2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
SOLD! January 4, 2021: Nite in MI
SOLD! Nite #373 for sale, built in the 1980’s
Hull is in like new condition, never painter, repaired or left in the weather.
3 pristine, clean, crisp sails. Sails have had minimal use.
2 sets of cockpit cushions.
Extra set of new stays.
2 Jofa helmuts.
Sarns runner sharpening jig.
Ice screw and 3 horses.
Safety flares.
Padded runner carrier.
Trailer with new spare tire.
SOLD! November 30, 2020: DN Hull in MI
SOLD! DN Hull
Sitka Spruce with steering bushings .
Comes with misc. hardware
Located in Michigan.
Can help with delivery.
$600.00
Ice Invaders
Big lake, big ice, big booming Skeeter hike on Lake Winnebago at the 2010 Northwest Regatta. Photo: Gretchen Dorian
Are you ready for some legendary arms-falling-off-from-pulling-sheet ice on big inland lakes? If we believe the weather forecasts this far out, ice sailing hotspots in Wisconsin like Menominee, Lakes Geneva, Winnebago, and Green should be coming online in the next two weeks. Fingers crossed.
Accuweather: Polar vortex set to unleash coldest air of season yet in US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan. 9, 2021 3:11 AM CST
Accuweather January forecast for Madison, WI as of January 9, 2021.
SOLD! December 14, 2020: Nite in Montana
SOLD! Nite in Montana
The boat is “STORMIN” which came from Michigan, and now lives in Montana (Bozeman). It’s in good condition. Includes full set of covers, a Nite sail, straight mast, and full set of cockpit cushions. Runners not included; no trailer. Its been fun – selling because I have too many boats; downsizing! Always stored indoors.
$2300 obo.
4LIYC Club Racing Update for Jan 9-10, 2021
Greg Whitehorse sailing his Renegade BLADE RUNNER on Lake Monona
There will be no Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing for the weekend of January 9-10, 2021. Club members have been keeping a close watch on area lakes. Lakes Kegonsa and Monona are snow-covered. Lake Mendota’s “slow growth” ice holds much promise but needs a few more days of colder temperatures. The next update will be on Friday, January 15, 2021.
SOLD! January 5, 2021: Skeeter Runners in MT
Asking $600.00 or best offer, plus shipping from Montana.
SOLD! December 7, 2020: Skeeter in Iowa
SOLD! Class-A Skeeter with trailer and full covers. Good, solid iceboat.
$2,500
Clear Lake, Iowa
SOLD! December 8, 2020: Yankee
Turnkey iceboat, ready to sail this season with no work!
MUST SELL, no longer have room to store the boat
Located in Southampton, NY (eastern Long Island)
Always stored indoors
One of a few “Bite Me” boats (BITE ME in large letters is on the bottom of the boat, visible when you hike)
Meticulously restored by Keith Kennedy of NJ
One of the nicest looking Yankees you will ever see, all in outstanding condition
23ft mast, 18ft plan
Custom seat cushions in cockpit
Amazing paint job, pin striping and lettering
Dual steering, wheel and foot pedals
Two hull covers (storage and on ice)
Covers for plank, mast and sails
2 sails (one racing, one cruising)
Two sets of stainless runners (like new)
Hand brake
Custom trailer with storage box for runners and tools
Originally $6,500, price lowered to $4,500 firm
Regatta Watch: 2021 Renegade Championship Postponed
Via Renegade Secretary Ron Rosten:
The 2021 Renegade Championship has been postponed until January 15-17, 2021. The next update will be on Sunday, January 10, 2021.
News We Can Use: Polar Vortex Making an Appearance
Enjoying the Vortex
via Accuweather:
“Many of the chips are beginning to line up to suggest we will see a shift of the polar vortex and an Arctic invasion across the central and eastern U.S. and Canada toward the end of the month,” Pastelok warns.
“The pattern also looks favorable for the bitter Arctic blast to be ushered in by a big storm somewhere in the eastern U.S.”
