Hey Folks-

The CIBC fall meeting is this Sunday up at the Farm on Dammy Lake.

Head on up and celebrate a hell of a season. And get some food!

Details here: MEETING TIME | Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Hello All-

One of these days I’m hoping to sit down and write up a report about the DN NA champs… As Mark Keifer would have said, “It was EPIC…”

Plenty of stories to be told but one of the big ones certainly has to be the success of the Canadian team. They have really stepped it up quite a bit in the last few years and deserve some recognition.

We’d also love to know how they’ve done it! Maybe a few clues in this article….

Canadians Best Ever at DN NA’s – Sailing in Canada

The weather balance once again turned against us. In the Nort Woods of Maine, we have had warmer temps setting up the potential to sail on Moosehead and the counterbalance was a good dose and more of the white stuff. We are shut out for the weekend with more of the white coming Saturday. Don’t give up just yet. According to Bill Buchholz, a foot of good solid ice is waiting to be uncovered. There are warmer temps and rain next week which could get us out late next week.

Last night’s call also included discussions on communication improvements for next season as well as a post-season gathering. Stay tuned for gathering details and if you have ideas on how we might communicate more clearly please reach out.

The first notice will likely go out on Chickawaukee Ice Boat Club’s site and of course here and Thursday night’s call.

Keep the faith the next time we sail could be next week.

Think Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

Hey Folks- the March issue is out- take a look and keep tabs on what is going on in the class here and over on the other side of the Pond….

Runner Tracks Newsletter March 2024 – DN North America (idniyra.org)

I have not put pen to paper or fingers to plastic keys since our last piece of sailing most of us did in late February or early March. This would be the time we talk about the proverbial fat lady. The inevitable post that is written with the passing of another iceboat season.

Well, I’m not ready just yet. Not ready to tear down and stow my DN. There is a slim chance that Moosehead Lake will give us one last grand send-off. The weather of course will play her hand and we will see. While we await word from the North Woods, we have a few planning details to tackle for next season.

It has been a couple of weeks since we had a full-scale Thursday evening call and tomorrow we will be on again. We have a few things to talk about first can we sail again this spring, second a couple informal end of informal end-of-season gatherings and discuss web-based communication improvements. Anyone who has a desire to help with our website and related communications infrastructure, please make a point of dialing in. Deane Williams and I are the current force behind our web communications. We need more help to improve things. Reach out to me or dial in on Thursday if to help.

Thinking Ice,

John
DN5023
John@neiya.org

I know many of you are still seeking that, “last sail”of the season, but I have started the transition from hard water to soft…….at least in my mind. I,myself, am satisfied with the season. Although late in arriving, it came in with some sweet plates of ice nearby. this allowed me to leave the rigs, (yes multiple) set up for extended periods. If I arrived and there was no wind, the skates were on in minutes to provided miles of gliding over some wonderfully smooth ice. I even managed to get in a few bike rides with the studded tires pumping more of that fresh air into the body. I was also happy to hear of other groups finding ice to play on. There were many “first rides” locally as well as resurrected classic boats that made it to the ice. Some fun sails for a couple stern stearers also happened.

It is now time for those good intentions to begin. That final sharpening of the runners and then a coat of wax to ward off moisture, the replacement of that fraying shroud, or the repair of the tack on the sail are all on the list. I might even add a strip and refinish the hull and runner plank to the off season list. A double check of the tool box for the replacement of extra parts or tools loaned to fellow sailors so their day was a happy one is on the list. The storing of sails in a mouse proof area is always a challenge.

The question of should I build that “Whizz” that I bought the plans for 5 years ago……or not. Should I try and sell at least one boat in the fleet? But maybe a friend would want to sail it next year. maybe plane down that runner plank that’s a little too stiff, or add a leaf spring layer to keep my butt off the ice. Maybe a new paint job or set of graphics could be added.

And don’t forget the media! Time to organize all those photos taken into folders with dates and places and definitely names! There’s nothing like a cold rainy spring day to start editing all those GoPro videos.

Yeah I’ll get to it all…..someday before next year……or maybe not. But for now, I still have fresh memories of a nice season with friends and fresh air. And as I sip a little whisky or rum by a warm wood stove on a damp early spring day, I might just doze off skimming across black ice with blue skies.

Happy seasonal memories.

After 4 days of racing the Race Committee did an amazing job of getting off a total of 22 races (11 for each fleet) in all kind of conditions. At the awards ceremony, T led with a toast and thanks to "All the boats, planks, and equipment that gave themselves up to the challenges of ice and big wind this week." I won’t go into specifics, but lots of iceboaters will need to go shopping and many more will spend some quality shop time rebuilding stuff. Even T and I suffered damage with my hound breaking on the first windward leg of the 9th race and just as conditions were turning a bit lighter and softer. With no set of extra shrouds and T hound fitting, I ended up missing the last races of the regatta. T had a port starboard situation in the same race, both sailors are fine, but he could not return to racing either.

