Mystic Seaport Ice Festival This Weekend
Hello All-
If there is no sailing this weekend be sure to head to Mystic Seaport and check out the Ice Festival-
All of the stuff on the schedule looks pretty cool and there is also a South Bay Scooter and a Stern-Steerer (the SLIPPER) set up along with great old photos and video of the Scooter in action.
Deep Creek Maryland In The News
Our Maryland correspondent (Ed Thieler, my dad) sends this along- Great vid of some sailing in Deep Creek and some good press- Well done to Ray Gauthier for making this happen!
The segments early in the program are cool (bald eagles, model planes) but of course they saved the best for last- see Ray and some sweet ice starting at about 17 minutes in.
Hope to sail there one of these days!
Sailing In New Jersey!
Looks like some folks got out on the Navesink!
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/middletown/articles/icebirds-spotted-on-the-navesink-watch-the-video-3
Interesting Ice Article….
Way back in the day….
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2019/02/06/ice-sailing-ice-harvesting/
Sailing on a Frozen Chesapeake….
Meanwhile down in MD….
https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.com/features/2019/2/1/sailing-on-a-frozen-chesapeake
Sailing on a Frozen Chesapeake
February 1, 2019
<img src=”https://neiya.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/858b0-iceboatmkeenebykbosin.jpg” alt=”Mike Keene, in sailing position. Photo by Kathy Bosin” />
Mike Keene, in sailing position. Photo by Kathy Bosin
By Pete Lesher
Most sailors lay their boats up for the winter and console themselves by reading sailing adventures when outside temperatures drop below freezing; a lucky few head south to the tropics. But when bitter cold persists and the Chesapeake Bay freezes, the “hard water sailors” emerge. Ice thick enough for winter sports doesn’t happen frequently on Bay waters, but when it does, the iceboats begin to appear.
On a chilly December 31, 1917, with a high temperature of 9 degrees, Talbot County sailor and boat builder C. Lowndes Johnson, recorded “We have been skating and iceboating all day … I have never known such ice as there is now on the [Miles] river and we are sailing everywhere, but have found a few small places which are not very strong, and these we go around.” Lowndes and his brother Graham constructed their 20-foot stern-steering iceboat in January 1904, but the winter of 1918 provided unequalled iceboating conditions.
Their neighbor’s iceboat provided the inspiration. Jacob G. Morris had relocated to the shores of the Chesapeake from farther north, where iceboats were more common. By February 16, 1904 it was “blowing a gale all day” and the brothers pitted their iceboat against Morris’s. “We tried her first with a single reef in the mainsail but could not keep the weather runner on the ice … She outsailed Capt. Morris’s although he was carrying it on her for all she was worth.”
<img src=”https://neiya.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/4de91-walmsleyiceboat9.jpg” alt=”Iceboats at Rock Hall in 1977. Photo by Austin Walmsley” />
Iceboats at Rock Hall in 1977. Photo by Austin Walmsley
Like the Johnson’s boat, earlier iceboats were homebuilt. Iceboater Vance Strausburg recalled one made from the former cross at a community church in the Middle River area in the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Stern-steering iceboats continued to appear on Chesapeake creeks and coves, but a new type appeared in the 1930s that gradually replaced them—iceboats with a steering skate in the bow—particularly the
DN class, named for its sponsor, the Detroit News.
The winter of 1977 was the coldest in memory for the region, with overnight lows below freezing for 58 nights in a row. Ice closed the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal for the first time since its opening as a sea-level canal 50 years earlier. Barges delivering heating oil were frozen in. Oystermen wielded chain saws to cut holes in the ice directly over the oyster bars and worked from trucks instead of boats.
In January 1977, the DN North American Championship, followed by the Gold Cup World Championship, was to have been held in Red Bank, New Jersey, but snowfall there made the ice unusable. Veteran iceboat sailor Homer Sieder had moved to St. Michaels several years earlier and reported clear ice, so the competition moved south to the Miles River Yacht Club, the farthest south the championship has ever been held.
Sailors from the Midwest, New Jersey, New York, New England, Canada, Germany, Holland, and Poland arrived. Three local sailors scrambled to participate, purchasing or borrowing DN class ice boats: log canoe skippers Vance Strausburg and Jimmy Wilson, as well as St. Michaels dentist John Mautz.
