Meanwhile On LI….
….Scott and the gang took advantage of the big breeze the other day to get this bad-boy out for a spin. Watch out for these guys this season, they’ve been in the zone and working on gear all summer….
Deja Vu Yet AGAIN
Just as I thought the sailing sled topic had run it’s course this little photo was sent in from WI by Deb at the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club.
This is impressive- I get the dogs, the sails make sense, but what’s with the little wheel in back? Does it measure distance? Speed? Both?
Anyone know where, what and when? Leave a comment if you do-
Think Ice! T
DEJA VU Cont’d….
Colin Duncan from Kingston, Ontario weighs in on the sailing sled photo with this tidbit-
I’m still amazed that no one has weighed in with a critique of sail trim and / or runner selection….
T,
The photo of the sleds suggests maybe a northern Canadian lake, such as Great Slave, even Winnipegosis (favourite name). The ice is so smooth (and flat) it is hard to believe it is an Arctic or Antarctic scene. My wife, an historian of Canada working on energy history, thinks she has seen the pic somewhere before. Last year flying out to the ASEH conference in Seattle I saw the frozen southern part of Lake Winnipeg, an almost perfect circle fragment in shape. Amazingly alluring but there seemed to be nobody at all using it.
Cheers, Colin
Deja Vu Follow-Up
Hey Folks- You may have seen the photo I put up awhile ago of the guys hauling the sled with the square sail on it-
My father saw it and followed up with the email below- interesting stuff and a reminder to not get casual about cold-weather safety. Read on:
T —
See if anyone comes up with this.
I believe this may be the ill-fated Scott expedition setting out for the south pole. They all froze to death – the last of them not far from camp. c. 1910-1912-ish
The sleds are being man-hauled, typically British – they totally eschewed dogs as being beneath them – Amundson beat them to the pole with his dogs and skis by about a month – in fact for him the trip was a walk in the park and reported as quite uneventful. As planned, late in the trip, as he discarded useless stuff, he ate some of the dogs.
Scott did have dogs, ponys, and a kind of primitive snow-mobile, and they did have sails for when the wind was favorable.
The untested -except in England – snow-mobiles failed very rapidly in the frigid antarctic conditions – I think the oil solidified, all sorts of mechanical breakdowns, they fell into crevasses, etc.
They never practiced sledging with dogs, or skis – just loaded them on the boat figuring that educated English gentlemen could learn to do it in a few days after they got on the ice. They also found the unruly nature of the dogs to be tiresome.
The horses needed too much food – horsepower to pounds of hay ratio not good.
They did use all of these modalities to get started but they all turned back and the five doomed men started the trek south.
One of many fabulous stories of dramatically courageous, first rate, tragedies involving the adventure-hungry Brits.
Go wow your friends.
Ed Thieler
*As you may have gathered, my dad is wicked smahht!! Thanks Ed!
Iceboat Swap Meets! Hard-water Season Begins….
The winter sailing season is coming up fast! If you are interested in getting into iceboating find a swap meet and club meeting near you, pick up some gear and get ready to enjoy the fastest sailing on the planet! Make this the year….
Skeeter Iceboat Club 31st Annual Swap Meet
Sunday, October 30, 2016; 9 to noon, followed by raffle
Lucke’s Cantina, 220 N. Elkhorn Rd. (WI Hwy 67), Williams Bay, WI
For more information, email sailing19
This is the Grand-Daddy of all swap meets. More equipment changes hands at this swap meet than all others combined. There will be Skeeters, Renegades, Arrows, Nites, DN’s and who knows what else. Boat builders and hardware manufacturers will all set up displays. If you want to buy or sell something (or simply shoot the bull!) this is the place to be. All the big names of iceboating show up for this one.Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club Saturday, November 5, 2016 10 AM – 3 PM Gull Lake Country Club, 9725 W Gull Lake Dr, Richland, MI 49083 For more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/280198766052/
New England Ice Yacht Club Fall Meeting & Swap Meet
Saturday, November 5, 2016 9 AM – Noon
Knights of Columbus Hall, 17 Willow St, Westborough, MA 01581.
