DN NA Photo- One More….
Eric Tasden shares this photo from the NA champs- another cool perspective….
All of these great photos and videos are shamelessly pilfered from the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club website. If you don’t look at it regularly you should start! All kinds of interesting stuff going on out that way- Stern Steerers, Renegades, DNs, Skeeters, you name it!
Check it out at iceboat.org
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
DN NA Video
It is rumored that productivity in the offices overlooking Lake Monona in Madison dropped off a bit during the recent DN champs- have a look at the video to see why. Very cool perspective!
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
DN NA Photos
Hey Folks- There was some good sailing and good walking to be had all over last weekend- sounds like boats and sailors were on the move all over New England-
Meanwhile more media is coming in from the DN NA champs out in WI awhile ago- a photographer named Joe Stanton was out on the ice and took a bazillion shots of the action- click the link and check them out!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e3ccoi6kg65r9x0/AACWBBkmrMhpNDlk2ruSK3Dla?dl=0
NE Champs Done
No racing at Newfound Lake today- This AM held some promise but then the breeze shut off, the sun shone bright, and rapidly softening ice made for a long schlep home!
On the other hand yesterday was well worth it- Fast, tight racing all afternoon in a good breeze had everyone lit up, and social hour today was entertaining to say the least. The big action was the final sprint into the launch area with Atkins and Moore leaving it all in the course as they fought to be first back in the pits. They both claim to have won- typical.
All in all a good time had by all. Season finale? Hope not, we still have to get the Eastern Champs in- If you have ice make it public!
If we do get the EASTERNS in we are hoping for a strong turnout/. Clear the weekend-
Think Ice! T
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
Who’s Sailing Sunday – Where?
As reported earlier and by our friends in Maine. Lots of people sailed both around the buoys and around the shores. There will be more in the morning. Not too late to pack, get some sleep and drive in the early morning hours.
Newfound lake in Bristol NH and Great pond in Belgrade ME (see iceboat.me) are the places as well as a few others that have already been reported.
Sail fast and safe tomorrow.
Ever thought about what punishment your front runner goes through as it passes over smooth and otherwise ice. Bill Converse trained his GoPro forward and captured just that. A day in the life of a steering runner.
More Bill Converse pictures from last week on Wentworth.
Think Ice,
John
NE Results So Far
Hola Amigos-
Slow start to the NE champs on Newfound Lake in Bristol, NH today but patience was rewarded with good breeze and four good races in the books- several cruising boats of all types were out enjoying the lake as well/. Plenty of room, Good time had by all- Come join the fun tomorrow!
Don’t forget if there are three of any type of boat on the start line we will have a start for you-
Will try a few more races tomorrow to make it seven and then possibly roll right into another event, maybe the Beanpot?? Stay tuned-
It may have been a mirage or maybe a hallucination but we saw the one and only Steve Duhamel go flying by on the ice in his super flash, totally illegal all Carbon DN…. Good to see him- not wearing his helmet but rocking out with his iPod cranked. Probably listening to Britney Spears.
Dinner a the Lucky Dog in Plymouth tonight if anyone is interested-
Forecast tomorrow looks promising- If you were on the fence about coming up don’t hesitAte to jump in the car!
Results below- Thanks to Loretta Rehe for tabulating them via phone from Detroit!
Hope to see y’all tomorrow! T
>
>
>
>
Newfound lake updates
Ice hazzards:
The lake has not been thoroughly scouted but there are a few know issues. Between Mayhew island and the eastern Shore is open water. Hug the Western Shore when leaving the launch harbor. There is also a working seam on the west side of Mayhew. I marked an open spot with a branch but if you stick the Western Shore you are fine.
There are some small pressure ridges on the large part of the lake but they are avoidable and crossable with care.
Launching site:
86-130 Shore Dr
https://goo.gl/maps/HK2FmhGFrZs
There is also a secondary public launch with more park a little further up the western Shore on West Shore road
Manor Estates Dr
https://goo.gl/maps/EHXs9zT1V4v
Lodging:
We are staying at the Pilgrim Inn and cottages in Plymouth NH.
(603) 536-1319
There is also an econolodge accross the street.
