NIYA

Northwest Ice Yachting Association An iceboat regatta first sailed in 1913 in Menominee, Michigan.

Stern Steerers

The NIYA was originally a stern-steerer regatta organized to determine ice yacht supremacy in the Midwest. A,B,C,& D stern-steerers continue to compete in the NIYA.

Skeeters

Class E Skeeters first raced the NIYA in 1936 when Lake Geneva sailor Harry Melges won in MICKEY FINN.

DN Class

Skip Boston of Detroit was the first winner of the NIYA in the DN class in 1954.

Renegade

First sailed as a seperate class in 1958 and won by “Mr. Iceboat”, Elmer Millenbach.

NIYA Centennial

The NIYA celebrated 100 years of iceboat racing in 2013 on Green Lake in Wisconsin.

2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information

March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota

ISA/Renegade Championship: Day 1 PM Update

Maureen Bohleber crosses the finish line in first in the third Nite class race. She currently sits in first place after today.

Just back in from the lake. What a day – fast ice, a steady light breeze, a sunny day, eagles, trains, eight races, five classes, and Minnesota nice! Wish you were here.  More to come tomorrow. Results here.

 

ISA & Renegade Championship: Day 1


Good morning from Lake City, MN on the first day of the regatta. Mary Jane will be tabulating from the home office in Fontana. You should be able to see results as they happen at this link.  (Update: Link has been fixed.) The ice is hard and fast. Keeping fingers crossed for the right amount of breeze to make this a perfect regatta day. The racing starts at 10 AM and the rotation is Renegades, Nites, A Skeeters, and B Skeeters with C Skeeters. If you are a Facebooker, check out the 4LIYC page for live updates and photos.
Provisional Results

ISA/Renegade Regatta ON for Jan 11-13 @ Lake Pepin MN

Nites at the 1 and 2 block at the 2015 ISA. Photo: gretchendorian.com

Notice of Race
Sailing Instructions

Weather Underground PWS KMNLAKEC11

LAUNCH
Roschen Park.
BACK TRAILERS ON THE ICE, DO NOT DRIVE ON THE ICE

SAILING AREA – WHAT TO KNOW
There’s a fairly obvious pressure ridge about 1/3 of a mile south of the launch. Do not sail to the Willows because of open water. There’s about a  2 mile x 2 mile sailing area. Don’t go wandering off!
UPDATE JAN 10: JD has added more detail to the sailing area map. I don’t have time to revise it from the one that was posted yesterday. JD’s comments and lines are in black.  Please review.

Revised map per JD
Jan 10, 2019

LODGING:
THE WILLOWS:
Willows on the River Condominium Resort
100 Central Point Road
Lake City, MN 55041
1-651-345-9900
Website
Map
When making reservations you must tell them you are with the ISA regatta.
IMPORTANT: Must call the hotel directly at 651-345-9900 to get discount. No Expedia.

    • Single condo rooms sleep 1 – 4.
      Thursday is $125.00, Friday and Saturday are $87.50.
    • Double rooms sleep 6 -8.
      Thursday is $205.00 with Friday and Sat. $127.50.

AMERICINN
Website
1615 N Lakeshore Drive Lake City, Minnesota 55041-9023
651-314-4152
Map
2 Queen room (no view) 89.90 + tx.
Single queen with a view $89.90 = tx.
2 queen handicap $89.90 + tx.
2 single King $99.90+ tx.
Suite with 1 king and 1 queen separate rooms $109.90 + tx.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, January 11:
8:30 – 9:30 AM Registration at the launch
10 AM First race
6 PM Annual ISA Meeting at the AmericInn
ISA AGENDA

Saturday, January 12
9:30 AM First race
Banquet at the Lake House Restaurant at the Willows.
6:30 PM  cocktails
7:00 PM dinner and order off the menu.

Sunday, January 13
9:30 AM First Race

Sail Scugog!

Received this nice note from some Lake Scugog sailors.  We hope you are able to continue your season up there!

While all you ice Gods south of the border prepare your fine machinery for the winter season – be aware there is a ragtag group of Canadians fixing up up a bunch of your old junk! Had good ice for a couple days up until this snow
Three renegades and a DN so far! We are an hour north east of Toronto on Lake Scugog near Port Perry, Ontario.
Kelly, Phil,and Brian

Western Region Wrap Up

DN Western Region Commodore and regatta organizer Daniel Hearn with Eloise and her dad, John Dennis who was second in Gold. JD statistically tied in points with Ron Sherry for first place but Ron won the tiebreak. 

Time to review the DN Western Region Championship from a 4LIYC perspective. Congratulations to mega multi-tasker Daniel Hearn who not only organized the regatta and volunteers, he also managed to place 5th in the Gold Cup. Fellow 4LIYC sailors in the Gold were Steve Orlebeke, 3rd, Tim Sugar who placed 7th and Dave Elsmo who placed 11th,
Silver Fleet: Brian Hearn mirrored his brother’s finish by coming in 5th in the Silver, Robert Cummins was 9th, and University of Wisconsin student Soren Hughes earned top Junior sailor and placed 12th in his first regatta.
Special shout out to longtime SIBC sailor, Lou Loennecke, who had two second place finishes in Silver. It was really cool to see sailors who have been participating in these events for so many years like Bob Cummins and Lou Loennecke  line up next to each other in the two and four block in Silver race 4.
Final results can be seen here.

Regatta Watch: WSSA Postponed

The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to January 19 and 20, 2019. The next update will be Sunday, January 13. Check back here at that time.

