Spectators and fellow sailors shared in the excitement and enthusiasm of seeing several youth sailing on Quaboag in Massachusetts and Watuppa in Fall River, MA. Chad Atkins’s son, Mason, was rounding marks in his Opti DN. Brian Langley’s teenage daughter, Bella, was cruising the lake her mini-whizz. Bob S. and Bob Haag helped a group of three girls from scout troop 1175 from Simsbury, CT build their own ice boat on Quaboag.

Bob S., fully prepared as always, brought his sidecar and put on his "skunners" (Ski-like Runners) so each scout and their leader could enjoy a ride around the pond. Bob Haag was especially impressed that while the leader was getting a ride the young ladies, hauled a pile of wood, a couple of hand saws and other tools, a sunfish rig, and built an ice boat perfect for the Styrofoam conditions. After a day of sailing the troop headed on their way to enjoy a winter camp out.

Bob H. said he was particularly excited to see the kids working on a project, having fun, and seeing their parents supporting them.

Enjoy the photos from Quaboag! Great day for so many…

2 X4s, skis, and a sunfish rig.

Bob’s skunners. Look aft and you will note the ski like flat edge and the plate runner sitting inside the body of the skunner. Clever!

In a final note, Watuppa is likely done for the season with open water, leads, and some significant holes. I know Bob S. will continue to check and report on Quaboag.

There is still plenty of thick ice to the north and we just have to be patient for the snow to melt. As my son, Luke, said one evening desperately wanting to try out his brother’s new birthday tricycle, "It’s hard being patient." Yes, it is.

Best,

Karen Binder
Secretary

While most of New England’s lakes and ponds remain buried under layers of snow, we continue to search for ice. A small group will be scouting and assessing the ever-changing conditions on Watuppa tomorrow Saturday 2/21.

Another possibility is Webster Lake, as reported by Bob S. last night. However, launching may be challenging, and a fishing derby is underway, which could complicate access.

Meanwhile, an iceboat demonstration for a group of Scouts is planned on Quaboag. As of now, the ice has not been confirmed as sailable, but boat(s) will be displayed onshore regardless. If you’re available, come by and help spread the word—setup begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Bob could use some help so get out to Quaboag for a couple hours.

A reminder: Although we’ve had a stretch of cold days, the lengthening daylight signals the transition to spring ice conditions. Ice is in a constant state of flux, and shorelines are beginning to pull away. this is especially true of bodies of water in the southern regions of New England. I this time of year is here today and gone tomorrow. Stay safe—never venture out alone, and treat all ice with caution until it has been thoroughly evaluated.

Speaking of spring we have eyes on our bigger lakes and maybe just maybe with a couple thaw and freeze cycles big lakes like Winni might make themselves available for a right around the corner Spring event.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Bob S. has been scouting locally two days ago and offers his observations.

Stopped by Quaboag today, some grey ice and some snow, it could come around in a few days, not sailable yet .temp today 20: wind 40 + snow squalls

Webster was all greyed out with 1/5 of frozen slush with 1/5 wet slush under the top layer, looks  promising  will check again tomorrow.

Access is messed up at Marys and parkinglot is not plowed , but can be carried on,access from 193 at waterski club has some spots to get on.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

The good news: It’s still winter. A winter that, for the most part, has behaved in a more traditional way than not. Looking back, many of our usual haunts delivered this year. Long Pond and S. Watuppa held strong, as did Webster, Quaboag, and Bantam. Even Red Bank, N.J., and the Hudson made brief but notable appearances.

The bad: We’re blanketed in snow, the result of back-to-back fronts, with another system on the way this weekend.

Let’s see what the weekend’s weather brings. Discussions last night suggested possible sailing opportunities by midweek. If you’re looking to satisfy your inner weather geek, check out Severe Weather Europe—if it’s not already part of your regular reading.

We also have an upcoming ice boat youth education opportunity next Saturday. More details early next week.

Until then, think ice—and, even more importantly, think resurfacing on the good ice that’s out there waiting.

