2020 Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Information
March 13-15,2020
Lake Waconia, Minnesota
The Perfect Storm
Like Charlie Brown waiting for the Great Pumpkin, iceboaters wait for the Great Zamboni, a rainy weather system that makes the snow disappear off the ice followed by cold that freezes the track. Keep your eyes on Thursday’s weather system because there’s a possibility that Wisconsin could have an abundance of sailable ice.
Where are they sailing this weekend?
Green Lake, WI, Lake St. Clair near Detroit, Michigan, and Ashumet Pond in Mashpee, MA on Cape Cod
From NOAA’s Forecast Discussion: for southern Wisconsin:
The models do show low pressure sliding northeast across Wisconsin
either later Wednesday night or Thursday. The GFS is quicker and
further south with the low track than the ECMWF. Both models do
bring the warm sector into at least southeast Wisconsin during
this period. Thus, it looks like good chances for mainly rain
later Wednesday night into Thursday morning, before cold air
advection brings a transition to light snow southeast across the
area Thursday afternoon into the evening.This may change, depending on where the low tracks, and would
affect the precipitation types as well. This may have some impact
on travel in northern and western Wisconsin, and perhaps here if
the low track shifts to the south. Cold air advection behind the
low would then bring colder temperatures back into the region for
Friday into Saturday.
Kansas City Here We Come
Iceboats are being pulled out of the rafters around North America. This Faceboook video with some bonafide Hollywood Ice© is from Bill Dwyer in Lake Lotawana, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. How much farther south can ice be found?
Looking Back While We Wait
From the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections: “Lake Mendota ice rink” Photographer: Meuer, William Date: 1919-02 ,
While we wait for the Great Zamboni and for the big Wisconsin lakes of Green and Geneva to come online, enjoy these images Peter Fauerbach found in the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection.
The forecast looks encouraging for iceboating in Wisconsin.
4LIYC Racing Update for Jan 6-7: No Racing
From better days on Lake Mendota. Shown here in February 1979 from left to right are 4LIYC members:Don Ermer, Don Sanford, Steve Arnold,Ty Reed, and Ken Kreider. The Statue of Liberty appeared in the middle of the night as part of a University of Wisconsin’s student campaign promise to bring the statue to Madison.
There will be no 4LIYC racing for January 6-7, 2018. The 1 1/2″ drifts on Lake Mendota have hardened making conditions too marginal for racing. However, some skippers will set up and try to sail and tune their boats on Sunday, January 7 out of Captain Bill’s launch.
In The News: Iceboating Southern Style
January’s deep freeze has been a boon to iceboating around the country in areas that haven’t seen sailable ice for several years. Our friends in Illinois are taking advantage of their conditions.
What wind chill? Ice boaters set sail on Lake Decatur
DECATUR — While Wednesday’s frigid temperatures kept many indoors, a quartet of ice boaters set out to take advantage of what the frozen Lake Decatur had to offer.They had a good time, according to expert boater Pete Johns, but the snow sitting on top of the lake made the conditions less than ideal. Continue reading.
4LIYC Racing Update for Jan 6-7
The 4LIYC will check ice on Friday, January 5 at noon. Please meet at Captain Bill’s.
Saturday morning racing might be out due to low temperatures and light winds, however we may be able to sail Saturday afternoon. Sunday looks even better with winds forecasted at 10-15 mph and tropical 31F temperatures. As of today, NOAA is calling for a “Chance Snow then Slight Chance Wintry Mix” for Sunday.
Commodore Don Anderson set up his Renegade yesterday on Middleton Bay. The snow was just too sticky for him to get going in the light air but Jerry Simon saw a Nite sailing on Mendoter “with no trouble, enough wind and not too much snow…. The Nite likely came from a home on the north side of the lake and [I] wasn’t able to talk to skipper. The 1-2 inches of light snow didn’t have any noticeable drifting with smooth hard ice underneath.”
Next update about 4LIYC racing will be Friday, January 5 by 5 PM.
Throw Back Thursday: The Day ROSEMARY Tipped Over
Many thanks to stern-steerer skipper Michael Kroll for posting a link to Andy Gratton’s story from this website on his Facebook page. Andy’s story about the legendary Oshkosh stern-steerer skipper, Don Ward, gets better with every reading. Michael writes, “I have read it many times, and when I see it, I can’t help but read it again because I’ve been in the back cockpit of this iceboat.”
The Day Rosemary Tipped Over.