(603) 536-2330
Plymouth is a 25 minute drive from the lake. There are some pricier b and b options on the lake for those so inclined.
New England’s on Newfound Lake
The New england championships are ON for Newfound lake in Bristol New Hampshire. We have a good sized race course with no known issues. Seven inches of grade 7 to 8 hard snow ice. Launching will be from the Bristol town beach on Shore road at the very southern tip of the lake. Skippers meeting will be at 10 sharp at the launch site. There is some open water between one of the island and the Shore on the way to the main part of the lake that is easily avoidable but make sure to to not leave the pits without being briefed.
There is tons of ice for cruising and racing alike so let’s have a good spring event. If any other club members beyond the DN class wish to race we are happy to run an open division on the race course.
We are also looking for a volunteer to keep score. They will be rewarded heavily with praise and adulation.
Giddy up!
Oliver Moore
NEIYA Regatta chair
US 5469
Weekend Update
There are lots of options for sailing this weekend. Melvin bay was sailed today. There are significant holes so be careful. Leavitt’s beach was also sailed and sounds very good but again there are some open spots so use caution. Squam is sailable but bumpy.
I will leave the Maine report to team Chickie. I am sure they will be posting something soon:
iceboat.me
Inner Mallets bay was also sailed today and the ice is good. There is access from the public ramp. Outer Mallets maybe an option but we need to scout it tomorrow.
Regatta update:
Leavitt’s beach right now looks like our best option. The problem is it is on the smaller side for racing. We are going to scout Mallet’s Bay tomorrow and could call the event on there instead. The other factor is the wind forecast. The breeze for Saturday and Sunday looks better the closer you are to the coast, with a high parked above Burlington. So while Mallet’s might have a bigger plate of ice we may be better off in Leavitt’s because it will have wind that Burlington doesn’t. It’s a tough call. If we do decide to call it for Leavitt’s and 30 boats show up we can always split into two fleets to keep the small course racing safe.
So we will scout Mallets tomorrow and let the forecast get a little more accurate. I will make the final venue call tomorrow afternoon. Plan on racing but stay tuned for a the final location call. Sorry for being a last minute Larry but I want to give us the best chance tohave good racing.
Oliver Moore
NEIYA Regatta Phone Operator
US 5469
New England Champs on for this weekend.
We aren’t sure where exactly yet but we are confident we will be hosting racing somewhere in either Southern New Hampshire or Vermont this weekend. North of the sandbar in Burlington has good reports but no one has sailed it yet. The Winnipesaukee and sunapee zone was wet\slushed out today and is hardening up as we speak. The issue is going to be access. The large volume of rain has pushed up lake levels making the edges dicy.
So we will have multiple teams out scouting all possible locations looking for a suitable venue. We will announce the chosen spot as soon as possible and keep you updated here as things develop.
So stay tuned and send in your reports if you have any. The season is far from over.
Stay ready.
Oliver Moore
NEIYA Regatta dude
US 5469
NORTH AMERICAN DN CHAMPS WRAP UP
Hola Amigos-
Now that the dust has settled on the NA’s it’s re-cap time….
First of all the place was great- Lake Monona in Madison, WI. Look on the interweb ( ) for photos but take my word for it, racing with downtown Madison as a backdrop is pretty cool- and a far cry from the scenery we are used to out this way! Madison is an iceboating town and they didn’t disappoint. The ice was good and the launch area only deteriorated enough to keep things interesting….
We had sailors (about 90) from all over the place- a quick look at the roster shows people from MI, OH, WI, FL, NC, MN, IL, IN, ON, NS, NY (upstate and LI), NJ, PA, RI, and probably one or two I missed. From Europe we had skippers from Germany, Holland, Sweden and Poland. Not bad! Eastern sailors practically infested both fleets-about fifteen or so in all, including a few rookies. And of course the event was won by a guy from that hotbed of DN activity, San Diego CA. We spanned the continent!
The weather cooperated although we all had our doubts for awhile- a day or two of hurry-up-and-wait was endured as we waited for breeze. Our hosts eased the pain by hosting a few barbecues, both at the launch and out on the ice! This was awesome. Oddly there were no brats (that’s short for bratwurst, by the way) but plenty of pulled pork, spicy rice, cookies, and high-test Mountain Dew all on the menu for the health-conscious types. Atkins drank four. He has sugar issues. Somebody please talk with him.
