing – I was only 17 or 18 at the time. Coming from New York, I’d never experienced ice like that! Exhilarating, to say the least! I was unaware of anything organized about it, although many were affiliated with the Hoofers sailing club. My memories seem to be dramatic speeds and terrain. The lake had what they called pressure ridges; navigating these sometimes had us airborne. Oh, and did I mention cold! But ah, youth, anything that exciting….It ’twas a long time ago and much ice under the bridge.
From the Dan’s Paper article:
Another major component of Scott’s life informing her work is her passion for sailing. The artist has been addicted to the sport since she tried it as young girl in summer camp. During her college years, she sailed on lakes with a sailing club, even during freezing winter temperatures, sailing to class on stern steerer ice boats. Continue reading.
“Arden is a member of the Orient Ice Yacht Club, the home of East End historic Stern Steerers. She has worked on restoring these boats and sailing them on local ice. I had the pleasure of working with Arden for many years at the boatyard in Greenport that I managed, Arden worked in the rigging department.” Photo and caption via Mike Acebo.
The Iceboating Song
Illustration from St. Nicholas magazine, February 1879.
The classic book Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates deserves a slot in any iceboating book collection because it describes ice yachts in beautiful detail. The author, Mary Mapes Dodge, may have acquired some knowledge of ice sailing living in New York and New Jersey. Dodge edited a famous children’s magazine for many years, and she included iceboat plans and articles in several of the issues. In 1879, the magazine St. Nicholas published “The Ice Boating Song.” Dodge put music to the song from her famous book.
From Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates
Just then a beautiful iceboat with reefed sail and flying streamers swept leisurely by. Its deck was filled with children muffled up to their chins. Looking at them from the ice you could see only smiling little faces imbedded in bright-colored woolen wrappings. They were singing a chorus in honor of Saint
Nicholas. The music, starting in the discord of a hundred childish voices, floated, as it rose, into exquisite harmony:
4th of July Ice Sailing Celebration Begins Today
Pete Johns at the 2021 DN Centrals in Michigan.
It’s time to kick off the long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July with two of the most patriotic iceboats in America. Hoping we can photograph these two boats together somewhere during the 2023 season. Happy 4th of July!
JD and his Class A Skeeter on Lake Michigan at Menominee, Michigan in March 2021.
Magic Bones
World’s earliest wind surfer? “Ollerus traverses the sea on his magic bone. 16th-century woodcut. Olaus Magnus, “Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus.”
Summer Solstice is behind us; we are on course for the next ice sailing season. Nordic countries have marked Midsommer since Pagan times when Thor and Odin ruled the north. I stumbled upon Ull, a Norse God who was the fastest deity around and patron of our favorite time of year. Ull could transform the shield he carried into a boat and bones into skates. With that much power, it’s not a stretch to believe his bow was basically a mast. Put his boat, bone skates, and mast together, and that’s an iceboat. In some Norse mythology accounts, Ull married Skadi, the Goddess of winter and cold. It’s five months until the Western Challenge, the season’s first fun DN regatta. Sharpen those bones!
Paul Krueger’s Class A Skeeter on Lake Monona, March 2022.
Iceboat Virtual Hall of Fame: John Buckstaff 1888-1960
Carl Bernard, Camp Van Dyke, John Buckstaff, and Andy Flom sitting on the DEBUTANTE on Lake Winnebago in 1934. John Buckstaff is holding the Stuart Cup.
John Buckstaff Archives
If iceboating had a hall of fame, Lake Winnebago sailor, John Buckstaff would undoubtedly be among the first to be nominated. Buckstaff’s Oshkosh roots go back to his grandfather, who was born in 1799 and came from New Brunswick, Canada, to Oshkosh in 1850 and started a sawmill.
An early mention of Buckstaff in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern newspaper was in 1903, when he was 14 years old and recognized as a skilled scow sailor. “His first experience was gained, when as a boy in knickerbockers, he constructed an iceboat and sailed it on the frozen surface of Lake Winnebago. Here he learned to be quick and certain with the tiller and to handle the sail and tack.”
Buckstaff was in Menominee, Michigan, when the Menominee, Marinette, Wisconsin, and Oshkosh ice yacht clubs formed Northwest Ice Yachting Association in 1913. The morning after a banquet at the Hotel Menominee, where 200 ice yachtsmen gathered for a feast, they organized the Northwest, which they patterned after the Inland Lake Yachting Association, a soft-water scow regatta still going strong today.