© 2009 Andy Gratton
The 1992 NWIYA race was called on for Oshkosh. We had beautiful hard ice, except for
the typical crack in the bay. Nubs Salzsieder and I were discussing the upcoming
weekend, who was coming, etc. The usual plan for hard ice was that I would sail the
Timber Boat and he would sail Rosemary IV. We talked more about the boats, how Don
Ward had built so many, including the Rosemary boats, and how Don was always
interested in what was going on in Oshkosh, his home town. So Nubs called Don Ward
and told him to get on a plane and get back here from Washington State so he can sail on
his home ice. We didn’t really expect Don to do that, but a day or two later Nubs
informed me that Don would be sailing his old boat, Rosemary IV, and Nubs would be
sailing the Timber Boat. I was bummed because I had no other boat to race, so instead I
would help wherever needed.
read more…
Skeeters – At The Front
What an impressive shot for Harken’s monthly digest showcasing Steve Orlebeke’s Class A Skeeter, HONEYBUCKET and Paul Krueger’s RAMBL’N sailing on Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin.
Steve Orlebeke’s Perspective Looking Ahead
“I’m looking out my door onto the engineering section in the Pewaukee Harken offices. It’s almost the end of 2017 and a logical time to look ahead toward next year.” Continue reading.
Geneva Ice Watch
Geneva changing state.
Happy New Year from the frozen tundra of Madison, WI where the temperature has climbed from -14F to -12F since the sun came up. Most of the area webcams haven’t been functional because of the cold except for Gordy’s on Geneva Lake. You can watch Geneva turn to ice by going to Gordy’s website and clicking on the webcam link on the top right of the page.
2018 WSSA Regatta Update
Via Andy Gratton, WSSA Secretary:
Happy New Years, iceboaters!
The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to January 13 and 14. The next update will be Sunday, January 7. Check back here or call the Iceboat Hotline 608-204-9876. Lake Winnebago has more than 12″ of ice but the snow drifts are rock hard.
Pictures of the Year
The fine folks at the Toledo Ice Yacht Club were out in force yesterday on Maumee Bay. Wayne Mckinney was there and shot these eye catching photos. That’s the KAY E BARKER, an 11,948 ton “bulk discharging carrier.” But wait, that’s not just any Great Lakes Freighter, she’s captained by none other than Eric Sawyer, who also skippers the Class A stern steerer, MICHIGANDER.
UPDATE: Yes, according to Eric’s dad, Chip, he was at the helm yesterday and that “he watched the boats sailing as he entered Toledo.”
Photo by Gretchen Dorian. Eric Sawyer’s MICHIGANDER at the 2016 Northwest Regatta on Lake Monona, Madison, WI
Mendota Report 12-20-2017
First of all, there will be no Bloody Mary Classic sailing on New Year’s Day because of the cold temperatures.
Some intrepid 4LIYC ice checkers including Don Anderson, Don Sanford, and Scott Goetz, braved the bitter conditions on Lake Mendota’s west end, Middleton Bay this morning. They found 5″ of hard, smooth ice covered in less than one inch of snow. Don said the sheet looked sailable.
There’s talk of a coming outbreak of the iceboat flu and taking a day off a day of work to sail during the coming week if the temperatures moderate. Stay tuned.
No 4LIYC Racing Dec 30-31, However….
ENTERPRISE on Kegonsa, oil on canvas by Harry Whitehorse Note the old Sunnyside (now Springer’s) on the shore.
There will be no 4LIYC racing December 30-31. Commodore Don Anderson and a large group of ice checkers (and lunch eaters) confirmed that Lake Kegonsa is covered with hard snow drifts, some up to 5″. The drifting and Saturday’s brutally cold temperatures made it an easy decision.
The group will reassemble on Middleton Bay tomorrow, Saturday, 30 at 11 AM at the Captain Bill’s landing. Don walked on Middleton Bay yesterday and thought the ice looked good (except for one goose hole), If there are sailing conditions, club members are tentatively planning on setting up boats there Sunday, December 31 for a day of scrub racing followed by the Bloody Mary Classic 10-lapper race on January 1 with more scrub racing. If you would like to help check ice, please be at Captain Bill’s tomorrow at 11 AM.
Next update will be tomorrow, Saturday, January 30.
Gladstone Ice
The fleet at Escanaba, MI is growing and it’s no wonder with ice like this in Little Bay de Noc. Via Terry Reynolds
Drone pictures and video done at 1330 EST December 26 at Gladstone, Michigan. Ice depth at that time 5 inches. The video [not shown in these pictures-Deb] shows areas of open water within the ice fields. The ice field extends all the way to Escanaba lighthouse. Isolated areas of open water do exist from the Terrace hotel to the Escanaba light house. Drone and photos/video courtesy of Rick Elrod.
Grand Slam & Weekend Update
Lake Monona on Dec 27, 2017. Downloaded from vertical_granite on Instagram.
