Kegonsa 30 December 2018: Spaight St. Syndicate Championship

by | Dec 30, 2018 | 2018-2019, DN, Home Page

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!

4LIYC Sailing Update: No Racing for 12-25

by | Dec 24, 2018 | 2018-2019, Home Page

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.

4LIYC Sailing Update: Kegonsa To Be Scouted

by | Dec 21, 2018 | 2018-2019, Home Page

DNs on Kegonsa in 2016.

Lake Kegonsa may be in play very soon. Ice checkers will scout the lake on Saturday.
The 4LIYC Christmas Holiday Series is tentatively called on for Tuesday, December 25. Final confirmation will be posted on Monday, December 24.

Remember, ice is NEVER safe. 
From the 4LIYC Bylaws:

1. Stay at Home Series and Regattas

7. Holiday Series races shall be on December 25th, January 1st, Thanksgiving, and Easter for all classes, with one trophy for each class. There will be two races per class, per day with the first race starting at 2:00 PM.. The number of races required to complete this series shall be one in each class. There shall be no more than 8 races for each class. (12/17/68)

You Know It’s Cold When…

by | Dec 26, 2017 | 2017-2018, Home Page

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.

‘Tis The Season

by | Dec 25, 2017 | 2017-2018, Home Page

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.