Good news is that with the five-day-format (race Monday through Friday, max 14 per fleet total) we had plenty of time to make up for the lost racing days- when the breeze showed up it was too much of a good thing and we were blown off the ice for a day (silver lining was an ultra-cool tour of the Harken plant that afternoon). Weather settled a bit and in the end we got ten races in for both fleets over a range of wind conditions. Absolutely worth the price of admission! To win this one you had to be good in everything from out-of-control high winds to light and shifty, barely sail-able stuff.
This format was introduced a few years back and has met with good reviews- 5 days is usually plenty of time to get a regatta done and it’s nice to have a weekend on either end for travelling. Don’t have to miss a Friday or Monday at the office either….
We used a new course format as well- the “safety zone” (aka “run out zone”) has been eliminated. The start line stays put and while one fleet is on the course the next fleet lines up. Once the last boat in one fleet finishes the next fleet goes off as soon as the scorers are ready, usually pretty quickly. This allows the RC to bang out races rapidly! Way less work for the RC and way less time wasted disconnecting and reconnecting the line. Also safer as there were frequently boats and innocent pedestrians in the safety/run-out zone. The finish line is now parallel to the breeze rather than perpendicular- you finish by leaving the leeward mark to port (checkered flag is near the 1/3 starting spot) and bleed off speed heading toward the right side of the course. Safer for the scorers and nice to be able to head up into the wind to slow down- couldn’t do that with the old safety zone as you had to sail straight downwind, only way to lose speed was by dragging your feet which doesn’t really slow you down but does ruin your spikes and is a great way to bang your Achilles tendon into the plank or even break your ankle. Just saying….
Speaking of the RC the gang that made this regatta happen were terrific: Dan Heaney, Loretta Rehe, Deb Whitehorse, Mercedes Auger, Fred Stritt, John Atkins, Bob Foeller, Ann Foeller, Erica Stange, Bill Coberley, Peter Fauerbach, Scott Goetz and probably a few more I can’t think of- takes an army! These people did a phenomenal job under some challenging conditions- many thanks to them! They also had a sweet committee boat complete with flag hoists, safety gear and an anemometer. Wicked cool- see the photos.
Also note the photos of Oliver repairing his footbrace in the hotel room. He managed to patch it together and make the epoxy kick without torching the place. Carrying the boat up the stairwell to the fourth floor was a sight but we pulled it off without adding too many dings. Wish we had video of that!
So all in all we had some boredom, some terror, a few bumps and bruises, some gear that survived, some that didn’t, but ultimately a lot of laughs and whooping and hollering. Believe me when I say we will be talking about this one for a long time. Great to see everyone from everywhere. Worth the drive and entry fee? HELL YES. Put it on your calendar.
Think Ice. T
-
- start line
-
- hotel shop 1
-
- hotel shop 2
-
- rc boat 1
-
- rc boat 2
-
- rc boat 3
Racing This Weekend
OK, it’s only Wednesday and there is some radical weather passing through but the Powers-That-Be (or, more accurately, “the Ludicrously Optimistic”) are looking ahead to the weekend.
We may just have options…. the Canadians are looking to have their national champs up that way, and we need to get the Eastern Champs in the books. Will do our best to set it up so the regattas don’t conflict. Maybe do one Saturday and one Sunday. Not sure about specific sites yet but there are promising spots in NH, ME and NB.
So clear the calendar, gas up the car, find your passport, cross your fingers and remember we sailed until Tax Day last year! Think back to that final weekend on Champlain last season, Easterns and NE’s in two days…. It was killah!!
And of course stay tuned to this site for details.
Think Ice!!
James “T” Thieler
Speed Master: DN Ice Yachting North Americans 2016: Matt Struble Champ | Catamaran Racing, News & Design
Hello All- thought I’d share this link- good little interview with the new NA champ along with some good pics and a video or two of his rather impressive starting technique….
http://www.catsailingnews.com/2016/03/speed-master-dn-ice-yachting-north.html?m=1
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
New England Ice Yacht Association 