iceboating.net Minnesota Ice Sailing Association

There's something about the spring sailing... the way the ice changes by the minute, the warm breeze and long hours of bright sunlight rapidly eating our playground, DN's rumbling around like Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, hearlding the end is near.

Six DNs acted out that scene all day Sunday, Lake Minnetonka April 13th...(isn't that average ice out day?) Fantastic 10-13 mph breeze, warm temps, and ice that seemed to hold all day, knowing it was to be the last sail of the season.

There was about 1/2 inch of snow/slush/ice crystals, covering the good ice... While angles were the preferrred runner, as the afternoon progressed inserts were clearly superior in the lighter breezes.

Sailing until bodies could no longer endure, when I asked Kennedy why he was breaking down at 2:00 when we were still ripping, he said with a big grin. "I've already sailed my 40 miles today!"

Note: there are abundant hazards on the lake, many patches of open water, and a previously invisible, yet working 12" crack, near MYC on the main lake which I "discovered", at speed, on my last trip to the main lake, without major consequence, dropped my runner, lots of spray and broken ice... no apparent damage to boat.

By 4:30 or 5:00 the top layer of firm ice seemed to be softening up in places, where the boat was sinking to plank depth, in the soft ice/slush.

There should be pictures posted...

Taking down the boat, I wondered... It's plausible that a road trip to Ottertail next weekend would give us one more song. The Loadout (open in new window, & turn up the volume)

In what many describe as a "bad iceboating season", this marks the 20th weekend of "Ice" in Minesota this season, since KA 1 and I had our DN's on lake Christina on Dec 1st... and again, a review of sailing will show that we've had sailors ripping on the ice in Minnesota for about 16 weekends... demonstrating again, If you're willing to drive an hour and a half to go iceboating, you can easily sail 3 months every winter here!