MONDAY FEB 18 1:30 PM:
The photo gallery is finally posted. Be sure to check back once in a while because people are usually kind enough to send photos and stories.

Home of the Champions-Renegade Class From left:
Don Anderson 1st place, Tim McCormick 2nd, Jack Ripp 3rd,
Greg Simon 4th, Jim Nordhaus, winner of Renegade race #1.

SUNDAY FEB 17, 4:00 PM:
I've got an unformatted results page up, will clean it up Monday. Big congratulations to the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club's own Commodore, Don Anderson, who sailed his Easy Rider Renegade to victory in either his first or second NIYA that he has ever sailed. Green Bay's Jay Yaeso took first in the Skeeters, John Dennis in the DNs, Jeff Seeboth took top honors in overall Stern Steerers and Class C Stern Steerers, Marv Luck was first in the D Stern Steerers, and Steve Schalk won the E Boecraft Skeeter division. The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club was well represented in the top Renegade positions, congratulations to second place Tim McCormick , third place Jack Ripp, and fourth place Greg Simon. Sunday was cold, but there was no wind and the regatta was declared sailed. It's been a long but fun three days and I'm going to relax now. Look for more photos and stories all this week.

SUNDAY, FEB 17, 2002, 7:30 AM:
Last night's banquet was well attended at the Sunnyside Resort. ISA Secretary Paul Krueger announced that the ISA is tentatively called on, but check again on Wednesday. I'm not sure if it's called on for Kegonsa, or somewhere else. Will have more information later. I think they are still looking for ice anywhere. A stretch of warm temperatures are again forecasted for the Madison area thus making Kegonsa's ice an endangered species. Winds are very light today, a marked change from the last two days. In the Renegades, only 1 point separate first place Don Anderson and second place Tim McCormick. Jack Ripp could also be a factor in this battle. There is a tight battle for overall first place in the Skeeter fleet, Tom Hyslop and Jay Yaeso are also one point apart. John Dennis currently holds first place in the DNs with David Kickhafer second. I'll have official final results tonight or early tomorrow.

There's a fine line between Insanity and Sanity........

SATURDAY, FEB 16, 4:00 PM:
HE"S BAAACK: Today's wind was heavier, blowing a steady 20 with 25 mph gusts. Add hard ice, and you've got the recipe for another memorable day of ice sailing. An evening of mast repair at Bill Mattison's Ice Boat Shop put Dan Clapp back on track in his new Insanity, one of the more striking boats I've seen. Dan won the two Skeeter races with huge leads. 4LIYC Bob Kau took a second and a third. Bill Dale placed third in the first race, and Tom Hyslop sailed to a second in the second race. In the DNs, the top three finishers for the first race were Steve Orlebeke, David Kickhafer, and John Dennis. Race two: John Harper, David Kickhafer, John Dennis. (Apologies for mangling some spelling here, will correct on Monday). Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Commodore Don Anderson sailed to his first Renegade regatta victory in the first Renegade race with a tremendous lead over second place Greg Simon. The second Renegade race proved that Jack Ripp is always the man to beat as he continued his Regatta race winning streak. Greg Simon brought home second and Donny Anderson was third. Steve Schalk is leading the B Skeeters. One of the best sights of the day was a Channel 15 reporter who braved the blustery conditions and hitched a ride to the race line in just his suit coat and tie and no hat. Film at 6PM tonight. Regatta photos dominated the front page of Madison's Capital Times today. I'll look for a link later. Sunnyside Resort on Lake Kegonsa, a family-owned restaurant now in the hands of the third generation, deserves a pat on the back for keeping us well taken care of with food and drinks. It's nice to see sailors relaxing at the tables in front of the big screen watching the ice boat videos brought by Don Sanford and Jon Soyka. Photo gallery will be posted Monday, we're getting ready for the banquet at Sunnyside.