The Grand Slam fun-regatta has been cancelled for December 30-31 because of the frostbite inducing temperatures. It’s just too cold to race.
Club members are checking Lake Kegonsa on Friday, Dec 29 to get an idea of thickness and ice surface conditions. If you’d like to join them, or watch them check ice while you enjoy a nice lunch inside, be at Springer’s at 11 AM. They may also check Lake Monona.
We’re Frozen Over
Madison’s largest body of water, Lake Mendota, has frozen over today. I downloaded some time lapse video from the University of Wisconsin Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences rooftop camera, combining videos from Tuesday and this morning so you can watch the thrill of Mendota’s ice form before your very own eyes.
Hope to see everyone at tonight’s 4LIYC meeting!
You Know It’s Cold When…
Via Jim Cambell’s Facebook page. Nite sailing on Christmas Day.
..It’s Too Cold to Iceboat!
We had planned on checking Lake Kegonsa ice conditions today, but wiser heads who want to keep warm are prevailing. The temperature of 1F at noon is keeping us off the lake.
Commodore Don Anderson will set up his Renegade there on Thursday when the temperatures will soar to 15F so we can get an idea of conditions.
GRAND SLAM FUN REGATTA & BLOODY MARY CLASSIC UPDATE: We’ll assess Lake Kegonsa and have the final decision about the Grand Slam posted on Friday, December 29th if not sooner. The Grand Slam is a fun two day regatta that is tentatively scheduled to take place December 30-31, 2017.
Buckstaff Recommends the “Iron Fireman”
At -7F in Madison, Wisconsin this morning, we’re all thankful for a good home furnace!
From back when ice sailors had endorsement deals, we present the legendary Oshkosh sailor John Buckstaff’s ad for a coal burning furnace. (Tip of the Helmet: Mike Peters)
Buckstaff’s most famous ad was for Camel cigarettes, below.
‘Tis The Season
Though DEAD DUCK is not the boat from this particular story, it confirms the value of owning an old, just-for-fun DN. DEAD DUCK was the first iceboat that the Whitehorse family owned back in the early 1970s. Greg Whitehorse recalls, “We had a ton of fun with that boat. More bang for the buck than any boat we’ve had since!”
Yes, Virginia, there is a runner sharpener. This is a true story that took place in recent days.- Deb
“Hey Dad, let’s fix the old iceboat,” said Pete’s daughter. She was home for break before heading off to study abroad second semester. Christmas was still a week away and Pete had already received two gifts—his daughter was home and she wanted to go ice sailing! The two had a blast repainting the old girl, but there was one problem. The runners never recovered from the incident that put her on the shelf in the first place. An email to the 4LIYC and help was on the way.
“Loved your story,” our member responded. “Happy to donate my time in exchange for a donation to a charity. Your money will be put to good use with people who can’t even imagine a standard of living which we take for granted.” With that, the deal was struck and the final piece of the patient’s rehab was underway. Turns out, our club had helped Pete before.
“I never had so much fun with my Iceboat as I did after you worked your magic on the runners. It didn’t slide, it ran straight and true, it was amazing. Then disaster… a big puff of wind, up on two runners, then Boom!! My front stay broke and the boat came down HARD! After that, it was never the same. It was sliding with the slightest force. I thought it was done for, especially with the bad shape the boat was in (paint was peeling, and was generally in need of serious TLC). So I put it away thinking I would never use it again.
Then out of nowhere, my daughter (20) suggested we fix up that old ice boat. A good chance for a little father – daughter time before she goes off to study abroad in London (she’s a Sophomore in the Honors Nursing program in Oshkosh)! Yeah, pretty proud of her.
So, a few days later and lot of elbow grease we got that Iceboat looking like new, and had a nice bonding moment that we’ll talk about for years.
The one piece that was missing was the magic you do with the runners. It doesn’t matter how good it looks, if it won’t run true.”Following pick up, Pete sends this message to the 4LIYC.
“Amazing! This is the best Christmas gift ever. My thanks runs deeper than you’ll ever know. Thanks for the tips and going the extra mile to help bring the boat back from the dead.
If you should ever be on Lake Kegonsa and need a place to grab some hot chocolate to warm up, you are always more than welcome. Feel free to stop by any time.
Thank you so very much,
Pete”
Today’s Christmas Day email from Pete,
Merry Christmas. Took the Iceboat out on Kegonsa this morning. Fantastic conditions. 1 inch of powder snow on top of smooth hard ice, strong wind. We stayed mostly in the bay on the south west side of the lake. It was fast and fun.The quote from my Daughter, “that was totally worth it!”
Thanks again, Pete.
Celebrate the Season
New! ISA News & Views Newsletter Archive
