OK Folks- The weather is going to make things interesting but you never know, we may just get lucky-

So the current plan is to scratch race Saturday, do the New England Champs on Sunday, and try to get the President’s Day Regatta done on Monday.

Winnipesaukee will be the place, launching out of Ellacoya State Park, just off Lake Shore Rd in Gilford, NH.

As ever, have an intimate knowledge of the Ice Yacht Racing Rules and be aware of the differences between them and regular soft water right of way rules. Click here for all: Rules & Safety – DN North America (idniyra.org)

Three or more boats of any class will have their own start, and a Vintage/Classic Award will be presented to the skipper with the best result in the most dated DN. The regatta chairman and a hand-picked secret cabal will decide the winner on the day, based on criteria far too esoteric to go into here…. So if you have an older DN don’t hesitate to come to the regatta!

All racers will also have to show proof of $300,000 liability insurance (usually tacked on to one’s homeowner’s policy).

If anyone wants to volunteer to help run races or keep score let me know at 401 258 6230. We can use all the help we can get…

It sounds like there is plenty of room on the lake so whether you want to race or cruise load up and come on out!

Lodging will be an issue due to the long weekend and February break from school so start looking now- Apologies for not being able to get a hotel with a group rate or anything- That said there will be rooms in the area somewhere….

Stay tuned to this site for details and Think Ice- And don’t leave your slush/angle runners at home, you might need them….

T Thieler DN US 5224

Hey Folks-

We are getting some encouraging reports about Winnipesaukee- Encouraging enough that we are calling a regatta or two on for the weekend-

The weather is interesting as ever but with a little luck we will get one in on Saturday/Sunday and the President’s Day Regatta in on Monday.

So far we are thinking of launching out of Ellacoya State Park but that isn’t written in stone- stay tuned….

Load ’em up! And don’t forget if you have an older boat you could be a contender for the Vintage/Classic trophy- The racing will not be limited to DN class iceboats- Three or more of any class will get a start.

Stay tuned to this site for details!

T. Thieler DN US 5224

John Pepper sends over this short Lockley Skimmer video from Bantam Lake. The pilot, Alex, is new to the iceboat game but he is hooked for sure.

Most iceboat attention goes towards the DN the largest class and the E Class Skeeter the fastest crafts out there. As most of us know there are many other types of crafts out there.

Next time you are in the pit take a look around and see what other classes or one-offs you see.

To help can we get a volunteer to write up details on the Lockley. Maybe someone from Long Island?

We have another thaw and rain cycle to get through in the next couple of days. This should complete the Zamboni process from a few days ago. Stay tuned.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Hey Folks- Looks like we have ice on Bantam Lake in CT and several other places- Fingers crossed that we can get a regatta in this weekend-
Stay tuned for news on all that-

In the meantime take a look at this article about Silver Fleet champ and NEIYA Secretary Karen Binder and her big week in Illinois:

Bristol woman is a fast-rising ice boating star | EastBayRI.com – News, Opinion, Things to Do in the East Bay

Bantam has grade 8 ice with some powder drifts here and there. Fun to hit at 50 mph, and more spectacular to watch.

Sail safe!

John

DCL Ice Report #11

2021 – 2022 Ice Sailing Season

DCL Ice boat FUN!,

Ice Sailing knows no bounds!

WOW! All of our combined wishing and praying finally paid off! We now have had three great days on the DCL ice this season.

Saturday dawned warm and too windy… but six sailors showed up and rigged in preparation for predicted great sailing on Sunday.

Sunday, as predicted, started out cold with really good ice… however, it was under 2” of unpredicted snow. 11 DN total rigged and the fun began… sort of…

The predicted 10 mph wind decided to sleep in and we spent the morning introducing several new sailors to Twice as Nice Sailing, On the Ice!

Joni Palmer, like always, went all out and had a fire pit going, food and drinks. Several others showed up with food and drink as well, Jacob Feisley, Tom Johnson, David and Karen Meehan, Ed and Beth Halley, Sue Wolffe and… Cheryl Shafer with HOT brownies… the IceMan could smell them all the way out on the Lake!!! Thanks everyone! We all had a great lunch and even greater camaraderie with our sailing friends! Wonderful!!

Mother nature made a big yawn and finally got up at lunch time. With the wind now on, everyone had a blast! Our new inductees into the pleasures of ice sailing got some great fast sailing in, after a morning of getting familiar with the DN it worked out just fantastic!

Tom Wolffe brought Scott Hollander, Jill Bennett brought Alex and Lisa Pline all had several runs and came in smiling!

Austin Latimer brought his Dad, John with their DN. They bought it two years ago and were finally ready to make it go… and boy did they! Same for Mark Haraway and Colin. Colin gave up a day of flying, or so he thought, until he and Austin started flying around the lake on their DNs!!!! Welcome to the clan guys!

Jake Nill and his family, Sarah, Brice, Bodie and Colby came out. They had spent Saturday out in the wind and soft ice practicing with their skates and hockey sticks and did again Sunday. Brice and Bodie sailed and came in claiming to have been thrilled to the edge of being terrified… but came down on the side of WOW! FUN!!!

Christy Barowich, Gail and Eric Von Eckartsberg, and David Klueter stopped by to watch the action too.

