Here it is folks- GREAT ice, puffy shifty breeze, 8 boats…. Not the biggest regatta ever but we got ‘er done and had an awesome day. Nice way to ring out the year!!

1. T Thieler. 4
2. Greg Cornelious. 6
3. Doug Raymond. 9
4. Dave Fortier. 14
5. Steve Madden. 14
6. Ed Adams. 17
7. Chris Mayer. 30
8. Andrew Pimental. 38

James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler

Hey Folks- We pulled it off- 2014 NE champs done and dusted.

A small but elite fleet sailed on some AWESOME ice in decent breeze and got six races in.

Results will be up soon but now it’s time to eat a big dinner and not even try to stay awake until midnight.

Great way to wrap up the year- Here’s to the upcoming season!!

Recap

Cheers, T

James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler

Based on a good report this AM we are calling the New England’s on for tomorrow at Pushaw Lake near Bangor, ME. Launch will be from Goulds Landing at the south end of the lake

Skippers meeting in the launch area at ten, first race at eleven.

THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OPEN AREA NEAR THE LAUNCH- we are hoping this will lock up but as always don’t venture out onto the plate without talking with people who have already been out.

That is all for now- Stay tuned to this site for further details.

See y’all tomorrow!!

James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler

The primary site for the 2014 New England Champs (Pushaw Lake near Bangor, ME) was scouted today and found to still have cracks and hazards. Cold temps tonight and tomorrow may lock it up but we can only call a regatta “on” tentatively at this point-

So we are still hoping to get a regatta in on Wednesday but only if we get some good news tomorrow-

IN THE EVENT that we do get race-able ice on Pushaw the launch site will be announced here, the first start will be at 11AM, scoring will be done using “The Maine System” unless someone wants to volunteer, and three or more boats of any class will get their own start. NIA rules apply, waivers must be signed and bring proof of insurance as usual. Come one come all, novice to expert- rookies and old boats welcome- Will have a prize for the top “Classic”….

We have also been hearing some good news from our eyes in the skies about the northern end of Lake Champlain…. More on this story as it develops! Could be some good sailing in the first days of the new year.

Stay tuned to this site for details- fingers crossed!

T

James “T” Thieler

Quick update gang-

The bad news: Pushaw Lake up near Bangor was sailed yesterday and some cracks and thin spots were found- No injuries and minimal drama I’m happy to report. Careful on that early season ice, folks!

The good news: Apart from those hazards the plate is pretty good and some very cold nights are on the way that hopefully will lock it all up by Wednesday-

Thanks to the Maine guys for the scouting and reporting- see the CIBC site for the full report and analysis http://iceboat.me/

So we are still thinking of a New Year’s Eve Regatta (actually the 2014 New Englands) this Wednesday-

Stay tuned to this site and get your gear ready! Time to get this season going!

Think Ice!

T

OK folks, we didn’t get the New England Champs in last season and with the clock ticking down on the year we are toying with the idea of a mid-week regatta; most likely this Wednesday…. Here is the thinking:

1- We are getting reports of ice up in Maine- people are sailing Pushaw Lake up near Bangor today, if it’s good we may have a venue. Far enough north that sailors from the far side of the St. Lawrence can get there too!

2- Weather looks a bit “iffy” over the weekend but better starting about Tuesday.

3- While we generally sail on weekends we figure most people are off this week anyway and we can give about three days notice so people can plan and travel.

4- As mentioned above it would be good to get the 2014 NE champs in the books.

5- The Gold Cup and North American Champs are around the corner and we all need to do all the sailing we can before then!!!

6- It’s just plain time to get this season going! So plan on a mid-week regatta, get your gear loaded up and ready, tell the family you are gonna be stepping out out for a little while on New Year’s Eve, and stay tuned to this site for details!

Think Ice!! T.

If the dishes are piling up but your boat is looking all clean and put together your priorities are either perfectly in order or way out of whack.

