We just learned there is a chance we will be competing for hotel rooms next March with the Montana State High School Wrestling Tournament. As you know, our dates are fluid within a 3-week window; the wrestling authorities have yet to choose their date.
To put us in the best position to negotiate a block of rooms well in advance, please fill out our survey, IF you are a likely participant. In the event we are forced to “ration” rooms in our block, we will do so based on the chronology of survey submission (i.e., earliest survey respondents will get first-right-of-refusal on reserved rooms).
Have you started building your new boat yet for the event?
Previous: Fort Peck 2022
Where will you be in 365 days? Picture yourself pulling sheet as you accelerate upwind, sailing the vast open expanse of Fort Peck Lake in Montana.
Daniel’s March 3 Facebook post asking “Who wants to go to Fort Peck” received a strong response from ice sailors who are eager for a Baikal-like adventure at Fort Peck Lake.
The first half of March is typically the area’s best ice sailing. Daniel, myself, and a few others are planning a Hard Water Summit open to all ice sailors around a 3-week window, from which we will select the best week as conditions are known.
If you are interested in joining us, please visit the Hard Water Summit page and fill out the survey. Glasgow is a small community, and capacity for our entourage could be limited, so don’t delay!
Who wants to go to Fort Peck, Montana next year? I’m thinking a Baikal-like annual adventure open to all ice sailors. At the end of the season when the rest of our ice is typically un-sailable. Those of us in the Midwest and further left would likely still drive. And maybe we arrange for containers to go from the Central Region and the East? The town would roll out the red carpet for us and maybe even throw in some tourism dollars support. What do you think?
Here are some of Montana’s Mini Skeeter fleet who joined us at Fort Peck including John Eisenlohr, Dave Gluek, and Dave Farmer. Via John Eisenlohr’s Facebook page. Now I’m getting ready to head to Green Lake for the Renegade Championship and Nite Commodore’s Cup.
We joined Deb Whitehorse , Daniel Hearn and Pat Heppert at Fort Peck. Some locals from Glasgow showed up with DN’s. We drove 8 hours east on the high line of Montana to get there. Its been good sailing and fun racing the last 3 days. So far I’ve logged 253 miles of sailing. Thanks for inviting us to the photo shoot.
Tim Ogrinic sails a DN on Fort Peck Reservoir on Saturday, February 20, 2021.
Montana’s wild western ice has long been a bucket list item for ice sailors east of the Mississippi and even east of the Atlantic ocean into Europe. The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club’s C Class Skeeter fleet will soon travel west, destination a wide-open range of ice on Fort Peck Reservoir near Glasgow, Montana. (Pat Heppert has dual citizenship, he’s a Minnesota ice sailor and a 4LIYC member.) I will be joining Pat and Daniel Hearn and making my second trip to Fort Peck. The DN North American Championship was sailed there in 2020, the farthest west the regatta has ever been.
Minnesota ice sailors and others have been sailing Canyon Ferry in Helena for many years. Montana Mini-Skeeter developer John Eisenlohr alerted us to Fort Peck’s potential for the 2020 DN North Americans. We made good friends in Fort Peck, such as photographer Sean Heavey.
So why Montana now? This trip began in Gothenberg, Sweden with Sail Racing. They looked to Sean because of pandemic travel limitations and their need for more photos. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, poor ice conditions turned our gaze west to Montana ice, the canvas Sean lives and breathes. Conditions appear to be just right.
Perhaps there will be some other ice sailors who will meet us there, you never know. There’s big ice, scenery, adventure, and more coming this week. Stand by for Montana.
Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana on 20 February, 2021.