For more information: https://theneiya.org/
The swap meet starts at 9AM in the parking lot, lunch and meeting starts at noon in the hall. There will be great door prizes…. Put it on your calendars folks! Start digging out all the gear you want to sell or trade and start making a list of anything you’d like to bring up at the meeting.
Sailcrafters 8th Annual Iceboat Swap Meet
Saturday, November 5, 2016 10 AM- 1 PM
7450 Oxford Street, St. Louis Park, MN 55426
More information: Phone: 952-693-6089 E-Mail: tim
Tim Carlson of Sailcrafters is hosting again. This swap meet is popular with the Minnetonka, White Bear and Bald Eagle sailors. There promises to be lots of DN and Nite equipment along with several complete boats. We may even see a C-Skeeter courtesy of “Drifter.” Anyone looking to upgrade equipment or buy a complete boat is encouraged to attend. This is also the perfect opportunity to talk with Tim about hardware and rigging questions. And, it’s the right time to drop off that sail that needs repair. Email Tim at timChickawaukie Ice Boat Club in Maine
Sunday, November 6, 2016
12 Chretien Rd, Biddeford, ME
For more information https://iceboat.me/
Great follow-up to the NEIYA meeting. Great variety of gear and food at this one!
Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Yacht Club Swap Meet
Saturday, December 10, 2016 1 – 4 pm
Weeks Yacht Yard, 10 Riverview Ct, Patchogue, NY 11772
More information: http://iceboatlongisland.com/
Food and drinks will be supplied by the club free of charge! What else could one ask for?For more information about ice sailing:
North American DN Association http://na.idniyra.org/
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club, Madison, WI http://iceboat.org/index.htmlNew England Ice Yachting Association https://theneiya.org/
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Swap Meet List- Find one near you!
The winter sailing season is coming up fast! If you are interested in getting into iceboating find a swap meet and club meeting near you, pick up some gear and get ready to enjoy the fastest sailing on the planet! Make this the year no matter where you are….
Skeeter Iceboat Club 31st Annual Swap Meet
Sunday, October 30, 2016; 9 to noon, followed by raffle
Lucke’s Cantina, 220 N. Elkhorn Rd. (WI Hwy 67), Williams Bay, WI
For more information, email sailing19
This is the Grand-Daddy of all swap meets. More equipment changes hands at this swap meet than all others combined. There will be Skeeters, Renegades, Arrows, Nites, DN’s and who knows what else. Boat builders and hardware manufacturers will all set up displays. If you want to buy or sell something (or simply shoot the bull!) this is the place to be. All the big names of iceboating show up for this one.
Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club
Saturday, November 5, 2016 10 AM – 3 PM
Gull Lake Country Club, 9725 W Gull Lake Dr, Richland, MI 49083
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/280198766052/
New England Ice Yacht Club Fall Meeting & Swap Meet
Saturday, November 5, 2016 9 AM – Noon
Knights of Columbus Hall, 17 Willow St, Westborough, MA 01581.
For more information: https://theneiya.org/
The swap meet starts at 9AM in the parking lot, lunch and meeting starts at noon in the hall. There will be great door prizes…. Put it on your calendars folks! Start digging out all the gear you want to sell or trade and start making a list of anything you’d like to bring up at the meeting.
Sailcrafters 8th Annual Iceboat Swap Meet
Saturday, November 5, 2016 10 AM- 1 PM
7450 Oxford Street, St. Louis Park, MN 55426
More information: Phone: 952-693-6089 E-Mail: tim
Tim Carlson of Sailcrafters is hosting again. This swap meet is popular with the Minnetonka, White Bear and Bald Eagle sailors. There promises to be lots of DN and Nite equipment along with several complete boats. We may even see a C-Skeeter courtesy of “Drifter.” Anyone looking to upgrade equipment or buy a complete boat is encouraged to attend. This is also the perfect opportunity to talk with Tim about hardware and rigging questions. And, it’s the right time to drop off that sail that needs repair. Email Tim at tim
Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club in Maine
Sunday, November 6, 2016
12 Chretien Rd, Biddeford, ME
For more information https://iceboat.me/
Great follow-up to the NEIYA meeting. Great variety of gear and food at this one!
Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Yacht Club Swap Meet
Saturday, December 10, 2016 1 – 4 pm
Weeks Yacht Yard, 10 Riverview Ct, Patchogue, NY 11772
More information: http://iceboatlongisland.com/
Food and drinks will be supplied by the club free of charge! What else could one ask for?
For more information about ice sailing:
North American DN Association http://na.idniyra.org/
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club, Madison, WI http://iceboat.org/index.html
New England Ice Yachting Association https://theneiya.org/
Lessons For The Upcoming Towing Season
Pretty scary what a little weight in the wrong place can do. There will be miles on the road. Let’s all arrive safely and ready to race.
Some comments on the above. http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=177248&hl=&_ga=1.8417397.1359727180.1475575504
Think Ice,
T
Deja Vu, Anyone?
Found this photo online…. No idea where or when it was taken but it looks like the gang is having a long slow slog…. Good thing they have the sail up, I’m guessing every bit of help counts given what they are doing-
I’m sure we’ve all spent a bit of time pushing and/or dragging gear around- great exercise but doesn’t exactly peg the fun-meter!
Here’s hoping we don’t have to do much dragging this season- Think ICE!!
Product Adaptation
If you know Dave Fortier you know he spends a lot of time in the shop, fiddling with this, improving that, and modifying the other thing.
Not just iceboat related stuff either- maybe you’ve seen the bridge/tunnel/aqueduct his goldfish have to swim through to get fed. Or his swiveling wood stove. Or the iceboats he’s put together over the years….
Well he is at it again and checks in with his new gizmo for carrying two runners in a three runner bag- Check it out!
I have adapted the 3 blade bag to work with runners that have built in stiffeners. I built the modification out of PVC board, glued together with PVC pipe dope. Thought this might interest some hardwater sailor in the house. Thinking Ice!
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Musto And Iceboating
Hey Folks- Looks like Czech DN-er Vaxlav Hendrych made the Musto catalog- click the link and take a look!
http://www.musto.com/our-world/blog/ice-sailor-vaclav-hendrych
Lake Ronkonkoma Club Swap Meet Is ON
Ralph Hilbert checks in with this bulletin:
I met with Kevin Weeks yesterday and it was agreed that the annual Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Yacht Club Swap Meet will be held on Saturday December 10th from 1 to 4 pm at Weeks Yacht Yard in Patchogue, NY.
Officers meeting at 11am.
Start thinking on what you’ll be needing for the upcoming season and what you want to sell.
As usual food and drinks will be supplied by the club free of charge.
Hope to see many of you there.
Think ICE!
Ralph
DN 5428
Iceboats And More At Greenport!
Hey Folks- The East End Maritime Festival is in full swing in Greenport, NY, Sept. 23-25.
Scott Valentine has checked in and tells us that there are several ice boats to look at-
Mike Acebo and Co. are out there displaying iceboats and waving the hard-water flag. Not only that but it looks like they are building a boat in front right at the scene- see the photo of Acebo working on Bob Boyle’s new boat!
Also on display are lots of wooden soft-water boats built by local Long Island craftsman.
If you’re still not convinced be advised that the entire down town Greenport is loaded with arts and craft vendors as well as local beers from local breweries! This festival usually attracts 7,000 to 10,000 visitors annually and with the great weather forecast this year should be another good one.
Great time is always a guarantee. Head on out, take a look, see the boats and have a beer with the guys!
All the info you need here-
http://www.eastendmaritimefestival.org/
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IceBoats On Display!
Hey Folks- The East End Maritime Festival is on the way in Greenport, NY, Sept. 23-25.
Mike Acebo and Ralph Hilbert have checked in and tell us that there will be several ice boats set up for display.
According to Ralph they usually have a few DN’s, J14’s, Skimmers plus some old antique stern steerers. Hopefully this year a bubble boat will make an appearance as well as the famous stern steerer Cold Wave.
Also on display are lots of wooden boats built by local Long Island craftsman.
Entire down town Greenport is loaded with arts and craft vendors as well as local beers. This festival attracts 7,000 to 10,000 visitors every year!
Great time is always a guarantee. Head on out and take a look!
Mike Acebo is the ice boat coordinator for the event. If someone from NEIYA would like to display something unique or volunteer a bubble boat, he’s the contact guy. Give him a shout-
All the info you need here-
http://www.eastendmaritimefestival.org/
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James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
INSERT RUNNERS WANTED!!