“Enjoy the ‘warmth’ while it lasts,” Anderson says, “because Old Man Winter is looking to return with a vengeance.” Read more.
Regatta Watch: 2021 WI Stern-Steerers Championship Postponed
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to January 16 and 17, 2021. The next update will be Sunday, January 10. Check back here at that time.
We need more cold air, so if everyone leaves their freezer open it may help grow ice thickness on the lakes. This would be easier than making lighter boats.
Andy Gratton
WSSA Secretary/Treasurer
SOLD! December 23, 2020: Nite Trailer in WI
SOLD! NITE or small Skeeter galvanized trailer.
New tires, wiring and a Windward Boatworks sail/gear box.
Excellent condition.
$1000
$800
Wisconsin
The History of Iceboating Presentation
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2020
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Location: Your most comfortable chair
Zoom alert! 4LIYC members, you won’t want to miss this one, a PowerPoint presentation from Archie Call about the history and development of iceboating. Archie has made some significant discoveries about who exactly was the first to iceboat in America and the Hudson River-style iceboat lineage. Archie will also take questions during the presentation; please mute your microphone unless you have a comment or question for Archie. Watch for the link to the Zoom presentation in your email box.
Archie sailed Renegades for 46 years with the Toledo Ice Yacht Club and the 4LIYC and retired in 2017 from active sailing. Archie has worn many hats during his life, including computer programmer, production manager, manufacturing operations researcher, data scientist, and system IT management. He’s been busy giving talks on various topics such as U.S. Twelve Square Mile Reserve Survey: 1805, DNA: The code of all life, Human Mortality, Roads in America, Historic survey of Perrysburg in 1816, and Ice Boating on the Inland Seas.
Archie Call sailing his Renegade on Lake Mendota in 2011. Photo: Robert Resnick
Canyon Ferry, MT Report
Happy to see boats and sailors on the ice as we wait for conditions to improve here in the Four Lakes area. Thanks to MN ice sailor Mike Bloom for sending along.
Why snow ski when you’ve got ice!
Three Powder Hounds from Big Sky Montana, John Loomis, Russ Lucas and Jim Haeger, spent New Year’s Day iceboating with David Gluek on Canyon Ferry Reservoir. Thanks go to David for taking the picture.
Ice Glamping
Some enterprising folks on Airbnb are offering an opportunity to camp in a glamorous Oshkosh, WI “ice cave.” The ad brought to mind Andy Gratton’s recent visit to Lake Christina in Minnesota, where he sailed his new blue Renegade. Andy did something he said he always wanted to do; he pitched his tent and slept on the ice. Thanks, Andy, for being a good sport and letting me have some fun with this parody ad.
New Years’ Greetings to the Ice Sailing Community
Meet DORLA
1922 Madison Winter Carnival on Lake Monona. Photo courtesy Marv Luck.
The 1922 photo above is difficult to write about because there is so much history captured at that moment. Pictures like this can send one down a never-ending rabbit hole of history. It’s tough to stick to one topic when there are so many presented in this photo, such as Madison’s history, the history of each boat and skipper, and the differences between the Hudson River and Madison styles of Stern-Steerer. For this post, I’ll try to stick to the subject of DORLA.
A 4LIYC Facebook member in Madison recently asked about the Stern-Steerer DORLA because her family had a connection to the boat. Marv Luck of Oshkosh, who knows the big ships’ history better than anyone, noticed the request and handed me a couple of 8 x 10 photos of DORLA last weekend at the Puckaway Nite and Renegade regatta.
DORLA was owned initially by Henry Meyer of Pewaukee, WI. I’m not sure who built DORLA, but I would guess John Buckstaff of Oshkosh, WI. (Marv can correct me if I’m wrong.) The Meyer family was heavily involved in ice sailing in the first half of the 20th century, and Henry served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Northwest for several years.