Iceboating has unique perils, including rough ice and open water. Ice formed on brackish Chesapeake water is softer than that on freshwater lakes. The cold persisted, but by the weekend of February 5-6 pressure ridges had formed in the 8- to 10-inch-thick ice. Hitting the ridges spelled catastrophe for about ten of the 98 boats registered for the North Americans, especially at speeds of nearly 60 miles per hour attained in the 20 knot winds with gusts to 25. Capsizes not only damaged the boats, but catapulted sailors onto the ice, resulting in injuries. On the first weekend of sailing, iceboater Stan Nadler of New Jersey broke his nose when his boat fell into an open-water hole that had formed where the tide ran faster.
Mautz qualified for the finals in the North American Championship but didn’t finish the third race when a port tack sailor failed to give way and collided with him. He told Washington Post reporter Angus Phillips, “It all happened so fast” and Phillips noted that Mautz “still didn’t know who it was” at the end of the day.
The North American championship concluded on Monday, February 7, with Michigander John Schuch winning the five-race final series. The following day, the World Cup got under way, and Henry Bossett of Red Bank, NJ, took the honors.
The iceboating during the long, hard freeze of January and February 1977 had a lasting impact on the Chesapeake. The newly acquired iceboats have reappeared every icy winter that followed. In 2007, they sailed in Claiborne Cove off Eastern Bay, where the water is uniformly shallow with little current beneath,
“so it’s super safe, other than crashing and bruising,” according to local sailor Roger Pickall. “If the ice is talking to you, if it’s groaning, if it’s pinging, if it’s making noise, you’re on good, solid ice,” says Pickall. The Miles River is regarded as risky, because of the greater depth and current under the ice, which will open holes—often in the same places that caused problems in 1977. In February 2015, two iceboats went through these holes on the Miles River. While the sailors were rescued promptly, recovery of the iceboats had to wait until the following day.
Pickall says, “It’s quite a thrill, that’s for sure.” The boats go so fast, “you create your own wind. When you feel yourself slowing down, you just heat it up [steer closer to the wind]. You’re always sailing close-hauled.”
Pete Lesher is a log canoe sailor and chief curator at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels. He lives in Talbot County with his wife and two Bay-soaked children.
Meanwhile In Maine….
…Bill Bucholz gets some well-deserved accolades in the media. Click and read! Congrats Bill, remember all us little people now that you are big and famous.
Click here:
Maine’s only commercial ice-boat builder has a passion for his craft
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Polish Champs Done- And More Video!
Well done to Chris Berger who has apparently moved to Poland. A 7th place in that fleet is nothing to sneeze at!
Maybe he’ll get homesick and come back to Chicago someday.
Story and great video here!
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/02/04/2019-polish-championship-the-conclusion/
Thought Experiment….
This is wild- thanks to Joachim P. Roesler for sending it in- Does NOT have to do with ice but it DOES have to do with apparent wind sailing, which we all know something about…
Polish DN Champs Underway- Photos and Video
Check it out gang- Looks wet and wild over on the other side of the Pond….
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/02/02/day-1-dn-polish-championship-photos-by-gwidon-libera-2-2/
Last Weekend
Looks like the gang from NJ had a good day on Budd Lake last weekend. What’s in store for this weekend? If you have sailable ice let’s hear about it!
Stay tuned….
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DN Euro Champs Video
If all the photos of the DN European Champs got your motor running this video will knock your socks off. Click and enjoy!
Another One Bites The Dust
Jay Whitehair sent this shot of a DN sailor finding out exactly where the limit is on a mast…. Look closely at the boat on the left……
Kingston YC Aftermath!
The gang in Kingston, Ontario had a day of good sailing last weekend but then the call came that the water level in the lake was rising (the wind pushes the water around in the big lakes- a westerly wind makes the tide come in, so to speak) and big breeze was on the way.
Looks like a few people didn’t get the memo to get the boats off the ice and when the storm hit some boats got moved…. Glad the wind wasn’t blowing offshore!
Two lessons here:
1) When the locals say to move your boat be sure to listen!
2) No matter what the weather ALWAYS secure your boat with an ice-screw.
Same thing happened to me once- at the DN Worlds in 2003. I was a newbie, didn’t own a screw yet. A big squall rolled through overnight and when I showed up at the ice (late of course) Jack Ericson greeted me by saying “You have to get a screw- we pulled your boat out of the trees this morning!” Lesson learned!
Glad to report no big damage or injury- Hope to be back at it this weekend!