Saturday racing was called off due to heavy winds, but Jeff Roseberry was still out there ripping it up and was clocked at going more than 60 mph. He should be heartily congratulated on his 15th place finish in the Gold Fleet. His practice and time in the boat certainly paid off. Milo Fleming won the Junior Award and finished 13th in the Silver Fleet. It’s been so fun seeing Milo develop into such a talented sailor and mature young adult since first meeting him when he decided to learn about iceboating for a school project about five years ago. Bob Haag first time competing at the NA’s resulted in winning the Rusty Runner award. Well done, Bob!

And a huge thanks to NEIYA members Henry Capotosto and Nina Fleming for driving 25 plus hours to VOLUNTEER for an entire week helping with all aspects of Race Committee. The volunteers are really incredible with their dedication to pulling off a great regatta for the sailors. We thank you!

For me, if there is any more time on the ice this season and definitely for next season I will make scratch racing courses much longer. At big regattas the course length is a minimum of 1.0 miles. With good starts I am able to keep up with the top sailors for the first 1/3 to ½ of the windward leg, but then they start pulling away. By the 2nd leeward rounding the top ten sailors are just about at the windward mark as the bottom third of the gold fleet are just making the turn at the leeward mark. So, for me it’s a matter of boat speed across longer courses. You see on a small course I am right at the windward mark with T so I went into this regatta feeling like I am really fast, but on long courses it’s a different story. It’s good to know what I need to work on next.

The results are below…and hopefully at least one or two days of sailing on Moosehead will happen before the season is officially over.

Karen Binder
DN 5630

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

7 hardy souls ventured cautiously onto lake Wentworth today for a march sail. The lake was definitely alive as cracks opened, water seeped up, and barely covered drain holes jumped at you. A safe area for play was established and fresh air and sunshine prevailed.

The Zamboni has visited lake Wentworth and has made a great improvement. Not quite a 10 but a definite sailable 7. Tight to shore still at the 109 launch areas but a few things not perfect. There is a big lead area about 100 meters off of Albee Beach. Don’t know about the backside of Stamp Act Island either. I plan on one more sail, setting up tomorrow.

We awoke to 3F, snow drifts on the lake, super hard ice, and a building wind. I am pretty sure I have not experienced such a set of changing ice conditions at a regatta before. Although, I am relatively new to this and the gentleman I sat across from at the restaurant has been racing ice boats for 50 years!

Each fleet had four races with each race involving a bit more wind than the previous one. Most sailors switched to their MS1 sails and either 95 degree or 100 degree runners. Despite the insane winds of yesterday, I found sailing today much more difficult. The hard ice makes the boat vibrate and bounce around and then "float a bit" when a big puff hits. You pretty much feel like your boat could completely spin out at almost any point. Every mark round is especially exhilarating…

T and I both had "big bummers" today. Mine was in the 2nd race of the morning after I switched to my flatter sail. I had trouble getting the foot of my sail into the boom as the bolt was stiff and frozen. I was rushing and had to get to the line. Once the flag dropped, I sprinted and eased into the boat. After sheeting in, I noticed the foot was bunching all up. I had forgotten to secure my outhaul. I had to stop my boat, get out, attach and tighten my outhaul. t. I debated withdrawing for a moment, but got back in my boat.

T’s big bummer was at the end of the day with being sandwiched between two boats. One boat avoiding a snow drift and one boat heading him up. Two boats bumped and his tiller broke. He is confident a quick morning fix will return him to the ice tomorrow.

The rest of Team NEIYA did a great job….here are the provisional results…

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

Sorry…I tried posting this yesterday morning but it didn’t go thru….standby for the report on day 3 of sailing.

The forecast was for big winds today and the forecast was spot on. The temperature dropped overnight and solidified the surface, but Pat Heppert noted at the skippers meeting the ice depth went from 9-11 inches to 7-9 inches given the incredible heat the day before.

Race Committee called the Silver Fleet to the line and Ed Demerest, having had issues with his mast the previous day, finished in third place. Nicely done, Ed! Milo is sailing very consistently, avoiding the big bummers, and is currently in sixth place overall. I also want to give a shout out to NEIYA Treasurer, Bob Haag, competing for the first this year. Our Commodore John Stanton is also being very consistent and is 27th in the standings.

When gold fleet was called to the line, the breeze was strong but definitely built throughout the race. I know at the start some people were measuring on their anemometers a range of 20-22 knots. It seemed an even split between those sailing with their MS1 and the ABSS and also split between 95s and 100 degree runners. I chose the MS1 and my 95 degree inserts.

By the third lap, most folks were just trying to get themselves and their boats over the line safely. The big wind brought several spin outs and others with significant boat/equipment damage. Most of us who sailed the race got a huge surge of adrenaline and satisfaction of crossing the line in the hairy conditions, but we all were relieved that racing was then called off for the day. Sixty of the seventy sailors dropped their sails in the pit area and bare poled it back to the shore. It was that hairy. For a comparison, if you did/attempted the Winnie the Hard Way a few years ago it was like that…

This morning, we awoke to a temperature of 2F. It will warm up later in the morning, but the ice will now be super hard and there is already breeze.

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

Video of the 3rd windward lap: https://www.facebook.com/julie.jankowski.12/videos/412353528115350/?idorvanity=432333643482302

Karen Binder
DN 5630

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