2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
“Frank Tetzlaff: A Woodworking Genius”
An old windowsill from Madison house remodel leads to an iceboating story posted on the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation website.
Previous: 1934 Northwest Regatta
By Don Sanford
Ask any Madison iceboater if they know who Frank Tetzlaff is, you’ll get an earful. They’ll probably bend your ears for hours about two revolutionary iceboats he designed—the Fritz and the Mary B. In 1930, Frank established himself as one of the foremost iceboat designers in the Midwest when he designed and built the 38-foot Class A[1] stern steerer iceboat, the Fritz, for Madison iceboater and furniture dealer Fritz Jungbluth. The Fritz was a work of art and radically different from her contemporaries. But in iceboats beauty is only skin deep. It’s speed that counts and the Fritz was fast–real fast, winning regatta after regatta, bringing honor to her owner and hometown. Continue reading.
FRITZ, designed and built by Frank Tetzlaff.
C is OG
Daniel with Jerry Simon, another OG.
Daniel Hearn unveiled the C Skeeter’s new livery last weekend. Of course there’s a story….
Yo, Yo, Yo…What Up, Homies?
I’ve got less street cred than Mr. Rogers. Yet my kids call me “OG.” I know it’s actually to poke fun, but I’m perfectly comfortable with my dorkiness. Kind of like calling your iceboating buddy who’s last name is Davenport, “Couch.”
OG is short for “Original Gangsta.” To me it sounded like a good name for an iceboat. Yeah, it’s a skinny old white dude behind the bubble, but that’s what the tint is for. Perception is everything.
In Madison, we pride ourselves in “taking it to the man!” Early in their college careers, my kids were on board with that. Until they realized, “wait a minute, OG is “the man,” and that pays for my tuition. Maybe reality does trump perception now and then? (Not a political statement).
I was happy to have the Original, Original Gangsta, Jerry Simon, my brother Brian and the Global Communications Director of Ice Sailing, Deb Whitehorse for the assembly. Once I clearcoat the mast, align the runners, make an anti-mast flogging device and apply a few more decals, I’m ready for ice. Can’t wait!
BLACK ICE Discount
Photo: Sail Racing
Previous: “Introducing Black Ice”
Sail Racing recently introduced their Black Ice concept inspired by “dedicated sailors in the northern parts of North America that were designing and building advanced ice yachts capable of massive speeds on clear black ice.” (On a personal note, their gear has kept me warm and functioning on the ice from Lake Baikal to the middle-of-nowhere Montana.)
As a thank you to the ice sailing community, Sail Racing is offering a substantial discount and free shipping to the US.
Thank you Olivia and the rest of the Sail Racing team!
We would like to give you a 40% discount code, that you can share with the whole ice sailing community.
Code: blackice2020
The code is valid worldwide and throughout the year. You enter the discount code at the checkout and 40% will be deducted.
And right now there is free shipping to the US.
“Consumables”
Activities at area iceboat shops are in full swing as everyone prepares for the upcoming season. Over at the Krueger-Whitehorse Skeeter shop, PK vacuum-bagged his Class A Skeeter plank last week. In this short video, they are removing the burlap skin. The plank will be seeing some red soon.
In the News: Steve Orlebeke @ Seahorse Magazine
Pewaukee’s Steve Orlebeke is an accomplished iceboater who always has to save room in the truck to bring home the trophies when he competes at DN and Class A Skeeter regattas. Check out his article about DN racing in Seahorse Magazine.
Introducing Black Ice
Black Ice from Sail Racing on Vimeo.
Explore Black IceIn January of 2020, the Swedish high-performance clothing company Sail Racing sent their crew on an expedition to Lake Pepin on the Wisconsin Minnesota border to film Skeeters for their fall 2020 advertising campaign. They have filmed Skeeters in previous years including the 2013 International Skeeter Association Regatta (ISA) on Lake Kegonsa. Skeeter sailors and the Sail Racing folks had hoped for another ISA but regatta conditions never came together. However, Lake Pepin’s ice provided conditions for C Skeeter sailors Daniel Hearn and Pat Heppert which enabled the Sail Racing folks to complete their mission. Today they released the new line fittingly called Black Ice.