In addition to his Northwest victories, Buckstaff won two prestigious stern-steerer titles, the Stuart and Hearst Cups. In 1903, The Kalamazoo Ice Yacht Club in Michigan persuaded F.A. Stuart, maker of Stuart’s Dyspeptic pills, to donate a trophy for ice yachts carrying 850 square feet of sail or less. Later that year, a Kalamazoo club member wired newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, asking Hearst if he would donate a trophy, in his name, for the ice boat race. Hearst complied and deeded a gold-lined silver cup.
Buckstaff was a stern-steerer man and would point BLUE BILL, FLYING DUTCHMAN, DEBUTANTE III to victory on the ice at the Stuart, Hearst, and Northwest regattas. FLYING DUTCHMAN has remained on her home lake of Lake Winnebago with Dave Lallier. DEBUTANTE III is in Menominee with Mike Derusha.
DEBUTANTE III was a Hudson River-style stern-steerer built in the famed Poughkeepsie, New York iceboat shop of Jacob Buckhought. The “DEB” with 600 square feet of sail was considered the most lightweight iceboat in the world per square foot of sail carried. DEB was the first iceboat to use aluminum runners, a much superior material than the cast iron runners traditionally used. The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern reported that the “DEB” held a speed record of 119 miles per hour clocked on Gull Lake in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
John Buckstaff passed away on the morning of Sunday, January 10, 1960, the weekend when the iceboating community gathered on Lake Winnebago for the Northwest, the regatta he had helped to begin. In a movie-like ending, DEBUTANTE III, skippered by E.W. Stroshine, won the Class A championship trophy that same day.
Northwest Class A Stern Steerer
1923 BLUE BILL, J. D. Buckstaff
1926 BLUE BILL, J. D. Buckstaff
1939 BLUE BILL II, John Buckstaff, Owner; Tom Anger, Skipper
Hearst
1932 (December) FLYING DUTCHMAN, OIYC, J. C. Van Dyke, J. D. Buckstaff (skippers)
Stuart
1920 DEBUTANTE III, OIYC, J. D. Buckstaff
1939 DEBUTANTE III, OIYC, J. D. Buckstaff
Wisconsin State Journal. February 14, 1935. A time when sports columnists followed the stars of ice yachting and rooted for the home team. The 4LIYC’s FRITZ with Carl Bernard at the helm won the Stuart that year.
Sydney Royal Yacht Squadron’s First Iceboat
Previous: Sail Australia in Montana
“I’d Like to Get Into Ice Sailing”
In November 2021, Australian sailor Michael Dunston emailed me about continuing his ice sailing journey, which had begun in the Netherlands.
I’m from Sydney, Australia. I have grown up sailing all my life. I tried ice sailing on a DN for the first and only time last winter opportunistically in the Netherlands, and I loved it. This year I moved with my family to Bozeman, MT, which is where my wife grew up. I would like to find a way to do more ice sailing!
If there was an inexpensive, entry-level ice boat (a DN, or similar), then I would be interested to buy. Naturally, it would also be great to connect with some like-minded folks. Is there a club or a group that sail on Canyon Ferry MT that I could connect with?
Michael Dunstan
Michael is one lucky sailor, having been in the Netherlands 2021, the birthplace of our sport, for their few days of ice sailing, then landing at Canyon Ferry, a place of legendary North American ice.
I forwarded Michael’s email to Canyon Ferry iceboaters Dale Livesey and Dave Gluek, who welcomed him into the community and pushed him off the line.
I wanted to update you on Michael Dunstan, the Australian sailor. He’s an awesome guy and a good addition to our fleet. He purchased Dale Livezey’s DN and is a quick learner. He has been fun to sail with. Mike’s Dad is visiting Mike this week, and we sailed a Nite in big wind the other day. Both of them are accomplished sailors! Thank you for introducing us.
Dave Gluek
Michael’s mother, Judy, wrote an article about their visit to Big Sky & Ice country for their yacht club’s newsletter, the historic Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. In addition to receiving a British empire Royal charter in 1862 and challenging for the America’s Cup in 1962, the RSYS has added Michael’s DN to their Squadron Yacht register in 2022.
New! ISA News & Views Newsletter Archive
