Up for a road trip? Michigan is an option…. Check IDNIYRA site for all details and updates-

2020 Central Region Championship Information – DN North America (idniyra.org)

The Maine-iacs are at it again- They sailed the Linc Davis regatta on some sweeeeeeet ice up there- Congrats to these guys for bringing in the season’s first regatta!

Hope the snow doesn’t bury everything- stay tuned….

2021 Linc Davis Regatta in the Books | Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

T built a homemade sled for us to use. Converted Dining Room turned DN Sail Loft

Hi everyone,

November was spent getting sails and runners ready and staying consistent with the sprint training. Given Covid restrictions throughout the summer and early fall T and I were pretty consistent working out three days a week. I wrote our 40-yard dash times down each week and in two months some progress was made with slicing off a bit of time. In early November we saw a young woman sprinting at the high school track. She was literally the fastest person I’d ever see run in real life. Her form was perfect, her legs were moving like pistons, and she blew us both away. It was beautiful to watch someone with that much speed.

T and I joked that maybe she’d take us on as students. I was definitely intrigued with the idea so T urged me to talk to her. He said, "Come on. Go talk to her. Ask her. I’ll be your wingman." I finally worked up the nerve to approach her. I said awkwardly and lamely, "Hi, um, you are really fast." She politely said, "Thanks." I then said, "Did you run for your college? She said, "Yes, I ran for the Naval Academy." I then said, "Well, T and I are really old and we are really trying to get better at sprinting."

We told her about ice boating and even broke out the infamous Matt Struble you tube video to show her why we need to learn sprinting technique. She told us she was from Guam and had never heard of ice boating. We have since learned in Guam the average temperature rarely dips below 65F so that makes perfect sense. We then showed her a few of our sprints. She politely said our form was okay. I then said, "Well not sure if you are interested, but if you are at all willing to give us some coaching we will pay you for your time and we’d take it very seriously." I gave her my cell phone and said to please call if she was interested.

Three weeks went by and I didn’t hear from her. What’s the term nowadays…ghosting? I was all bummed out. I’d been ghosted.

Then, having given up hope I got a text from Regine. She said she’d been away, but would enjoy working with us. I was thrilled. We met at the track and got to work last Tuesday night.

At some point in our first session we were talking about Usain Bolt. She described him as a sprinting phenomenon. She pulled out her phone. It was a picture of her standing with Hussien Bolt. I said, "Wow, where was that?" She said Rio de Janeirio. I said, Wait, was that taken at the Olympics? She said, "Yes, he was so nice. Look how tiny I am next to him." I then said, "Wait…you were at Olympics running?" She said, "Yes, I ran for Quam."

Holy smokes. We are being trained by a real OLYMPIC ATHLETE!

We have had three sessions. Already T has shaved over a full second off his sprint time and I have whittled off .40 seconds. Neither sounds like a lot, but with sprinting over a short distance winning is determined by thousandths of a second. It’s huge progress and totally attributable to our Olympic trainer, Regine. We are doing drills I’d never seen or heard of and learning the body positions for starting, powering up, and going full speed.

Sprinting, like most things in life, is a matter of technique, repetition, and a commitment of time. The bad news is Regine is being reassigned for her Naval service in another week so we may just have one or two sessions left. I will keep you posted!

Karen Binder
DN 5630
NEIYA Secretary

This past Saturday was a welcome dose of normal for this time of year for a group of NEIYA members. No, we were not able to hit the ice anywhere in New England but we did get a group of people safely together to talk about iceboating. Getting ready for the season and talking over those plans with like-minded friends.

We had a good mix of seasoned, newer, and newbie iceboaters at Landfall Navigation in Stamford CT. There were questions asked and solutions drawn out from the 100+ years of experience at the gathering. A local rigger from Ocean Rigging stopped by Landfall and was able to help out someone make up a setup stays.

The only problem we could not solve was provide a nice place of fresh Black Ice. That will come as it always does. Sometimes a little earlier sometimes a little later.

In the meantime be sure your buddies are ready to sail. Drop them an email, give them a call, or invite them over to Talk & Tune as the ice coming soon. Need help or looking to lend a hand check the member directory for contact info. NOTE if your dues year is marked with anything but 2021 and is RED.

The Member Directory is here https://theneiya.org/member-directory/ it is password protected. if there is trouble just let me know. It will be sent out this morning via email. Note, there are additional older list below the current list. Please thank our Club Secretary Karen Binder in the pits or between races for keeping track of all the details! Rumor has it that she will be posting another segment in her Drive for Excellence blog series. Watch out for it here.

This year we may not be traveling as far but there will be ice and we need to find, scout, and sail it. In other words get ready for hyper local and or extended day trips.