Eastern Rear Commodore Chad Atkins is on a mission to find homes for any under-used runners that may be lurking around NE and beyond…..
He writes:
I hope some of these cool mornings are starting to get people fired up for some good hardwater sailing this year and into their garages, basements and shops to start getting ready.
I’ve had a lot of interest in finding insert runners to help people get their programs moving forward for this season. If anyone out there has T’s, 1/4″ X 36″, 3/16″ X 36″ or 3/16″ X 30″ insert runners I am looking to get these into the right hands and get them on the ice if you’re not using them anymore.
Any other questions on getting into racing DN’s this year send me a note and we’ll get you set up and on the ice.
Best, Chad
Chad Atkins- Eastern Rear Commodore
Catkins4487@gmail.com
MORE INVADERS…. IN CATAMARANS THIS TIME!
No sooner did we send Derusha and Co. back to Wisconsin than we fine folks in NE were subjected to another onslaught of iceboaters from out west (and down south).
The A-Class catamaran North American Champs were held in Newport and drew a few DN sailors from around the country.
NJ DN stalwart Dave Clapp got tired of looking for crew to sail doublehanded cats with him so he picked up an A-Class at the last minute and made it to Race 1 just in time. See first photo….
John Harper is another veteran DN campaigner who does the A-Cat thing in the summer. He was in from Detroit and was all smiles as usual- Second photo, hull #24, big grin….
Matt Struble was in from California, sailing a slick looking silver boat. Matt has sailed DNs for years and has had a bit of success on the DN regatta circuit…. by which I mean a pair of World Champs, a few NA champs, and at least one European Championship to his credit. Knows how to sail an A-Cat too it seems, he took this regatta as well. See photos 3,4, 5, sail # 183.
Bora Gulari just did the Olympics in the multihull class and (I think) has a bunch of Moth titles (including a Worlds or two?) to his credit. He hails from the Detroit area as well and sails a DN every now and then so we will claim him too! Hope to see him delve deeper into the DN world… Come on dude! Soft water is over-rated! See photo four, sail # 83, black hulls.
Great to see all of these guys buzzing around the course in one of the few soft-water craft that can deliver DN-type thrills…. Looking forward to seeing all of them at the Western Challenge in (Holy Smokes!!) about two months or so….
To see results click here http://www.acatnorthamericans.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Race1-9overallfinal.pdf
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MIDWEST INVADERS
We had a little visit from notable Wisconsin iceboater (and smoked fish and pickled egg purveyor) Mike Derusha and crew a few weeks ago.
They were in Mattapoisett MA for the Ensign NA champs and took a little side trip down to Newport to check out the big boat scene and say hello. As you can see in the photo, we certainly found some big boats to gawk at!
Great to see those guys and hang out somewhere besides a frozen parking lot.
Mike is no doubt back in WI getting to work on a DN…. Or a Skeeter…. Or a stern-steerer…. Seriously. This guy has the bug bad…..
Looking forward to seeing them and everyone else when the lakes lock up……
Think Ice!
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MAINE TRAINING
Former NEIYA Commodore and hard-water stalwart Eben Whitcomb has been up north galavanting around and seeing what the MAINE crowd is up to.
He ended up at the helm of Doug Raymond’s Drascombe skiff, terrifying the innocent people on the various schooners and lobster boats in the area. The TIMBERWND is in the photo, having miraculously avoided this madman.
When I asked Doug if it had been a good idea to let Eben steer he replied that one can only listen to “Can I drive? Can I drive? Can I drive?….” for so long….
Little nip in the air this morning…. Won’t be long now- think ice!
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
SEPTEMBER RUNNER TRACKS ONLINE!
Hey Gang- The September issue of the DN Class newsletter “RUNNER TRACKS” is online and ready to view- This issue features an article by the NEIYA’s own Chad Atkins and the latest ranking list as well-
Click the link and check it out! T
Runner Tracks – DN North America
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James “T” Thieler
12 Channing St.
Newport, RI 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
DANCING SKATES
Great video here of how the iceboating game was played back in the day in Germany- Features everything from building, measuring, runner selection, and of course racing and wipeouts! Enjoy-
Stairs 1, Vice Commodore Stanton O
Vice Commodore John Stanton is pumped up for the upcoming hard water season. I mean really, really pumped up. In fact he just couldn’t resist the chance to slip and break his wrist now rather than wait for, say, an icy parking lot or something sensible like that. So instead he tripped and took a header down some stairs.
