2005-2006 Season
DN Regatta Reports
DN Central Regional Championships
March 4-5, 2006
Elk Lake in Michigan
Be sure to check Jack & Kelly Jacob's
blog for periodic updates. Jack & Kelly live on Elk Lake and report,
"This year we should be able to sit on the couch and watch them. (But you
know we won't !!)"
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Living on Elk Lake, Jack & Kelly Jacobs have a front row seat to the
DN Centrals. Here are some of their photos taken this morning.
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March 3, 2006
Day 0
The trip "over the top" went quite uneventfully, and "Team Madison"
arrived at the Regatta HQ around 10:00pm local time. Dan's trailer is
loaded with four boats: Dan's, Wes' and my DNs and Frankie's Ice-Opti.
After getting briefly lost right after lunch, Wes fired up the
in-dash navigation system and figured out how to program in our
destination; from then on it was smooth sailing. We crossed the
Mackinac bridge just in time to see a beautiful sunset.
The regatta has moved to the north end of Elk Lake, where Dave Zoll
rates the newly formed ice a "10". The forecast for tomorrow is
looking great with winds around 10 mph. It's shaping up to be a great
regatta.
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 Wes figures out the navigation system in the van. |
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Getting Ready for the DN Centrals on Elk Lake
Photos Courtesy of Jack &
Kelly Jacobs
DN
North Americans and Canadian Championships
January 29-February 4, 2006
Check the DN website and hotline for
official information.
February 5, 2006:
Final
results now posted on the DN website. Congratulation to Geoff Sobering
on his 2nd place Bronze finish.
February 1, 2006
Day 4: Sherry NA Champion
Again, "what difference 12
hours can make"... Tuesday we were racing
in light (some optimists might have even said "medium") winds.
Today
we completed the regatta with the winds starting at 20+ mph and
declining to the mid and upper teens. After a little bit of rain
overnight, the ice was very fast with a thin layer of standing water
almost everywhere. There were still some of the larger snow drifts
on
the course, but most had melted down to slush or disappeared
altogether. There were still some attention getting bumps, but the
sheet was quite sailable.
The first Gold Fleet race started in an "up" cycle of the wind;
probably a steady 20 mph. The carnage began quickly on the first
upwind leg. In the span of about 30 seconds two boats on the right
side of the course dropped their masts. The German sailor Joerg Bohn
has his mast jump off the step. It punched the usual hole through
the
deck and other minor problems, but he was back sailing soon. Not so
for most of the other sailors who were generally towed back to the
pits by the 4-Wheeler. I lost track of the number of boats disabled
in the race, but it took the RC some time to clear the course for the
Silver Fleet race. By then, the wind had diminished to the
high-teens. After starting on port, I tacked away from the fleet and
caught a great lift across the course. That helped me round the
weather mark in fifth place. I was able to keep from doing too many
stupid things and held onto a seventh-place finish. It was almost
perfect sailing conditions, enough wind to be (very) exciting, but not
too much and out of control.
For the rest of the day the wind varied in strength and direction, but
it was never too light or too strong. Racing was slowed a bit by the
shifting wind, as the RC had to move the line twice. Ron Sherry and
Matt Struble swapped places at the top of the Gold Fleet, with John
"JD" Dennis always in the hunt. My races went pretty well;
in the
second race I played some of the shifts decently and worked my way
from the back of the pack at the first mark up into the single digits
by the last lap. I lost a few boats in an over-exuberant final
downwind run when I spun out trying to go behind a starboard tacker.
All in all it was enough to get me a 12th place (and the "2nd Place
Bronze" trophy).
Ron Sherry is the new North American Champion, with Matt Struble
coming in second. I'm sure the complete results will be posted
somewhere soon.
In the end, we got seven Gold Fleet races, and six Silver. Quite a
turn around for a regatta that only Monday looked quite bleak.
Everyone who helped make this a success deserves a great round of
applause; I'd list names, but I'm sure I would miss many people.
Hopefully
someone with a better memory can list all the folks we should thank.
A number of people were staying in the Pepin area, and Thursday the
plan is to sail a one-day regatta for the Canadian Championship on
Thursday. The weather forecast is for cooler temperatures and
overcast, so the ice should stay fast. 4-Lakes member Glenn Betzoldt
is staying behind, and I'm hoping to get a report on the day's
activities from him.
January 31, 2006
Day 3: Racing Begins on Pepin
The Gold Fleet starting line.
SAILING!
After the opening ceremonies, the wind slowly built and the R/C
finally reported that it was sailable on the course. The fleet
departed en-masse, careful to follow the marked trail across the large
crack just north of the landing. The two-mile sail to the course was
a bit slow, but everybody made it out there soon enough. Just after
12:00 noon the first Silver Fleet race was started. For the rest of
the afternoon we sailed races as quickly as the wind would allow. In
the end, both fleets got three races in variable conditions from long
lulls near 5 mph with stronger periods in the low teens. Although my
sticky-conditions skills are pretty bad, and my finishes reflect it, I
still had a great day, as did everyone I talked with.
