iceboating.net Minnesota Ice Sailing Association

For almost a decade we've been musing about some alternative sailing tracks which allow sailing on smaller areas, expanding the season, fun to sail, reducing the potential for collisions, creating a course that might be easier to televise, more interesting to watch and fun to sail.

A couple experiments have been conducted which seem to be acceptable to the sailors. Based on a regatta on Elk Lake a couple years ago, JD, and 5214 suggest this combination as an experiment:

"Dirt Track" Sailing
- Windward / Leeward Course,
- Marks ~ 1/8 Mile apart (or ~200 yards)
- Six - Ten Boat Fleet
- All boats start on Port (reducing the number of port starboard crossings on the first beat)
- Ten Lap Course

Added benefit: the~ two acre (10 hockey rink sized) area required for sailing on this track is small enough to remove snow, at least theoretically.

Obviously the boats must be set up a little differently, more for acceleration and less for top end speed. I suspect that many of the "silver fleet" boats find themselves a great deal more competitive.

The only real drawback is the boats won't come close to wharp speed; 100 yards and a Tack / Jibe won't get you wound up quite as quickly.

If we sail Minnetonka this weekend, odds are we'll be in one of the smaller bays, ie. excelsior bay... with a constrained area.. Saturday might be perfect timing for to give it a try.

I really like the concept, and think we should tee up a couple rounds on Saturday, with the purpose to see how much we all like sailing this type of course, and soliciting comments.

Anybody care to give it a go?

4695