We had very few breakdowns, thankfully, but the I interesting one was Ed Halley way out in the middle of the lake watching his mast hound bolt go drifting down into the snow… followed by his mast and sail….. Ever reliable Quoc Tran was out on his snowmobile and he came by and towed Ed in. Ed got another bolt and was soon out blasting around with Greg Shafer, Dave McVeigh, Ralph Kemp and the rest of us. Ralph said… well, I will be able to say “I tried it” but he left saying “I’m hooked!”

David Tuel, IceMan, Jacob F. and Tom J. spent lots of time in the slot doing short windward, leeward “races”… What a great time and what great conditions! See our tracks picture.

Bruce Spinnenweber worked with David Meehan and got him up to speed… he and Karen were all smiles!

At the end of the day tired and happy we were all very thankful for Rob Pumphrey’s extra trailer… Hahaha.. all three trailers are now full to bursting!

So much fun was had, a few dedicated Iceboaters left their boats rigged for Monday and Tuesday sailing… taking full advantage of the great, rare and fervently wished for conditions.

Next weekend is also another possible good day…stay tuned… Be There!

See everyone on the DCL ice!

THINK ICE!!!!!

IceMan

US 5576

We have this report on Bantam Lake, CT as of Monday morning, February 14;

“17 boats on the ice, I’m the first here, measured 1.5” of light fluffy snow 50 yds off the pits. 11 degrees, blowing 15 with gust upper 20s. The sailing will be quick, the snow on the ice is of no concern. Tomorrow: winds 9 – 20, temps 11 – 27. You can’t sail it if you are not here!”

As always be safe and have fun!

Here is additional information for tomorrow.

Thanks to Bill Bucholz for the report.

"The surface hardened right up nice last night and is now ready to go. Looks like about a 5.5-6. We will be launching from Lake Farm Circle. Here’s how it looks today. Sixteen inches of hard ice. No idea what happened with the cracks and ridges out there in the north broads from last time, so consider that plate unscouted for now."

Here’s how it looks today. Sixteen inches of hard ice. No idea what happened with the cracks and ridges out there in the north broads from last time, so consider this plate unscouted for now.

If you can take the day off go sailing in Maine. Remember no ice is totally safe, check in with others for hazards, and do not sail alone.

Karen Binder
NEIYA Secretary

This morning I checked my email and texts and answered the usual I want to try iceboating and where is the ice questions. I looked at my phone, as I do each morning, and was pleasantly surprised to see 21 degrees. Well, unfortunately, google or whoever was parting data to me played a mean trick. The real temp was 46. Was I disappointed? Yes, but know that somewhere we sail was indeed 21 or less and even colder overnight. As we know a good overnight below freeze will set up a previously dismal-looking plate of ice.

Just a couple of NH venues to get you thinking. And yes, many other places in CT, MA are in refreeze mode.

The cold is returning and with it multiple opportunities are on the way next week. Trusted ice checkers are out there this weekend and Monday. Remember we are in a transitional period and it takes time to heal and refreeze. With the predicted cold we should be in business early next week. If you do not already check out Maine-specific reporting on the Chickawaukie site.

Andover Winter Fest press – Here

This past Sunday the NEIYA attended the Andover Winter Festival. Peter Boyton and I set up our boats and Paul Zucco had a table with plans and building material examples. We fielded questions and planted the seed of speed in the young and older in the crowd. I may be biased but it looked like kids were more interested in sitting in our boats than checking out the fire and rescue vehicles that were nearby.

The aim of the festival was to get people out and enjoy winter activities.

As iceboaters, we interact with others on or near the ice. Spreading the word and understanding iceboating activities is very important. I had ice safety conversations with the personnel from the Andover Fire Department. They were very interested in our activities and specifically about our concerns for safety.

Thanks to Bob Douglas and the rest of the Andover Conservation & Recreation department for having us back again this year. We look forward to coming back next year and hopefully we will get to put on an actual sailing demo.

Thought of the day. People are afraid of the unknown. Spread the word, be good lake guests and respect other ice users and those that live nearby.

Be patient, be Safe, and Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Hey Folks-

While we are waiting for some good conditions please take a look at these photos and video from the 2022 DN National Champs regatta.

Do some recon! See what people are using and how their boats are set up, how they are sailing them, and what seems to be working.

Sean Heavey and Gretchen Dorian did an amazing job schlepping out onto the ice to capture the action- please support them by purchasing a few photos for yourself or someone you care about!

Click the links here to take a look:

Sean Heavey:
Video- Chris Gordon and John Curtis are heavily featured, great footage from WI and IL- Good stuff!
2022 DN US Nationals on Vimeo

Photos:
Sean R Heavey | 2022 DN US Nationals

Gretchen Dorian:
2022 DN US Nationals – gretchen dorian

Hey Folks, Looks like one of those weekends where a regatta just isn’t in the cards- Warm temps, snow on the way, Valentine’s Day and Superbowl all combining for a Perfect Storm of regatta prevention….

Good news is we have reports of good ice at Quaboag, Webster and who knows where else- If you have sailable ice let me know at t_thieler@yahoo.com and I’ll do my best to get it on the website.

We will be keeping an eye on the weather as the week goes on- with a little luck we have some cold nights on the way which should tighten things up-

Have faith and Think Ice!

T