Keep the faith,

John
john@neiya.org

Stopped by Webster and Quaboag and they are snow free,it will be below freezing around 6 this evening and be freezing all day tomorrow .

Winds are suppose to be 10 -11 tomorrow. A chance to get some sailing in before  the next snow.
Check weather  for Webster ma and Brookfield ma.

Ice needs to be checked but looks promising.

Bob S.

Big wind day on Winnebago…JR Francis actually used another descriptive phrase when I asked if he was going to use his 90s or 95s, "My 90s…it’s Nuking."

And so it was…Jeff Roseberry who loves Big Wind did a consistent job of being in the Top 5 and Paul Chamberland, found a new higher gear after hearing some advice from Matt Struble on leeward Mark rounding…to ease your sail as much as needed so you don’t skid on your runners…I didn’t know that tip before my third race of the day and provided lots on entertainment by spinning out..not once but twice..on the same leeward Mark. Pat said my double pirouette was worthy of an award.

Everyone from New England is giving it their best and learning a lot…I know we are tired tonight.

Lighter winds predicted tomorrow. The results are posted

here…https://www.sailwave.com/results/2025-DN-WORLD-CUP.htm

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NEIYA members cut across all iceboating activities. As reported by Secretary Karen Binder and others we have a good showing at the DN Worlds on lake Winnebago. But of course ice activities go on back home whenever possible. Proving yet again the best ice is heavily weighted towards that closest to your back door. And often not something that can be planned in advance. Note, Bob S’s  scouting mission to Webster also turned into a good day of sailing.

Rewards come to those that venture out. And many scouting trips are a bust  but the rewards can be good and sometimes great.

Brian Langley reports on a group that had a successful day on Long Pond yesterday.

Long pond today. Lite winds till 2pm then switch and came up. We managed 27 miles and top speed at around 39mph. Winds built to around 7mph till 3.30. One big lead we marked out.

Note observed hazard on Long Pond and a reminder that no ice is ever completely safe

I’ll be heading out to the other Winne, Lake Winnebago in 90 min. The Silver fleet starts out with their second race followed by gold’s second and Bronze’s third and so on. But first I have to pack up as I must change hotels today. One of the joys of traveling, dealing with the unexpected.

From Fond Du Lac, Think Ice and hopefully melt that white stuff off out New England lakes before I return.

John

DN5023

John@neiya.org

P. S. I’ll have pictures of NEIYA competitors soon.

Hi everyone,

Arrived to the lake with light winds and warm temperatures forecasted. Both proved accurate.

As expected, given the number of top ten sailors many had to sail the qualifying gauntlet including me. The gold fleet had 12 spots you have to qualify for by sailing the first silver race.

The bronze qualifier was in very light wind, but by the time of the silver qualifier the wind built to about 7 knots and many of us lighter weight sailors were debating sail switching and wished we had once arriving at the second downwind leg when the wind dropped out. A fuller sail would have helped a lot. By the end of it, I finished in 10th which placed me in the golf fleet. Jeff just missed it and finished in 13th. This means Jeff’s first silver race will be scored as a first place finish.

Then there was a long wait for the gold start. I decided to put on my F01 with a super soft batten. I zoomed of the line and tacked earlier than most as they just seemed to be going beyond the layline. That moment was a good call as I was 4th around the windward matk. 4th!

Well, I should have followed Anja Fiedler who made a quick gybe almost immediately after she rounded after me. I never saw her again! Anja is the best female DN racer in the world. I have never had the opportunity to race against her. I lost a lot of boats on that downwind leg and the. the breeze completely died with lots of boats pushing and having the BART rule in effect. T had a good race but we are now back at the hotel as results have not been posted. I’ve been told a protest about the race has been filed so we have to wait for folks to be heard and a decision made…

The bronze fleet and silver fleet were supposed to race, but we are not sure they got any more races in as the gold fleet was sent in.

Thanks.