Note that Lake Petenwell has 1″ of crusty snow on top of 13″ of ice near shore, a couple inches less thickness further out. Thickness checks will be made again next weekend in numerous areas of the lake.

Andy Gratton

WSSA Secretary/Treasurer

Regatta Watch: The ISA & Renegade Championship Called On for Jan 11-13

Photo: Joe Stanton

The International Skeeter Association Regatta and the Renegade Championship have been tentatively called on for January 11-13, 2019. Potential sites include Lake Pepin in Lake City, MN, Lake Puckaway near Montello, WI, and Lake Kegonsa in Madison, WI. Final confirmation will be made on Wednesday, January 9 by noon CT.
Next update Wednesday, January 9 by noon CT.

DN Western Region Championship Update

Before the deluge.

Quick update from Lake Pepin where the 2019 Western Region Championship is taking place this weekend. Today was one of the warmest days I’ve spent on an iceboat course. The folks who live in Lake City, Minnesota have been the ultimate hosts. Four Gold and three Silver races made for a great day. More tomorrow!

See results here.

No 4LIYC Racing Jan 5 – 6

Word from Commodore Donny is that Kegonsa is too soft and  rough for racing this weekend.

Just pulled into Lake City MN for the DN Western region regatta. Stay tuned for updates.

4LIYC Ice Check Friday Jan 4


4LIYC members, if you are interested in checking ice on Kegonsa, please meet at Springer’s on Friday, January 4, 2019 at 11 AM.
I walked a bit of Kegonsa on Tuesday and was surprised to see a lot of grey ice. The rain that preceded the snow on Monday caused the snow to wet out and turn into slush. The lake was in a changing state –  with slush freezing over a thin layer of water.  Kegonsa is definitely worth checking for weekend club racing. Next update Friday, January 4, 2019.

4LIYC Sailing Update: No Racing for Jan 1

The 4LIYC Bloody Mary Eye Opener Trophy – Ready for 2020

There will be no 4LIYC Holiday Series racing for Tuesday, January 1, 2019. We are hopeful that the weather system coming through today will either improve or have no negative effect on Kegonsa. Next 4LIYC racing update, Friday, January 4, 2019.

 

Regatta Watch: WSSA Postponed

2018 WSSA on Pewaukee Lake.

Via Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association Secretary/Treasurer Andy Gratton:

The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to January 12 and 13, 2019. The next update will be Sunday, January 6, 2019. Check back here at that time. Note that there is 10″ to 12″ of smooth ice on an area of Lake Petenwell.

Kegonsa 30 December 2018: Spaight St. Syndicate Championship

Footage from today’s historic Spaight Street Syndicate Global Championships on Lake Kegonsa.
Kegonsa has provided a decent venue for DN scrub racing so far – providing you sail and keep close with those who have local knowledge of areas to keep clear of. The next few days of cold temperatures should help to heal the seams on Kegonsa.
Watch Geoff Sobering’s Lake Kegonsa drone video from Saturday.

There’s a mixed precipitation weather system coming through on Monday that NOAA reports “.. is a very complicated forecast and the details will most certainly change over the next 24 hours, so remain alert and flexible and keep up with the forecast.”  Tuesday and Wednesday night’s low temperatures look very promising for Monona and Mendota because both are clean slates, having frozen and opened back up again. Stay tuned!

Happy Ending in Duluth


Earlier this week, there was an enjoyable story on the Duluth Tribune website about area ice sailors who took advantage of a snow-less December to sail Superior Bay. “Nice ice for sailing on Superior Bay” featured a boat called the “Hog Island Express”.

“Everybody around here builds their own boats… I think I spent $50 total building the Hog Island Express,” Hom said, noting the name comes from the island along the Superior side of the harbor. That’s where Hom found the huge white pine up on shore. He floated it back to Park Point, eventually had it milled and used part of the lumber for the ice boat.

A storm came through on Thursday ending their season and almost sent the iceboats drifting away.

Thursday a neighbor called Strange to tell him “Your boat is leaving.” With the help of friends and neighbors, and using plastic barrels for flotation and a long rope, Strange rescued his and another person’s ice boats.

Thankfully, the outcome was a happy one. They did a safe and commendable job rescuing the boats. Take look the pictures here.

4LIYC Ice Check Update

Official 4LIYC Holstein Ice Checking Cow

The Lake Kegonsa ice check scheduled for today (Friday, December 28, 2018) has been postponed because of rain and warm temperatures.  However, the Great Zamboni in the Sky is bringing much colder temperatures next week. The club will check Kegonsa ice on Sunday or Monday with the hopes of calling on the Holiday racing series and the infamous Bloody Mary 10-lapper for New Year’s Day. Next update by Monday, December 31, 2018.

Hope!

4LIYC Sailing Update: No Racing for 12-25

There will be no 4LIYC Holiday Series racing for Wednesday, December 25, 2018. There are some open, working seams that limit launch sites. 
Current conditions on Kegonsa are spectacular but somewhat limited by the seams to a sheet in front of Springer’s Restaurant. On Monday, the Spaight Street Syndicate DN fleet, Renegader Doug Kolner, and Nite sailor Lars Barber took advantage of the Hollywood conditions and scrub raced on a short course until their arms couldn’t take it any longer. The Spaight St. DNers are there again today – see video above.
ICE CHECK: Please meet at Springer’s for the next ice check at 11 AM on Friday, December 28. Next update is Friday, December 28.
Remember folks, ice is never safe!

Doug Kolner’s Renegade COLD FUSION on Lake Kegonsa.