The newspaper reports about the 1922 Madison Winter Carnival don’t mention DORLA, but that’s undoubtedly her in the photo because the picture came from the Meyer family. The Capital Times reported on February 3, 1922, “…to make the ice boat races a feature of the Carnival, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club has received acceptances of a challenge from the Ice Yacht Clubs at Pewaukee, Oconomowoc and Oshkosh. Several Hudson River types of ice boats will be in the fleet of boats from Pewaukee and Oconomowoc. Suitable trophies consisting of cups and pennants will be awarded the three winning boats: in three different classes.”
Henry Meyer and DORLA won three Class A Stern-Steerer titles in the Northwest Regatta in 1928, 1930, and 1931 and the Hearst Trophy in 1931 and 1932. I have found no mention of DORLA until 1947.
In 1947, DORLA appeared again in a Wisconsin State Journal report about the Northwest. She had become part of the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Stern-Steerer fleet and was owned by O. T. Havey and sailed by Phil Oetking. In 1948, the same newspaper reported that Havey’s boat had placed second in the Northwest regatta under a new name ELECTRA. Of course, Havey gained fame as the man who commissioned the MARY B Class A Stern Steerer. In 1956, the boat was called DORLA again with a new owner, 4LIYC member Johnny Adams.
DORLA might have ended up with the same fate as so many old Stern-Steerers, quietly decaying in a barn until put on a burn pile by people who had no idea of her regatta titles and rich history.
That Sinking Feeling
Lake Monona looking southerly at sunrise on December 29, 2020.
Behold Lake Monona’s beautiful freeze this morning, just in time for 6-9″ of snow this afternoon. If we are lucky, the weight of the snow will sink the ice. Stay tuned.
Lake Monona looking northerly on December 29, 2020.
Nite Recap
Via Nite Treasurer Maureen Bohlehber:
Nite Holiday Regatta
December 26 – 27, 2020
With a total of 19 boats over the weekend on ice that was as Hollywood as you can get, the Nites completed 13 races on Lake Puckaway in central Wisconsin, a great early season iceboating venue. The Nites competed for a Saturday, Sunday, and overall series.
The ice was so smooth you could not even hear your runners glide over the ice. These are the perfect conditions for ice boaters, hence the name “Hollywood Ice.”
With a large fleet in attendance, the competition was close. The 2020 Nite National champion, Chad Rechygl of Pewaukee Wisconsin, and Mike Jankowski of Green Lake Wisconsin battled it out throughout the weekend for the overall top spot. Split-scoring the event by days allowed sailors to try different settings and tactics. As they say, everybody has a favorite condition. Jim McCabe was the hot sailor of the weekend, cracking the top three on both days. Another local favorite, Byron Hill, also placed consistently in the top three. Chad Rechygl took first, Mike Jankowski second, and the Vandervelde brothers in the next two spots in the overall standings.
We were happy to see a strong showing of sailors from Lake Kegonsa and the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club as well, with Lars, Henri, Brad, and Don in attendance. They sailed fast and showed a considerable step in improvement from last year’s event. We were also lucky to have Daniel Hearn join in the racing and experience the close roundings and the back and forth position changes that make Nite racing unique and fun.
It was interesting to watch from the Race Committee view, learning from Deb Whitehorse, John Hayashi, and George Gerhardt. While Saturday’s course was more straightforward, the Race Committee had to chase the wind and change the track. When the wind settled in, the Nites sailed six races before the snow started to fly.
It was a memorable weekend of Nite racing. It was ICE COLD FUN!
With a total of 19 boats over the weekend on ice that was as Hollywood as you can get, the Nites completed 13 races on Lake Puckaway in central Wisconsin, a great early season iceboating venue. The Nites competed for a Saturday, Sunday, and overall series.
A Mesmerizing Iceboat Ride
Ride along with Chad Rechygl in race 10 at Sunday’s Nite regatta on Lake Puckaway:
Come join me for a ride during a race win. Not sure what I was doing to get in the boat, that was a new move lol. Sorry the camera shook loose and started pointing up.. enjoy the black ice!
New! ISA News & Views Newsletter Archive
