There are a million great sailing photos of this regatta online. But I wanted to offer a peek into a typical morning at the hotel and off the lake.

Eben Whitcomb at breakfast shamelessly feeding his coffee while a disgusted Pete John’s looks on.

The notorious hotel waffle. God knows what is in these things and what the future health repercussions will be but damn are they tasty. And a little nauseating at the end.

Eben and Bob Haag smiling those big New England smiles.

Dave Frost’s dog helping check ice

Heading out of Newport RI to begin this little odyssey

Prince. Singer, guitar player, pop culture icon. Love him or hate you have to say he made an impression. Try to listen to “1999” and not move your booty just a little. Can’t be done. What’s this have to do w iceboating? His studio recording facility was a few miles from here. Operated now as a museum. His shoe collection is currently on display.

As always, it’s not just about the sailing!

Big day yesterday, honking wind, FAST speeds, three of the fastest weather mark roundings of my life, some broken gear and a few sore sailors rocking some ice packs today. More to come…..

T 5224

Good Morning:

The ice held up relatively well despite the Miami-like temperatures and with very strong winds in the morning. The Race Committee was able to get in four races before the wind died at 1:30 PM.

The silver qualifier and the first race for the gold fleet were in both in big breeze with powerful gusts. I had my ABSS sail up, but I put in a stiffer top batten and then loosened my rig slightly. I choose my 95 degree inserts, but the top sailors were sailing 100 degree inserts. When I got to the line, I saw one of my bolts that screws my plank in was rolling around in the cockpit with one of pins on my stud plate broken off. With no way to fix it, I just hoped the bumps and speed would not rip my plank off. For the gold fleet race, the left side was favored and I started on the right side. Go figure, but I was able to keep up with Ron and Chris Berger for most of the windward leg. Unfortunately, when we tacked over the left side was pretty much already at the mark. I kept sailing my race and finished a respectable 19th out of 38 boats.

For the second race, T suggested I put on my MS1 as four of the top sailors used that sail in the first race. I felt like the wind was dying, but after some back and forth with him I put on my MS1. When I got to the line, the breeze totally dropped out. Paniced, I looked back and saw several others (including T!) quickly changing their sails. I ran back to the pit and thanks to Paul Chamberland who was next to me, we were able to put my ABSS sail back on just before the RC said "Ready on the Left…"

The breeze was light, but I was able to get off the line well and built speed. I made it to the mark somewhere in the top 10. I just kept working to keep my speed on the downwind leg staying high and I was sliding forward hard for my gybes which powered the bow around to then catch the breeze. I was seeing people getting out of their boats pushing and I just was determined not to lose any speed. Approaching the finish line on my third downwind leg, I saw a lot of recognizable boats in the pit. Had I been passed? I was confident no one passed me, but worried a bit. When I got back T said many boats had been barded (lapped so they have to stop racing). I waited for the sheet to be posted. I finished 8th!

By the end of that race, the wind completely died and Race Committee said we were done. When we were heading back to pit, you could actually see waves of heat moving across the surface of the lake and the outdoor temperature display on the van dashboard was 61 degrees!

Video: https://vimeo.com/916958969

Results: https://iceresults.org/dn/2024nas.html

Good morning from Minnesota,

About twelve of us from New England are here and ready for the DN North Americans. We always seem to have great representation and I am sure the results will be strong for our group. Lake Waconia is the chosen spot, but T and Dave Frost, commodore of the IDNIYRA, spent the last two days driving between two locations in search of the best plate taking into consideration the upcoming weather. Two days ago Waconia had very hard "pancakes" or 2" raised bumps all over it and they made for significant challenges in big breeze. Warmer temperatures the last two afternoons have softened everything quite a bit which is fantastic.

With the wind predicted today, the more northern lake would have been just too hard on boats and bodies as no melting occurred. So, the final determination was to stay on Lake Waconia. What’s really weird is that the temperatures today are forecast to reach 60 F. That’s not a typo. And then by Tuesday night, the temperatures will drop to 6 F. Again, not a typo. We have no idea what the extreme fluctuations will cause.

