It’s evening here in Furudal, Sweden and I have a few quiet minutes to write some more about the Dutch style iceboats. If you’re going to travel with heavy iceboat hulls on the ferrys and highways of Europe, a decent trailer is a must. The boats are quick to take down but great care is taken in loading them for the long trip home. From Orsa, it’s a 7 hour drive to the ferry at Gothenburg, Sweden, then an overnight ferry ride to Kiel, Germany, and then another few hours to home in the Netherlands. Some opted not to take the ferry and drove straight through.
The oldest boat brought to Orsa dated from 1917 and the newest from the 2000s. They remain desirable boats and there’s a good market for them. The newer boats are built with lighter hulls. I asked jokingly if they sharpened their runners every night like DN racers. They are pretty relaxed about runner sharpening but the hard ice on Orsa coupled with some blustery winds caused some boats to drift and a few gentle 360 spin outs. They are used to sailing on much softer ice. The “Bakery” boat I referenced in this morning’s post was an actual working iceboat built in the 1930s and used by a Dutch bakery to deliver goods on the canal. Thanks again to the club members of De Robben for making me feel welcomed and for keeping the traditional ice ships alive!
Sorry for the light posting but I’ve been in Europe for the 2020 DN Worlds and now Junior Worlds. Good morning from near Furudal, Sweden, site of the 2020 Junior World DN & Ice Optimist championship. A few quick pictures before heading off to the sailing site. Racing will begin today.
Results
Competitors and Race Committee members are slowly making their way back to reality (home) after spending an amazing week on a sheet of Montana ice. Several car loads of sailors went full tourist and headed over to Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse statue, and Devil’s Tower before turning east. Above is the best drone video ever made of iceboat racing by Glasgow, MT photographer Sean Heavey. Be sure to check out his photo gallery as well here. The drone video focuses on Detroit’s Ron Sherry US44 (2nd place in the regatta) and Pewaukee and 4LIYC Skeeter sailor Steve Orlebeke US4926 (4th place in the regatta) as they battle for first place in the last race.
Day 4 of the IDNIYA 2020 North America Ice Yacht Championship on Fort Peck Lake …
Today was epic!! The Montana wind we all know and at times hate came ready to play. While I can write about the day and probably describe it pretty good I’m a visual person so I think maybe a visual will do it more justice.
But first let me set the scene… This is a drone clip of the last Gold fleet race of the day before the regatta was called due to excessive wind speed. The wind had ratchet up to a sustained 18 mph range with gusts to 22+. These boats go 4 to 5 time the wind speed so let’s just say they were scooting along and it’s really hard for a drone to keep up. But I was starting to get the hang of how to fly with them and keep the leaders in sight. The race consists of three laps and this clip picks up the leaders about half way through the second lap. Nobody is going down with out a fight… Does the first place boat hang on?
As a side note… a big thank you to all the racers and race officials for coming all this way to the middle of nowhere. What a great event you put on and I hope your return trips home are made safely. Also thank you to everyone in NE Montana for your hospitality and support. You made everyone feel at home and part of the middle of nowhere family…
Day one is in the books with 4 total races completed. Visibility was low as we drove to the launch site but the weather here must be like Wisconsin, wait 5 minutes and it changes. In classic ice sailing style, competitors waited around for the wind to fill in. The wind finally made an appearance but kept the race committee on their toes with many shifts and swings. The ice changed during the day as the warm temperatures and sun softened it up. Facebook is filled with pictures of a beautiful sunset that accompanied us as we made our way back to the launch. A new term we learned that will literally stick with us all for months is “Montana Gumbo”, aka mud- caused by the warmer temperatures. Off to the lake for day 2 of racing, sorry for the short report but there are lot of details to take care of here.
Good morning from the Middle of Nowhere, the motto of Glasglow, MT. A sunny but windless day yesterday meant more time to visit, make deals, and soak in the vastness of this place. Registration was held last night at the hotel followed by a Speed Symposium where the top racers answered questions from the crowd. 61 competitors checked in last night and we were lucky enough to pick up 3 local DN racers. Click here to see line up for today’s racing.
Off to the lake soon for race day.
Canyon Ferry iceboater Dave Gluek (yes, Jim’s brother) shared some local knowledge about how to seriously anchor a boat in case a 70 mph wind comes up in the middle of the night.
Kasia Macur and Ron Sherry. Kasia has been scoring iceboat races in Poland since she was 13 years old. She is spending a year in the states and is joining us for this championship.