Skeeters on the line for the second race

FRIDAY FEB 15, 8:00 PM:
Any day on the ice is a great day and today was one of them. The discovery of a small to medium size hole a few minutes before the first race was cause for concern. Two four-wheelers were sent out to scan the lake and mark any holes. Meanwhile, everyone sailed back in to Sunnyside for an early lunch and some waiting-around. Thankfully, there were no other holes discovered and racing was called on for 1:00. The ice was in relatively better condition than Thursday and the winds blew out of the Northeast 15-19 mph. The ice did soften and there was talk of hooking some big ruts. Because of the questionable ice, Rick Hennig and Fred Stritt wisely decided not to take out their big boats, the Deuce and the Fritz. But just seeing the Fritz and the Deuce set up in the pits was a welcome sight. Canadian videographer Jon Soyka was parked at the top mark all day. He'll have 2002 NIYA videos for sale soon, I'm sure. There was a local newspaper reporter taking pictures and notes today. Don Sanford says that a couple of the Madison TV stations will be out to do some filming on Saturday. One of the stories of the day was New Jersey skipper Dan Clapp's mast breaking during the morning on his brand new front-seater Skeeter. Fellow competitor and 4LIYC Skeeter skipper Bill Mattison offered Dan the use of his boat. Bill wasn't feeling up to par and Dan took him up on his offer to sail Bill's open-cockpit style Honeybucket. The racing went off at 1 PM without a hitch and each class was able to run two races, a great way to start off a regatta. Unofficial Results: DN Race 1: John Dennis, David Kickhafer; Race 2: John Dennis, Markham Chatterton, Steve Orlebeke. Renegade: Race 1: Jim Nordhaus, Tim McCormick, Don Anderson; Race 2: Tim McCormick, Greg McCormick, Gordon Stefanek. Skeeters: Race 1 Jay Yaeso, Buddy Melges, Tom Hyslop; Race 2 Jay Yaeso, Tom Hyslop, Buddy Melges. DNer John Dennis and Skeeter pilot Jay Yaeso had their boats hooked up today and both won with impressive leads. After racing, the 4LIYC sponsored a half barrel so that the skippers could do a little bench racing. Temps are forecasted for the 20s tonight, and the ice should be nice and hard tomorrow and winds about the same as today. I snapped 57 pictures today and am too tired to go through and edit for posting. Tomorrow will be another great day on the ice. 

FRIDAY, FEB 15, 7:00 AM:
Temperatures did not go as low as forecasted and are barely above freezing as I type this. This warm winter has been a curse worldwide. One of our Dutch Ice Sailing friends emailed last night and said that even Sweden doesn't have much ice, not to mention Holland. The Dutch club is getting together this weekend for some RC boat racing. The bad weather I can deal with, but am tired of chirpy local TV weather readers extolling the virtues of the mild winter. Off to the lake.

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 5:00 PM:
Part of the East Coast contingent were already stationed at Sunnyside's bar having just arrived when we walked in at lunch time. They had left New Jersey at 7 PM Wednesday night and drove through the night straight to Lake Kegonsa. The three Dan Clapp-built Skeeters were unloaded and provoked the most interest on the ice. Attitude is sporting a new blue paint scheme. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to get a good look at Dan's new boat because it is partly covered up. Marv Luck shared a photo album filled with historical photos of the Oshkosh boats. He promises more tomorrow after sailing. There were quite a few stern-steerers setting up including Ron Schloemer's Pterodactyl (glad I have spell check) a ca. 1910 Buckstaff-built boat, Bill Bentsen's Taku, Richard Litchfield's Miss Madison, and Marv Luck's Long Tall Sally. 20 to 30 boats are on the ice. And what of the ice? The warm temperatures and heavy winds brought the water to the surface. The ice is a different animal from yesterday, and even this morning. I have a feeling that it will be soft tomorrow. I'll post photos later tonight after dinner out, it is Valentines Day!

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 8:00 AM:
Wow, just checked the message board and thrilled to see that the world's largest ice boat, the Deuce will be here along with Madison-built Fritz, and the Taku. 

THURSDAY, FEB 14, 7:15 AM:
Luckily we had our regularly scheduled club meeting last night to go over the logistics of hosting a major regatta. DNer Doug Kolner and Renegade skipper Jerry Simon reported on the day's sailing activities at Lake Kegonsa. They said that the Skeeter delegation was well represented by Bill Mattison, Bob Kau, Tom Hyslop, Buddy Melges, Bill Dale, and Gary Buyeske. Skeeter Ice Yacht Club's Jane Pegel also brought her years of experience to help check the ice. Doug Kolner sailed his DN and described 10-12" of ice, no holes or heaves, and a large course. With temperatures expected to reach the mid 40s today, it is advised that sailors keep off the course to keep it in good condition. Vehicles were able to drive on and off the ice in order to drop off trailers. But, as many of you well know, Dane County does not allow vehicles to remain on the ice, therefore, pull your vehicle off after dropping off the trailer. I'll be heading to Kegonsa sometime today and report back with photos and more news.

