iceboating.net Minnesota Ice Sailing Association

Sorry folks, but the spring sailing season, for all practical purposes, is over. Yes, we still have ice and yes, a few hardy sailors (read Drifter, JD and Kennedy) might get one or two more days, but mother nature is flexing her muscle. If you need proof the end is near, the International Skeeter Association Championship followed the lead of the Northwesterns and pulled the plug on the ISA's.

While Drifter continues his quest to extend the spring iceboating season, the U.S Coast Guard has different thoughts. The Coast Guard announced Friday that its huge ice cutter named ALDER will begin spring ice cutting operations out of the Port of Duluth on Tuesday. The ALDER is a 225' multi-mission buoy tender homeported in Duluth. ALDER's primary missions include ice breaking, law enforcement, and search and rescue. With the ice gone, the Soo Locks, connecting Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes, are set to open March 25. Oceangoing ships will arrive in Duluth shortly thereafter.

Waconia is the place to be. I just drilled holes 18 inches deep and never hit water. Fishermen report 25 inches. Surface has improved, and there is a substantial sailing area larger than any other lake around. Still rough but perfectly sailable. There is no snow and the ice is fairly hard considering the time of day i looked at it. The DNR launch on the North side works fine. Best to carry on in the area where the kites rig. The snow prediction is now almost nothing. I will set up the skeeter Saturday morning. Great chance for some warm spring sailing.

A sure tell-tale sign that the season is coming to a close is when organizers of the Northwest Regatta pull the plug and announce this year's regatta is canceled. Coincidentally, the same day, I thought I heard a certain lady singing in the background. I'll let you know if her voice gets louder.

Ron Sherry (US-44) is amazing! Ron just won the European Championships by a point. All the rock stars were there. 5 polish sailors were nipping at his heals. The pols finished 2-6. Burczyński (P-114) was 2nd. King Karol (P-36) was 3rd. Congrats, Ronnie!

Chris Berger (US-5166) also lit 'em up the last day and finished 7th! Chris' finishes include an 8th, 3rd and 5th. WOW! Very impressive indeed. Way to go, Chris! James "T" Theiler (US_5224) of R. I. finished 18th.

Results can be found at: https://idniyra.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EC2018-FLEET-A-FINAL-after...

This is a post I hoped I would never have to write. But here goes -- The Nite Board of Directors used a fake rule from our governing body, the National Iceboat Authority (NIA) to defend its decision to disallow a race at the Nationals. When notified the rule was fake, their commodore replied, "Well, we're just going to let it go."

Really? Who gives the Nite Association the right to change the rules that govern our sport?

Karol Jablonski (P-36) won his 12th(!) DN World Championships (and 5th in a row!) besting one of the most competitive DN fleets ever assembled. The regatta was held on Lake Wielimie near Szczecinek, Poland. There were 146 boats at the Worlds and the US Gold Fleet sailors did us proud. Ron Sherry (US-44) placed 6th. Chris Berger (US 5166) placed 22nd. James "T" Thieler (US 5224) placed 23rd. Dan Hearn (US 5352) placed 47th. Bob Cummins (US 3433) raced in the Silver fleet. Results at:
https://idniyra.eu/wc2018-results-after-7-races-information-is-provision...

The Northwest, ISA, and Nite Nats (V2.0) are all scheduled for this coming weekend. Which one will actually happen, who knows, but the time to be ready is now. My bet is on the Northwest at Green Bay. If you have never been to the Northwest, it is always a great time and your best chance to see the majestic stern steerers racing around like they were made to do. A must see event, and classes for stern steerers, skeeters and DN's.

The February issue of Runner Tracks Magazine has just been published. Check it out on-line at: http://na.idniyra.org/runnertracks/

Think Ice!

I wasn't in Madison so I don't know what happened. What I do know is that 3 races were completed on Saturday with 4 time defending National Champion Scott Brown of Upper Minnetonka taking a big lead in the standings. However, at some point the PRO tossed the 3rd race. Not sure how it happened since the 3rd race was completed, scored and no protest was filed. No racing took place on Sunday. Without a third race, the regatta was a deemed a non-event and Browner was denied a 5th straight National Championships. Looks like the lawyers in the fleet will need to sort this one out.

Found this link to a short, but sweet, youtube video on the New England IYC website. It's by Jeff Turick and from the 2018 DN NAs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw56eRWN4X4

What a difference a day makes! Wisc. was hit with snow which took out all of the potential regatta sites close to home. So, with time winding down the race committee selected Charlevoix MI as the site of the DN North American Championships. Racing starts Thursday. Good luck to the Tonka boys. Sail fast. Think ice.

It looks like we are on for racing. Plan on a 2 day shoot-out this Thursday and Friday. Madison seems to be the best ice. Thay will tell us the exact location tomorrow(wed) at 1pm. If it’s Madison, load up your car and plan to drive down on wed after work. Keep an eye on DN North America (http://na.idniyra.org/) for updates. Think Ice!

Publicly, the organizing committee's official positon is that unsettled weather conditions continue to hamper site selection. However, an unidentified source with ties to the committee claims the real reason the regatta was postponed was so Tonka DNers can watch the Vikings’ NFC Championship game on Sunday from the comfort of their homes.

No matter which story you believe, the announcement has been postponed another 24 hours. Next update will be 7:30 PM EST Sunday, January 21, 2018. Keep an eye on DN North America (http://na.idniyra.org/) for updates. Think Ice!

Deb Whitehorse of the IDNIYRA reports: "The organizing committee has postponed the selection of the regatta site until 4:30 PM EST, Saturday, January 20, 2018. ....Registration has been moved to Monday evening, January 22 at the earliest. ...Changing ice surface conditions as the weather pattern moves through these areas is causing the delay."

The odds makers predict we will sail in either Madison or Michigan. No excuse for anyone not to attend if we sail on Mendota. Keep an eye on DN North America (http://na.idniyra.org/) for updates. Think Ice!