Amazingly, alcohol was not a factor in the tumble.
He did not hit his head on the concrete steps, which fortunately means the steps weren’t damaged.
Good news is he will be out of the cast and back in action by the time it gets cold out.
Feel free to contact him and offer him a lesson on how to negotiate tricky obstacles like stairs,sidewalks, and hallways….
Get well soon John!
James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
Iceboats On Display- East End Maritime Festival Coming Up
Hey Folks- The East End Maritime Festival is on the way in Greenport, NY, Sept. 23-25.
Mike Acebo and Ralph Hilbert have checked in and tell us that there will be several ice boats set up for display.
According to Ralph they usually have a few DN’s, J14’s, Skimmers plus some old antique stern steerers. Hopefully this year a bubble boat will make an appearance as well as the famous stern steerer Cold Wave.
Also on display are lots of wooden boats built by local Long Island craftsman.
Entire down town Greenport is loaded with arts and craft vendors as well as local beers. This festival attracts 7,000 to 10,000 visitors every year!
Great time is always a guarantee. Head on out and take a look!
Mike Acebo is the ice boat coordinator for the event. If someone from NEIYA would like to display something unique or volunteer a bubble boat, he’s the contact guy. Give him a shout-
All the info you need here-
http://www.eastendmaritimefestival.org/
Think ICE! T
James “T” Thieler
12 Channing St.
Newport, RI 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
Anyone Want To Go To Siberia???
It may be more possible than you think! The Baikal Sailing Week is coming up fast and is surely one of the more unique DN regattas anywhere in the world. It will be held this spring following the European Champs.
I’ve heard amazing tales from this one, stories from both on the ice and off. The photos and videos look amazing. Lake Baikal is a fascinating body of water, even more so when you put a bunch of iceboats on it!
There has been a some interest from some New Englanders in going this year, and whether you are a seriously competitive sailor or not this event has a high adventure-factor!
Getting there is half the fun- We have to let the organizers know how many souls we may be bringing along so if you are interested give me a shout at t_thieler@yahoo.com or 401 258 6230 and I can give the organizers an idea. More information on this on the website: www.baikaliceyachtracing.eu
We have been looking into shipping boats directly from the east coast but it looks like it may make the most sense to go with the European group. They have a routine established at this point. The shipping container leaves from Germany and gets packed up following the European Champs. My own plan is to fly over with all gear, do European Champs, ship it all to Baikal with the container, somehow get to the regatta (either stay over or fly home for awhile), do the regatta, and get my gear back over the summer. Maybe sort of complicated but hey, I’ve always wanted to see Siberia.
The guys that spearhead this thing every year want to see more Americans over there and extend a big invite- the more the merrier! So take a look at the website and let me know if you’re up for it- Clock is ticking so get after it!
Think Ice! T
James “T” Thieler
12 Channing St.
Newport, RI 02840
401 258 6230
t_thieler
Time To Get Crackin’….
“Good time now to be working on those nicks and scratches from last winter…”
Sage and timely advice from Lee Spiller- thanks for the photo and words of wisdom! Time to start racking up the garage and shop time folks….
Think Ice!
Olympic Medal Races
Hey Folks- If you missed today’s medal races in Rio you missed some good ones- there was breeze and I don’t want to give anything away but “I laughed! I cried! I cheered out loud!!!” as the movie reviewers say-
There were four races in all, Women’s and Men’s 470 followed by 49er (men) and 49erFX (women) skiffs.
Maybe you can catch the replays- Check the links below. There is also an NBC Sports app (I had the best luck with this) out there if you are a Smartphone person. I think MSNBC or SMNBC or some combination of those letters may be showing it as well- Check local listings etc….
Good luck and happy viewing! T
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2016/07/26/sailing-rio-2016-olympic-games/
http://www.nbcolympics.com/
New England Ice Yacht Association 