Hey Gang-

It was a good day all around on South Watuppa as all manner of craft were out and about (Whizzes, Skimmers, and some other miscellaneous craft) including a dozen or so DNs racing for the NE Regional Championship!

West winds made for big shifts and well-defined puffs so heads-up sailing was the order of the day. The mental game was one of not getting upset when the other boats had the puffs or lifts; In those conditions it’s important to remember that the boats in front of you will likely also draw a short straw at some point in the race….

We all owe a huge round of applause to Nina Fleming for once again tabulating the scores in real time from her house in Maine and to George Williams for making the ultimate sacrifice of not sailing his own boat on a great day in order to start races, run races, keep score of the races, finish the races, and make sure the rest of us got to play!

Full results below but in 5th was The Man From Nantucket, Chris Gordon with 22 points. 4Th was claimed by The Terror Of Swan Island, Jeff Roseberry. In 3rd was the man with the best hair in the NEIYA, Paul Chamberland. In a close second was Karen The Red Baron Binder. 1st was claimed (barely) by James “T” Thieler (insert your own funny nickname here).

Over the course of six races several people had moments of glory and some great, fast downwind legs!

Results here:
https://www.sailwave.com/results/2025_New_Engand_DN_Championship.htm

Thanks to all for showing up; There will be some scratch racing at the same place tomorrow for anyone who wants to show up.

Next up, Gold Cup and North American champs; See IDNIYRA site for details!

Groups were out on Webster and S. Watuppa. The Race gang, as you know, will be setting up marks and hosting the New England Championships. Read T’s reports from earlier in the day for details. Cruisers will certainly be back so come on down. Bob S. and company will be sailing on Webster tomorrow. Details below.

For those interested in the Watuppa area weather a local weather station can be reached on Weather Underground for hyper focused wind etc. reporting. Check it out here and thanks Alex.

We have a couple newbies coming down to Watuppa tomorrow. Be on the alert and share whatever you know about iceboating.

• Webster Lake: Open and ready for action, with confirmed activity reported by local ice sailor Bob S. launching from Waterfront Mary’s 103 Birch Island Rd, Webster, MA 01570 – unload than move vehicles to the parking lot across the street.
• Long Pond, Lakeville: Sailing has been underway for days, and a strong turnout is expected this weekend. No reports of people sailing there at the moment but would not be surprised if some launch tomorrow
• Watuppa Pond, Fall River: Recently sailed and ready to go some will be out Friday an into the weekend I’m sure Jefferson St Ext, Fall River, MA 02721
• Quaboag Pond: Off-limits this weekend due to the Lions Club Annual Fishing Derby. However, organizers assure fans that the venue will be back in the mix soon.
• Ashumet Pond: Locked up but awaiting further scouting, as noted by Brian Langley.

New York:
In an exciting development, Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island is making waves in the ice boating community. After a decade-long hiatus, the lake has been scouted and sailed, and plans are underway for the Long Island Championship Regatta, tomorrow hosted by the Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat and Yacht Club. With final confirmation expected soon, the regatta promises to attract a diverse fleet of racers and cruisers.

New Jersey:

And the long wait at Redbank is over. It is reported that they will be sailing over the weekend and people will likely be out tomorrow.

See you on the ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Hey Gang-

If you are planning to race in the NE DN Champs at South Watuppa Pond this weekend read and know these documents!

Registration at 9:30 at the launch!

See you there….

2025 New England Region Championship NOR.odt

2025 New England Region Championship Sailing Instructions.odt

Hey Folks-

The NE DN champs will be held this weekend at South Watuppa Pond in Fall River, MA.

Access from South Watuppa Boat Ramp at the end of Jefferson St. on the west side of the lake.

Registration starts at 9:30 AM at the launch. Fee is $20 cash.

Skippers meeting at 10:30 at the launch, first race to follow by noon.

Will post NOR and SIs tonight.

Skippers must be paid up NEIYA members and show proof of $300,000 liability insurance. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Most likely the regatta will be a two day event BUT if we manage to get it done Saturday there will be scratch racing on Sunday for anyone who wants it.

Awards will be given for top three overall and best finish in least up-to-date boat.

Stay tuned to the NEIYA site for details!

Contact T Thieler with any questions at 401 258 6230.

Hey Gang- IF we do the NE champs this weekend on South Watuppa we I’ll need someone to wave the flags start and finish races and also write down the finishes.

If you are interested in volunteering call or email James “T” Thieler at 401 258 6230 or
t_thieler@yahoo.com

Thanks! Look forward to hearing from you.

Hey Gang-

Be advised we are going to attempt to hold the New England DN Champs this weekend!

All signs are pointing toward South Watuppa Pond in Fall River, MA.

Ice reports are good and we will be scouting it again tomorrow morning and will make a final announcement. Weather looks good as well with breeze Saturday and Sunday.

Plenty of restaurants (we will do a group dinner on Saturday night) and hotels in the area and if anyone breaks a boat we can fix it in my garage in Newport.

Stay tuned to New England Ice Yacht Association for details. Be advised that to compete you must:

1) Be an active NEIYA member.
2) SHOW PROOF THAT YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF $300,000 PERSONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE. NO EXCEPTIONS.
3) Have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the racing rules.