With T scouting I have been sailing the last three days. Given how little sailing I have done this winter, it was great to scratch race with several others. Unfortunately, in the morning the hard bump caused my brake on one of my favorite front runners to flip over and got stuck beneath the runner while I was on a fast downwind leg. I stopped as soon as I could, but it was enough to cause a very significant gouge in the edge of the blade. No way to fix it before the regatta.

One of the challenges at the big regattas is equipment choice. You receive two stickers for your sail choice. Meaning, if you have three sails in your van you are only allowed to use two of them during the regatta. For runners, you receive nine stickers. With conditions being so variable it will make for important decisions each morning.

More to come as it all unfolds, melts, and then refreezes.

Karen Binder
DN 5630

8 boats on Wentworth today with wind to spare. Barn find stern steerer joined Cyclone for a thrilling day. One casualty as a BDX had a few issues. A ride on my gaffer helped make his day better. Back tomorrow as tonight’s low temps should give hard ice.

Lake Wentworth seemed to have survived the light snow which reflected the sun and kept ice firm. Depending on wind, could be a good sailing day tomorrow. A few hazards are growing so beware.

Hey Folks- looks like we are off to MN to duke it out for the NA champs.

We tried to find a spot to host this event out east but came up short…. Lakes too small, open water, snow, un-sail-able rough ice…. Just couldn’t put all the pieces together.

But not for lack of trying! Have to thank Chamberland, Roseberry, Bucholz, Zierman, Hill, Brush, Gervais, Silfvenius, and others for putting in the time and the miles. Kudos gang!

Anyway stay tuned to the IDNIYRA site for updates. And check NEIYA site for local sailing- sounds like plenty of good sailing to be had in NE this weekend and beyond!

https://www.idniyra.org/2024-dn-north-american-championship-called-on-for-waconia-mn/

We are coming up on the weekend and in front of our Thursday call here is what we know.

MA:
Quaboag Pond as reported by Bob S. has lost most of its snow but left a bumpy but looks to be sailable for the weekend. Bob will keep a watchful eye on it between now and the weekend.

NH:
Sunapee just keeps getting better and better according to people who sailed on Tuesday
Wentworth boats are still set up there more info to come out tomorrow
Winnipesaukee is looking good off of Leavitts and may well be a prime weekend destination more info to come

ME:
As reported by Bill Buchholz on iceboat.me Maine has a couple of venues with Damariscotta bubbling to the top

This year’s DN North American Championship was scheduled to take place in the Eastern Lakes Region. Despite the extraordinary efforts of James “T” Thieler, Bill Buchholz, Paul Chamberland, and Jeff Roseberry— who scoured both large and small lakes in Maine and John Zierman and Charlie (S) Silfvenius, who monitored conditions on Lake Champlain and Lake Winnipesaukee, respectively, suitable ice was not found. A contingent of NEIYA sailors is already en route or soon to depart for Lake Waconia, Waconia, MN. Updates on their westward progress and racing will be provided.

The sun is getting higher on the horizon every day. Don’t put off getting on the ice.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

P.S. More content from Janet will be up soon.

Take a look!

https://www.idniyra.org/thinking-about-registering-last-minute-for-the-north-americans/

Another great afternoon on lake Wentworth.

Cyclone busting snow humps

.

This weekend not one but TWO rehabbed stern steerers made the ice on Lake Wentworth in NH. Dusty, the latest to rise from the ashes, just had a new set of sails sewn last spring. A few tweaks needed to fine tune her. But she sailed ok after stretching her bones. Cyclone makes her second showing since the restoration and performed as well as the skippers old bones would allow. To add to the celebration a newly rehabbed gambit glided over the ice as well.

Sunapee was once again by an assortment of boats on Sunday. Reports from the ice noted the wind has scoured much of the snow off the surface but there are still snow patches to steer around.

Maine has several opportunities available now and a couple new options being investigated. Check out the Chickawaukie Club’s site for details iceboat.me.

Boats are still set up on Wentworth in NH. This includes a newly restored stern steerer.

Echoing James “T” Thieler’s appeal for regatta-sized ice. If you see something say something. Scouters have been searching high and low but maybe something was missed.

We are heading into a mid-week warm-up phase so be alert for change.

More info as it come.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org