If you’ve been stepping over the DN on your kitchen floor for at least a week without giving it a thought that may shed a little light on your gram of mind…

But it may be time to get the boat out of the kitchen/garage/shop/living room and on the car because we are getting reports from our gang in Maine about some potentially sweet sailing spots- See the CIBC site for details- Get crackin’ folks!

Think Ice!

James “T” Thieler

A good time was had by all.  There were lots of tails ice stories from past seasons as well as fresh ones from the recent Western Challenge Wisconsin. Behind the chatter, real work was going on.

A three man team attacked the rows of dull and some lacking any edge at all blades.  Eben looked over each blade with a keen eye and light box and made recommendations as to how best sharpen it.  Many were sent upstairs to Steve.  Where for the first time at it’s new home in the Lamb shop’s crows nest and Whiz construction platform the Leonizing/Healyomatic runner profiler, sharpener and re-conditioner was used to grind an initial edge in preparation for the final sharpening.  Eric once again manned the grinder and smoothly drew each blade across the belt for most of the day.  A big thank you to Eric and the rest of the runner sharpening gang.

Thanks to Linda Lamb everyone was well fed with a great assortment of food and goodies.  Every time I turned my back the onion dip bowel was filled again.  Sour cream and onion, one of my favorites.

Steve thanks for opening up your shop to the hoards of ice boaters.   Hope to see your new and very own Whiz hitting the ice soon.

Won’t be long now.  Keep your eyes open to reports coming in from our friends in Maine at iceboat.me.  We could have some New England sailing before Christmas.

Sail Fast and Sail Safe,

John Stanton
NEIYA Vice Commodore

Up and at ’em folks, the Tune Up Clinic is today! Looking forward to seeing everyone, novices and veterans alike, at Steve Lamb’s shop later today-

See boats and gear, get some blades tuned up, see the gang, learn a few things, and enjoy some hot food and cold drinks….

Date, time and address is below, for more details and directions scroll down the page a little-

Cheers! T

Saturday, December 13th
11:00 to 3:00pm
Arthur C. Lamb Co
85 Jackson St., Canton, MA 02021

Greetings from the proud highway-

We are headed home following a stellar day on the ice- Good breeze, clear ice, three races for each fleet (DN Gold, DN Silver, Renegade and Ice Opti). Full-on, warped out high speed sailing! Awesome.

Flat sails and flat runners were the order of the day- That and keeping your head out of the boat and keeping it moving forward- FAST!

The charge was led by Ron Sherry with John Dennis and Mark “The Doctor” Christensen rounding out the top three- Yours truly in fourth after making Ron look over his shoulder all day…. Oliver and Eric stayed high in the top ten- Our Canadian friends did well too- All shits and grins!! See Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club page for full results-

We used Darling marks and eliminated the safety zone at the finish to the delight of all- The course is way safer and not dealing w the safety zone is (ironically) less dangerous and makes life for the committee much easier- Many more races per day are possible with this system!! More on all of this later….

Thanks to John Dennis for dreaming this event up, to Springers Restaurant for hosting us (great parking lot and even better once you get inside!), to Deb Whitehorse and Loretta Rehe for scoring, Peter ? For being race committee- All much appreciated!

And what update would be complete without an action photo from the back of the van? For your viewing pleasure, behold the team…

Think Ice!

James “T” Thieler

Hey Folks-

Some good sailing out here in Wisconsin! Very good ice and decent breeze saw about five races done- Over seventy boats showed up so we have good racing in Gold and Silver fleets-

Some real talent in the Gold and some classics in the Silver! Put this one on your list for next year…

Enough speed and rig bending going on to remind us all why we make the trip!

New England showing well, see the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club website for results.

Great as yesterday was I have to say that there are a lot of dinged and damaged boats- Not sure why but there were more than the normal number of scrapes and bumps- Maybe early in the season, I dunno. All I can say keep your eyes open and sail safe-

Think Ice!! T

James “T” Thieler12 Channing St.
Newport, RI. 02840

401 258 6230
t_thieler