Racing will be primarily for DN Class ice yachts but three or more boats of any class that show up will be given their own start.

An award for the best finish in the least up-to-date boat will be given out as well.

Look forward to seeing everyone!

Reap the Cold Sow. After the good cold encountered across the entire region, it is time to get out and take advantage of the good ice left behind. Many places that we have not sailed in years are in play. As we always say

Massachusetts has returned and as one web comment stated we are “finally seeing ice that is not in Maine”. Not that there is anything wrong with Maine. Many of us have spent countless days on her lakes and ponds over the past couple years. Below is what we know right now. More details will likely come out on tonight’s call.

• Webster Lake: Open and ready for action, with confirmed activity reported by local ice sailor Bob S. launching from Waterfront Mary’s 103 Birch Island Rd, Webster, MA 01570 – unload than move vehicles to the parking lot across the street.
• Long Pond, Lakeville: Sailing has been underway for days, and a strong turnout is expected this weekend.
• Watuppa Pond, Fall River: Recently sailed and ready to go some will be out Friday an into the weekend I’m sure Jefferson St Ext, Fall River, MA 02721
• Quaboag Pond: Off-limits this weekend due to the Lions Club Annual Fishing Derby. However, organizers assure fans that the venue will be back in the mix soon.
• Ashumet Pond: Locked up but awaiting further scouting, as noted by Brian Langley.

New York:
In an exciting development, Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island is making waves in the ice boating community. After a decade-long hiatus, the lake has been scouted and sailed, and plans are underway for the Long Island Championship Regatta, hosted by the Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat and Yacht Club. With final confirmation expected soon, the regatta promises to attract a diverse fleet of racers and cruisers.

This season’s return of ice sailing is a testament to the passion and perseverance of our community. For more details and event schedules, visit iceboatlongisland.com for more info on Lake Ronkonkoma

Other New York venues are still under review—stay tuned for updates.

New Jersey:

And the long wait at Redbank is over. It is reported that they will be sailing over the weekend and people will likely be out tomorrow.

Seeking advice on upgrade to Arrow Iceboat Front Runner Chock Steering.
I am looking for advice on adding oilite bushing tubes and a spring to the front steering chock on my 1970’s vintage arrow iceboat. Full writeup with pictures here

I will be on the call tonight or reach out to me at ted15921594@gmail.com

Thanks,

Ted

Join in on tonight’s call to discuss the above venues and if you have any advice for Ted’s Arrow steering refit please chime in or email him

See you on the ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

I’m looking for photos from earlier Hardway runs on Lake Winnipesaukee. I’ve got some nice ones from like 2015 on but nothing earlier especially, from the first runs. I’d like to run at slide show for the iceboat display at the New Hampshire Boat Museum In their new building on rt. 25 in Moultonboro, NH. Thanks for any help. If you have an old print, perhaps a phone shot will suffice.

Thanks

Hey Gang-

Chris Goodhue shot some good stuff last weekend; Take a look here and feel free to contact him if you want to get one for your wall!

Eastern Region DN Championship 2025 – APF Photography

Many thanks Chris! Hope to see you in a boat soon….

T US 5224

Better late than never with this one;

Be sure to click the link and read up on what is going on in the DN class!

Runner Tracks – DN North America

So as the trailer lights are now fully functional, I was able to join the crowd at Elacoya, although on Sunday. I launched and crossed the infamous “moat” that seems to always appear here and made my way out at the end of the first race. It was then disclosed the racing was done. I hung around a got a few racing hints while the majority of racers packed up and headed back.

About this time my current sailing pal showed up and we decided to explore some. We’re a couple of locals and have spent more than a few days on Winni, as we affectionately know her as. Hoping the snow prediction was a big hoax, we’d thought to checkout a possible Hardway. I knew Wolfeboro bay was good so we headed to Parker island. Didn’t quite make it but that end of the route looked good but rough. Back for lunch, and with wind and ice holding well, we thought to head up to Meredith. Sailing inside the first moat we headed up along Welch and made it to tip of Governor’s Island. With the afternoon waning, we started back only to find a sweet plate to chase each other back and forth on. Finally calling it quits headed back and packed up. With a short trip around the lake get back home, we inadvertently made a right hand turn into the local watering hole, something like barn and girl or similar. So with a glass raised we saluted another wonderful day, “All By Ourselves.”

Like many of us, we are awaiting nature’s Zamboni to work its magic. As I like to say after a day like this, “That’s another day they can’t take away from us.”

All good things come to an end — and this week, it was nature’s turn to remind us. A classic bout of New England’s unpredictable weather threw us a curve, but we’re nothing if not resilient. With colder temperatures settling in, the conditions are just right to build ice thickness and potentially freeze over some of the open water on our larger lakes.

Keep an eye on our larger lakes for new ice formation, and don’t forget to report updates on the lakes we’ve been sailing on.

On that note, Bob S. has a report to share.

We got about 4 inches of snow from the storm, the good news is its 90 percent grey today the temp is supposed to be 23 for a high today.

Colder the rest of the week .
We have a chance of sailing by Wednesday?  I will keep an eye on it.

Bob S

See you out on the ice soon,

John

John@neiya.org