Karen
DN 5630

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Generally I’m not much of a traveler in my own mind. Having said that, I’ve lived in MA, NY, NH, GA, CO, WY, and AK. Ive been to Sweden, St. John and Vieques. Since my wife retired we have done road trips with our 13ft. Scamp camper at least one time, usually more per year. (Definitely not the rig in the picture.) We’re usually on the road from 4-6 weeks hitting National, State and town parks everywhere east of the Rockies and north of the gulf states. Slept in friend’s driveways, Walmart and Cabella’s parking lots, BLM lands, National parks and forests, and a few rest areas. The question is, Why do I find it difficult to load the iceboats up and head to where the ice is?

For some reason 1 1/2 hours seems to be my comfort level. That generally covers the Lakes Region of NH, down to the Mass border, west to the Vermont border and Sebago in Maine. 10 years ago following my retirement, (wife still working for 3 more years), I was enticed to load my DN on top of my little Scion XA and headed to Moosehead. (Thanks BIll for the incentive.) Two wonderful days of sailing and a great no wind day of skating was the reward. All on perfect black ice and temps that constantly hovered around ZERO F! For a couple years I checked out the Maine spots including Dami, Pushaw, and Sebago. On Pushaw, after everyone left on Sunday, my daughter joined me and we had the whole lake to ourselves, except for a scaled P-51 mustang that flew by us about 10 feet off the ice with the pilot giving us a friendly wave.

In these later years, (maybe influenced by the covid restrictions…..and aging bones), I find it hard to get the logistics out of the way to make longer trips, especially overnights. I am living a little vicariously through our compatriots out in the Midwest sailing on what seems to be a banner year for ice. I probably missed a good opportunity to load my stern steerer on the trailer and head down to sail with the Hudson River crowd. My local group always provide fun times in a variety of crafts and we welcome visitors from near and far to play on home ice. At the end of the day, the hot tub on the back deck and their warmth of the wood-stove are hard to beat for enjoyment. A little night cap, (for medicinal purposes), gives me about a 10 minute timeline before the eyes close.

I guess I just need to make that budget plan and commit to going on the road and sailing new ice while making new friends. I just need one of those autonomous vehicles with a bed in the back so I just set the auto pilot and wake up in the Midwest and just wait for the call to ice, somewhere within a hours drive.

Happy trails to all you road warriors, and be sure to post so I can see what I’m missing. It’s a great motivator. Now I guess I’ll go skiing again and pray for the thaw to happen, or maybe double check the trailer and how much money in the coffers.

Since the furry rodent saw his shadow, winter is still among us. Hope is still there. Happy Trails to you , whether on ice or traveling to.

https://www.idniyra.org/2025-dn-world-championship-kicks-off-in-fond-du-lac/

Hey Gang- the big show starts today! Keep an eye on IDNIYRA site for updates

Hi,

The lake is huge, hard and fast. Today most competitors (107 sailors are registered!) rigged and got lots of practice laps in and the wind built as the day progressed.

Most sailors were experimenting with 90 and 95 degree runners and switching in flatter sails by late afternoon.

Watching the coordination, communication and team work of the polish sailors is very impressive.

Jeff, Paul, and I were in several scratch races today and did a good job of being fast and competitive with the Canadian Ice Force.

There are 27 sailors ranked in the top ten and there will be three fleets racing. Even with being ranked 13th I imagine I might have to race the qualifier.

More tomorrow!

Karen Binder, DN 5630

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Reports are a little grim for this time of year but hope springs eternal in the hearts of us ice sailors. Although the snows have been light, they seemed to have squelched many a sailing venue for the moment. Massachusetts has some potentials with Webster Lake as well as Quabog benefitting from the next system. Bob S. Reports there is plenty of ice, just needs a new surface. Meriden Pond and Bantam in Connecticut also sound like possibilities. Although our southern friends did get some sailing in, New Jersey warmed up a little too quickly. Some of the NY stern steerers even had ice time.

Good luck to the eastern crew who are trying to show them foreigners that we can indeed sail fast……..even if we don’t get a lot of practice.