“Graciousness, attention to detail a way of life for Bill Mattison”
Bill & Mauretta Mattison. Photo: John Hart
Wisconsin State Journal
Graciousness, attention to detail a way of life for Bill Mattison
By Barry Adams
Idle is a rarely used gear for Bill Mattison.
The proof can be seen in the intricacies of miniature circus wagons that line the living-room shelves of his Madison home.
The wooden wagons, modeled after those at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, sport working brakes, tiny hinges and detailed paint jobs. One has a working steam calliope and another a series of thimble-sized cast iron bells tuned to specific pitches.
Continue reading.
4LIYC Meetings Join the Virtual Revolution
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is pleased to announce that our meetings for the upcoming season will continue through the Zoom app. Club officers believe it is critical to maintain our meeting schedule in order to keep our members informed about ice conditions, regattas, and fleet news. Currently, in Dane County, restaurants and bars have a 25% capacity limit which makes holding our club meetings next to impossible. Even though we can’t meet indoors, club members are excited and looking forward to the upcoming ice sailing season. Ice sailing is the perfect way to continue socializing and having fun outdoors. Club meetings could move back indoors if the COVID situation changes.
4LIYC club members will receive an email next week with more information about the Zoom meetings. If you have questions, please email debwhitehorse@iceboat.org.
2020-2021 4LIYC ZOOM MEETING DATES
November 4POSTPONED- November 18 FIRST MEETING
- December 2 Elect Fleet Captains. Vote on ISA & NIYA Agenda Items
- December 16
- December 30
- January 13 Honor Roll Nominations
- January 27 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
- February 10
- February 24 Business Meeting
- March 10
Location: Online using the Zoom App
Time: 6:30 PM
NSHOF Virtual Induction Ceremony
If you missed it last Saturday night, the National Sailing Hall of Fame has kindly made available the induction ceremony on YouTube. The embedded video begins with Peter Harken’s introduction of Bill Mattison. You’ll see many familiar faces in the photos and hear from Bill’s wife, Mauretta, a driving force supporting Bill’s passions for the water and boat shop.
Socially Iceboating
One of the tenets of this sport is adaptability – being ready for whatever Mother Nature throws our way. 4LIYC Nite sailor Lars Barber has been planning for the season like any good ice sailor and created this portable propane grill for some after-race cookouts. In normal times, a cookout on the ice is a treat. With COVID likely limiting our access to the local watering spots, a fire on the ice with brats, bags of shelled peanuts (Tip of the Helmet Tom Hyslop), and our favorite beverages will almost become mandatory. So take a few extra minutes to plan when heading to the lake. Throw a bag of pre-cooked brats, snacks, and garbage bags into the cooler. Iceboating will get you out of the house this winter.
Shop Day: Plank and Fire-pit
Paul trimming a little carbon off of his Class A Skeeter plank.
Paul Krueger and Ken Whitehorse were back in the Skeeter Shop on Saturday preparing for the upcoming season. Paul focused on the runner plank while Ken welded up a portable fire pit. Is there room in the trailer for a portable fire-pit? A fire on the ice at the end of a sailing day could be the answer to the social-time dilemma that COVID has presented.
Ken utilizing his blacksmith skills. Wait, what’s that in the background, a Skeeter bus?
“Millennium Factor”
Bill Mattison & HONEYBUCKET, an oil painting on canvas by Harry Whitehorse
“Millenium Factor”
For our final installment of Bill Mattison Week, we go back to the 1992 Harken catalog where another National Sailing Hall of Famer, Peter Harken, talks about Bill, Paul Krueger, winning the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant, and building MILLENIUM FACTOR QUATRO in the Willy St. Boat Shop.
In normal times, the 4LIYC would have thrown a party for tonight’s National Sailing Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There will be much to celebrate when we can gather off-ice again including Bill’s induction and Greg Whitehorse’s 4LIYC Honor Roll induction. In the meantime, follow Bill’s example and get busy in the shop making dust and preparing equipment for the upcoming season.
Previous: Bill’s Circus Life
“The Icing On The Lake”
“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Bill’s Life Is A Circus
Bill demonstrates his working steam calliope at the closing party for the Willy Street Boat Shop in 2008. Don Sanford in the background.