Ron Sherry leads the Gold fleet, but John "JD" Dennis and Matt
Struble
are hot on his heels.
Glenn Betzold, a "corresponding" 4LIYC member (from Michigan)
sailed
well enough in the Silver Fleet qualifier to jump to the Gold Fleet.
Because of the move, turnout is a bit low, with only about 80 boats
sailing.
The launch area in Pepin
The opening ceremony with US, Polish, German, Estonian, and
Canadian flags representing the countries with sailors in the regatta.
January 30, 2006
Migration Successful: DNs in Pepin,
WI
Well, the fleet seems to have
made it unscathed across Wisconsin to
the banks of the Mississippi River. I made the stupid mistake of
driving to the hotel first, then to the ice, so I didn't get my boat
unloaded until just at sunset. Most of the rest of the fleet was
much
smarter and headed straight from Oshkosh to the launch site at "The
Pickle Factory" in Pepin. The wind died as the day progressed,
so I
saw a number of boats drifting back to the pits, but people were
reporting good sailing earlier. Registration just started, so most
people are back at the hotel now. Overnight temps are forecast to
reach the low 20's, so the surface should firm up nicely (there's a
thin layer of snow on the ice). Winds are unfortunately (for me)
forecast to be on the light side. Hopefully I can do a decent job
and
not end up DFL...
DN North American Regatta Moves to
Lake Pepin
Via Geoff Sobering: "Moving
to Lake Pepin, sailing out of Pepin on the Wisconsin side."
North Americans: Day 2: Part 1
Well, that's not good...
Woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground. Hopefully it was
absorbed by the standing water on the ice...
Shot outside my hotel window.
January 29, 2006
North Americans: Day 1
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Rain, rain, go away... (part 2)
No sailing today.
At the 9:30am Skippers Meeting ice-checking expeditions were sent out
to the landings at "Fire Lane 8" (north) and the Wayside
(south). I
headed south with the Wayside group. I got my creepers on at one
stop, but never got onto the ice. The first group quickly determined
that the shallows had warmed things enough to make the landing unsafe.
We followed Bob Cummins north along the lake and checked a few other
possible landings, but they were all the same... Cell-phone word
from
the northern group was positive, so we got a quick lunch before
heading back to the hotel for the noon meeting. The report back from
the north was that the landing was still good, and there weren't any
unavoidable obstacles (mostly drain holes), but there was an average
of 1 1/2 inches of water on the ice with some pools closer to 6
inches. Teams were going to continue scouting the area and checking
the rate the water was disappearing. Another update was scheduled
for
6:00pm, after the IDNIYRA Business Meeting.
The topic of junior sailing came up at the business meeting. Jane
Pegel mentioned that Dan Hearn had
built a fleet of "Ice-Optis" in
Madison. Quite a bit of discussion ensued. Dan mentioned the
junior-program section of iceboat.org, and it was decided to add a
link from the main IDNIYRA site to there. Dan seems to be the
unofficial DN Junior-Program coordinator.
Other 4-Lakes members in Oshkosh: this morning, I saw Madison DNer
Travis Berggren in the hotel lobby; he'd brought the family up to
check out the spectacle, but was heading home since there wasn't much
excitement. Dan Hearn and Wes Wilcox drove up to attend the business
meeting and pick-up their trailer. Hopefully they'll be able to get
back up once we're sailing (perhaps Friday, if we're sailing the
Canadian Championship Regatta by then).
While Dan, Wes, and I were having dinner it began to rain and then
snow... They dropped me off at the hotel and I found a few ice
boaters
in the bar (big surprise!). While we were talking, the snow tapered
off. Overnight low in Appleton is supposed to drop down into the
high
20's tonight, and the low 20's (or even teens) tomorrow night. I'm
guessing that we'll decide to give the ice a bit more time to drain
and heal, then start first thing Tuesday. With some luck, we might
even be able to start racing tomorrow afternoon.
January 28, 2006
Rosendale, home of Wisconsin's
most well-known speed trap. Ice boaters beware!
Rain, rain go away...
Day T minus 1: Part 3
With overnight lows predicted in the high 30's or even 40 degrees, and
rain likely, the R/C have decided not to send the fleet north to the
landing in the morning, and rescheduled the skippers meeting for
9:30am in the Hilton Garden Hotel lobby.