Final Results

Class E Skeeter

A Stern Steerers

NIYA CLASS C

NIYA CLASS D

NIYA CLASS E - Boecraft

DN Class

Renegade Class

NIYA Sternsteerer - overall

February 15, 2002
The Regatta Begins
Conditions: NNW Winds 14-17 mph Ice became soft as the day wore on
Photo Credit: Deb Whitehorse

• 
  Standing by while the
  lake is scanned for holes.
• 
  More standing around.
• 
  The Fritz
• 
  Towards Sunnyside.
• 
  Twin Beds, C Class
  Stern Steerer
• 
• 
  Miss Mischief, Jeff Seeboth's
  C Class Stern Steerer
• 
  Marv Luck's D Class
  Stern Steerer
• 
  Bill Dale's Cold Reality
  Skeeter Class
• 
  Burley Brellinthin's
  Boe Skeeter
• 
  Steve Schalk's Boe Skeeter
• 
  Clay Georgeson's Renegade
• 
  Jack Ripp moments before
  the flag drops for the
  Renegade race.
• 
  Mike Ripp's Renegade
• 
  54 Tim Stanton &
  Arlyn Lafortune,
  Renegade Class
• 
  Renegades on the race line.
• 
  Renegades
• 
  Skeeter class on the race line.
• 
• 
  The mighty Deuce, the
  world's largest ice boat.
• 

February 16, 2002
Day 2 Photo Credits: Harry Whitehorse
Conditions: The ice was harder than on Friday and the winds were blowing NW 16-20 with gusts to 25 mph.

• 
  Buddy Melges Skeeter
• 
  Gary Whitehorse Skeeter
• 
  Bob Kau Skeeter
• 
  The McCormick's
  Twin Beds and Marv Luck.
• 
  Skeeters rounding the top mark.
• 
  Bill Hanson Skeeter
• 
  Gary Buyeske Skeeter
• 
  Bill Dale Skeeter
• 
  Richard Lichtfeld's
  Madison style stern steerer
  Miss Madison
• 
  New Jersey's Dan Clapp
  Skeeter Class
• 
  Dan Clapp accepting
  congratulations from
  Renegader Mike Derusha
• 

Sunday, February 17, 2002
Day 3
Conditions: No wind, no sailing. Photo Credits: Deb Whitehorse

• 
  The view from above
  Photo Credit: Steve Arnold
  
• 
  Photo Credit: Steve Arnold
• 
  Tim McCormick, Don Anderson,
  Greg Simon.
• 
• 
  Waiting for wind.
• 
  Race committee:
  Charlie Miller-Chief Judge,
  Mary Jane Schalk-Scoring,
  Dave Lallier-Flagman
• 
  DN Class Winners
  From left:
  1st-John Dennis,
  2nd-David Kickhafer,
  3rd-Steve Orlebeke,
  4th-John Haper,
  DN Junior Champion Grady Ganta
  
• 
  Renegade Class Winners:
  From left: 1st Don Anderson,
  2nd Tim McCormick,
  3rd Jack Ripp,
  4th Greg Simon,
  Winner of Renegade
  Race #1 Jim Nordhaus
• 
  Skeeter Class Winners
  From left: 1st Jay Yaeso,
  2nd Tom Hyslop,
  3rd Bill Dale,
  4th Paul Krueger,
  1st Boecraft E Skeeter
  Steve Schalk
• 
  Stern Steerer Class Winners C Class 1st and Stern Steerer overall
  Jeff Seeboth,
  D Class 1st Marv Luck

Photo Credits: Dave Travis

• 
  Bill Bentsen's Taku
• 
• 
  Lady Les, Skeeter
• 
• 
• 
  Skeeter pilots:
  From left, Bob Kau,
  Jay Yaeso,
  Tom Hyslop,
  Bill Dale

Insanity
New Jersey's Dan Clapp unveiled his new front-seat Skeeter class ice boat at the Northwest Regatta. In the hours before the first regatta race, the mast broke and Dan sailed Bill Mattison's Honeybucket in competition that day. That same evening, repairs were made at the Mattison Ice Boat shop and Insanity reigned on the regatta's second day. Photo Credits: David Travis

INSANITY-THE GRAPHICS
What appears to be random swirls in the stripe are, upon closer inspection, hand painted words and doodles. Many famous names, boats, places, and ice yacht clubs are found in the stripe. Photo credits: Deb Whitehorse

Click here to view 2002 NIYA Photo Gallery #2