Today’s Bill Mattison Week installment takes a quick jibe from ice sailing over to Bill’s other passion, circus modeling. Barb Sanford’s 2017 article for Wisconsin Academy publication “traces his obsession for detail and passion for the circus”. And yes, Bill did run away with the circus as a kid. Read the article here.
Previous: “The Icing On The Lake”
“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints 
Southern WI Iceboat Swap Meet Nov 7 @ Delavan YC
Photo: Gretchen Dorian Class A Skeeters on Lake Winnebago
Bob Rast reports on the 4LIYC Facebook page that another iceboat swap meet has been organized at the Delavan Yacht Club.
Southern Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020
Time: 10 AM – 3 PM
Location: Delavan Yacht Club
1501 Cedar Point Drive
Delavan, WI
Map
UPDATE: 12 September: Via Susie Pegel:
There won’t be a raffle.
North Shore Drive (Delavan Lake) under reconstruction starting Sept. 17,
including closing of bridge over the Outlet.
So to get to the Delavan Lake Yacht Club:
Go west on Hwy 50 into the city of Delavan to intersection with Borg Road
(Walgreens and Wendy’s on corner)
Go south on Borg Road to intersection with North Shore Drive
Go east on North Shore Drive until Cedar Point Drive and then down hill to
Delavan Lake Yacht Club
If you see Rustic Pub and Delavan Lake Store you have gone too far
“The Icing On The Lake”: More Wisdom From the Shop
“The second you think you’ve got it all figured out, somebody’s going to knock the socks right off you,” Mattison says.
“The Icing On The Lake”
Welcome to Day 4 of Bill Mattison Week at iceboat.org. Today’s feature article written by the late David Medaris ran in Madison’s local paper Isthmus in 1988 when Bill had just finished HONEYBUCKET VIII. Bill explained how he built Skeeter iceboats “to the average” and talked about his roots in Madison. Click here to read.
Previous:“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Mendota Today Live Webcam
Mendota Today Live View
Lake Mendota has 2 new live webcams situated between the Edgewater and the UW Union. The cameras are pointed west and north. Many thanks to those responsible for these high-quality views. These cameras will get plenty of looks from the ice sailing community for Mendota ice checks and iceboat watching. There’s even a Youtube channel for their “greatest hits”.
Tip of the Helmet: Grant Frautschi
DN Tech Talk: Shimming Runners
When ice sailors, whether they own a Nite, DN, Skeeter, Renegade, Stern Steer, etc. get together, a compulsory topic of conversation is runners – how to sharpen and align them. Polish DNer Tomek Zakrzewski’s video breaks down DN shimming.
“Fast Forward Since Birth”: In the Shop with Bill Mattison
“At age 9 he built a model circus. Since then, Bill Mattison’s creative energy has never flagged.”
SAIL: Fast Foward Since Birth
Get your masks on because Day 3 of Bill Mattison week takes us into the dusty lair of the Willy Street Boat Shop in this 1992 SAIL article by Knowles L. Pittman. You’ll learn more about Class A Skeeter development and Bill’s role in the 1986 America’s Cup. Click here to read.
Previous:“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Bill and Peter Harken repair HONEYBUCKET VIII at the Willy St. Boat Shop.
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
“Seven or eight guys show up to help with the process [gluing up a mast]. But they disappear real quick when it comes to sanding.”
Previous:
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
Welcome to Day 2 of Bill Mattison Week at iceboat.org where we revisit the 2001 International Skeeter Association Regatta on Geneva Lake. Josh Adams’ article in SAIL featured interviews and quotes from a who’s who of iceboating at that time. Peter Harken and Buddy Melges were there and though he wasn’t at the regatta, Dan Clapp and his revolutionary Skeeter ATTITUDE were there in spirit. A full page was devoted to Bill’s Skeeter building history and philosophy. Click here to read the article.
Photo by Craig Wilson
“Shooting the Breeze” with Bill Mattison
“How far would I go to sail a regatta? Siberia, if they have ice.”
Previous: Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
It’s Bill Mattison Week at iceboat.org. In honor of Bill’s September 12 induction into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, here is the first of a series of articles that will be posted every day this week. “Shooting The Breeze” was written by Barbara Sanford and was published in Madison Magazine in 1980. Click here to read.
Big Tip of the Helmet to Don Sanford for sharing these articles and being the driving force behind Bill’s NSHOF nomination.
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