Think Ice and Be Safe,

John Stanton
DN5023
NEIYA, Commodore
john@neiya.org

I don’t have to remind anyone that this year and into 2021 is not what we are used to. In ordinary times we have gotten together for an off-ice tune-up and education sessions at Steve Lamb’s place of business. Steve has been kind enough to open his vast shop for us to set up iceboats indoors and gather without worrying about the elements. As you have already guessed we are going to forgo the event this year and have already begun planning for an even grander event in 2021.

While the complex patchwork of rules, regulations, and risk factors have made it imprudent for everyone to gather from the far corners of New England, that should not stop us from talking about and preparing for sailing in a remote and safe plate of ice.

I will be working this coming Saturday, December 12th at Landfall Navigation in Stamford, CT. Since I have to be there I will be setting up my DN in the parking lot for a customer demonstration. I welcome local NEIYA members or those interested to stop by from 10am to 3pm. Have a boat you want to get on the ice this season bring it by for a once over the collection of seasoned iceboaters. Drop me an email if you have any questions, John@neiya.org.

Like our sailing other spontaneous small local gatherings may be occurring in the coming days before we have ice.

Think Ice and Be Safe

John Stanton
DN5023
NEIYA, Commodore
john@neiya.org

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hoping everyone is safe and enjoying some level of the usual traditions. Things are not the same but I am thankful we can preserve some level of normalcy. We have already gone virtual for a few events and there are discussions about more as well as safe, sensible, responsible, and compliant ice time. We are in a fluid situation so stand by. Keep Saturday, December 12 in mind. Details to follow.

Big events are just not going to happen this year but with miles of ice coming to bogs, frog ponds, small lakes, and big ice we will sail.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Iron Duck Movie featuring a couple of our own Vermont Iceboaters Bob Dill and Schumacher. Through their endless determination, they earned a place in sailing history. Special thanks to the director of Iron Duck Ben Dolenc for bringing the Iron Duck Story to all of us last week and to screens of all sizes. While the NEIYA sponsored watch party has come and gone you can still see the film here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/iron-duck-watch-party-tickets-130323688661. If you love sailing on ice, dirt, and going fast it’s a must-see.

Make and keep a promise to call an iceboat friend this long weekend. Talk about the great times you have had, what you need to get on the ice again and how and when blades will meet the ice again. Be thankful for the ice time we have had together and for the ice time yet to come.

Think Ice and be safe,

John Stanton
Commodore, NEIYA
DN5023
John@neiya.org

P.S. Check out the Pocket Skeeter that just went up on our Classified Section. Available from one of our premier boat builders Bill Buchholz. https://theneiya.org/classifieds/

Brian Langley reports that Bella, the youngest sailor in our fleet, is just too big to fit in her BDX-8 this year. She will be upsizing to a brand new BDX-10. The craft will be running a small 24″ springboard to bring it to LOA @ about 12ft. This will sail on a glass mast formerly owned by John Pepper with a clean 45 sq ft skimmer sail.

Brian modified the plan to lighten the overall weight of the hull. The lightening mods include 3/4 x 3/4 frames and truss work, 3/8th one pcs ply-wood floor, and 1/4″ side skins. He believes it should come in right around 60 pounds with foot steering assembly and springboard. The craft also features a nice 7″ trunk for safety gear, lunch etc. And open bulkheads with corner bracing. Given the light weight of both craft and pilot it ought to really scream down the ice.

Also on the building bench are two new BDX-12’s one for himself and one for Doug sharp they should be on schedule for this season’s ice. Doug has been in semi retirement for a few years and this proves that once bitten by the iceboat illness you are a lifer. We are looking forward to seeing Doug back on the ice again.

Go Bella! Good luck with your new rig. With your power to weight ratio you may just have the fastest acceleration out there. Can’t wait to see our youngest member ripping up the ice again this season.

What can I say about this video? There is beautiful ice and a desire to slide across it. Hopefully the wind picked up later as I am sure Charlie S. wore himself out after picking for a while.

We are moving towards that first sail-able ice part of the season but it may out of reach for many of us. Have patience there is will come to your state.

Covid will impact some of our usual pre-ice activities. Traveling to different states to gather and discuss tuning and safety topics may not allowed and not a wise idea at this time. We are looking to focus more locally and are open to ideas and suggestions. Whatever happens looks like we will be staying closer to home so lets start looking locally.

One thing we can all enjoy is the viewing of Bob Dill and Schumacher’s Iron Duck Documentary. I am in the final stages of setting up the group viewing and will make the announcement shortly.

Think Ice and be safe,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org