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- carnage 1
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- carnage 2
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- carnage 3
DN European Champs DONE
DN Euros are done! Looks like breeze and snow on the last day shook things up a bit-
Jarek Radski kept it together to take the title and Chris Berger sailed very well to stay in the top ten at 7th place. Not bad at all for a relative newbie and a Yooper at that!
Well done. Results here:
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/01/25/dn-european-championship-final-results/
And one last batch of great photos here:
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/01/25/day-3-dn-european-championship-photos-by-gwidon-libera-2/
Weekend Sailing
In spite of the weather it sounds like there are options for sailing this weekend:
1) Sounds like a group of sailors will be scratch racing DNs out of Kingston Yacht Club in Kingston, Ontario Saturday and maybe Sunday
2) Scratch racing tomorrow on Waneta (a bit west of Ithaca, NY) First race at 11 am. The Waneta Inn has always been hospitable to us and reached out to me last fall to let me know we are welcome to use their ramp. Please be respectful of others and ice fishermen and don’t block the ramp.Surface by the Waneta Inn is rough from its initial freeze. Racing will be further North of the Inn. The surface improves considerably going North. Picture attached.Remember, the ice has not been checked 100% at this time. Also, don’t rely on ice fishermen or other ice boaters to determine its safety. That is up to you, and you alone.
3) Heard rumors that Bantam Lake in CT might be sailable….
As ever, proceed with caution- your safety is your responsibility and yours alone! Don’t sail alone and take all precautions.
Send reports via NEIYA Ice report email system!
Regatta and / or Sailing This Weekend??
Hello All- the weather situation this week has been bizarre- maybe things are back to semi-normal now and with a little luck we can all get shovel-ed out (up north) and dried out (down here in RI) and do some sailing this weekend, possibly even get a regatta in.
If you have sail-able ice get the word out! We’d all love to know about it.
Think ICE!!
MORE Photos From Europe
This photographer is nothing if not prolific! Almost 100 more images to see from yesterday alone. And good shots at that!
Check out more pics from the DN Euro champs here. Great way to do a bit of recon…
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/01/24/day-2-dn-european-championship-photos-by-gwidon-libera/
Results so far are here:
http://idniyra.eu/
Think ICE!!
DN European Photos
Hey Gang- while we wait for the weather to stabilize (In New England, don’t hold your breath!) take a look at these great photos from the European DN Champs.
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/01/24/dn-european-championship-photos-by-gwidon-libera/
Current results here- Chris Berger still hanging in top ten!
http://idniyra.eu/
Think ICE!!
DN European Champs Report and Pics
Hey Gang-
Here is the latest from Chris Berger over in Poland- He’s been strong out of the gates, scoring good results in the first two races to be sitting in 2nd place. Well done Chris, keep the mojo workin’!
Pics and words here:
https://www.idniyra.org/2019/01/23/3527/
DN European Champs Underway
Hey Gang- The DN Euro Champs are underway and Chris Berger is the only guy there waving the US Flag- be sure to send some good vibes his way!
Click the link and follow the action-
Stay tuned to this site for the next local news- the weather the last few days has been interesting to say the least but then again this IS New England; there must be sailable ice somewhere!
T US 5224
Deb Whitehorse Honored!
This just in from out west via Mike Bloom- all of us in New England also send our congrats and appreciation for all you’ve done- you’ve been a great friend to be class and the people in it!
Here’s the article:
IDNIYRA Executive Secretary Deb Whitehorse was honored, among others, Saturday evening by Lake City Minnesota Mayor Mark Nichols when she was presented with a “Key to the City.”
Lake City has a deep and rich iceboat history and had just hosted the DN Western Region Championships, the ISA’s and the Northwestern’s over three consecutive weekends. The Mayor cited Deb’s longstanding commitment and dedication to the great sport of iceboating as the reason for her selection.
Mayor Nichols presented the award during the Northwestern Regatta which was sailed on Lake Pepin.
Scratch Racing & More Friday!
Hello all-
A group of NEIYA sailors will be scratch racing on Quaboag Pond in Brookfield, MA tomorrow starting at about 10 AM.
If you have a DN or any type of iceboat come join the fun. Racing will be informal and cautious.
Not racing ok come out for a cruise and join in if you ever thought about racing. Who knows you might even catch the competitive spirit.
Hope for some good weather and will see you there!
Think ICE…..
James “T” Thieler
New England Ice Yacht Association 