Day T minus 1: Part 2
Since there was no wind forecast,
and the weather stations all showed
calm this morning, I didn't rush to get packed up and out of the
house. Getting my stuff in the car and the boat on top in the
drizzle
was great fun... While I was driving up to Oshkosh, Dan Hearn called
to tell me the launch site was moving a couple of miles west because
some drain holes were found near the landing (thanks Dan!), but that
there wasn't much wind and not many people were even setting up. A
little while later he called again and said he and Wes were heading
back to the hotel. I checked in and found the "Detroit
gang" had also
just arrived. As good ice boaters, practiced in the art of standing
around, we hung out and talked. When Dan and Wes got there we
retired
en-masse to "Friar Tuck's" for lunch. Wes, Dan, and I
ended up eating
with the great group from Traverse City.
It's still raining, and the forecast is for more, but by tomorrow
afternoon things are supposed to get colder and drier. Winnebago is
a
big lake, so there seems like a good chance we'll get the regatta in
sooner or later. With any luck tomorrow's ran will miss us and we'll
be off and running!
Day T minus 1: Part 1
Talk about an emotional roller-coaster... If the iceboating.netpoll
on the NAs had been posted last summer I'd have checked the "Hell
yes!". Sometime in early December the 11th hour effort of
finishing the new boat in time for the Western Challenge had depleted my
energy enough that I was beginning to think that the 1000+ mile drive was
just too much. I got comfortable with that notion, and actually
looked forward to the possibility that the Northwest regatta might be held
the same weekend; with all the Gold-Fleet sailors of at the NAs it might
give a chance for "the rest of us" to place. I watched the
east-coast weather and announcements about the NAs with detached interest.
I have to admit to a certain amount of excitement last week when Winnebago
was mentioned along with the primary eastern sites (OK, I got pretty
excited...). But then it looked like there were three or four pretty
solid sites near Montreal and I went back to detached observation.
In fact, I didn't even check the hotline or web-site Wed. night. As
I was puttering around the house Thursday morning getting ready to leave
for work I glanced on the DN BBS and saw Claude Morin's post "Final
site for the NA & CDN Championships"; just out of curiosity I
clicked it... After I picked myself up off the floor I immediately I
sent out and e-mail to the local DN fleet with the subject: "Holy
c--p! The NAs are going to be on Winnebago!". As soon as I got to
work I let my (very understanding) boss know that I wanted to take the
vacation that I'd switched to "Tentative" just a few weeks ago.
I don't think I caught my breath until well after lunch. Even now I
still can't believe the luck of having the "big dance" come to
my backyard two years in a row. Wow!
DNs and the Return of the Deuce: The
Smallest and the Biggest
The biggest and smallest iceboats
will converge on Lake Winnebago this
weekend as the Wisconsin Stern Steerers Association (WSSA) and the DN
North American Championship regattas have both selected the north end
of Winnebago to race. The stern-steerers are the largest iceboats in
the world at up to 50 feet long, with some weighing well over 1000
pounds, while the 12 foot DN is the smallest. Strangely, the total
mass of each group is probably very similar. What the stern-steerers
bring in individual mass, the DNs make up in numbers, with over 100
sailors expected to compete. This weekend's regatta will also mark the
debut of the Deuce's new hull that was built
during the fall.
(Update: On January 27, the
WSSA was cancelled due to "unsafe ice conditions". These big
boats need more ice than any other class to be able to drive on, set up,
and sail.)
Photo Credit: Greg Whitehorse
Here's the mighty Deuce and a DN at
the 2001 Hearst Challenge on Lake Geneva.
DN
Western Regionals
January 7-8, 2006
Lake Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
DN
Western Regionals Photos
Wow! Twenty-one pages of quality
photos from photographer Tammy Sawyer.
Tip of the helmet, Geoff Sobering
who found it on the DN BBS.
Day 2
What a difference 16 hours can make... Saturday evening people were
pushing their boats back to the pits; Sunday morning the problem was
keeping them in one place. Overnight the wind shifted 180 degrees
and
increased, with solid mid-teens and gusts up to near 20. Whoo, Hoo!
This is exactly the kind of conditions where my stiff mast really
comes into it's own. I reset my rig to the settings I'd been using
Friday and went out for a quick test-sail before the first gold-fleet
race; everything was working together perfectly and the boat felt
great. Dan put on his brand-new insert runners and played around a
bit with mast-step position and fore-stay length; he also pronounced
his boat "good to go". Unfortunately Wes Wilcox was
battling a
way-too-stiff mast and had quite a bit of trouble in the gusty
conditions.
The RC found a nice patch of ice just south of the Wayside launch area
(they did a great job both days!). On average the ice roughness was
OK, but there were a couple of pieces of "debris" (i.e. big
chunks of
ice!) that they marked with cones and were easy to avoid. They did
keep your attention out of the boat when you were coming up to them,
though.
They ran three races each in the gold and silver fleets to fill out
the seven-race regatta. Every one was a battle; I remember heading
up
the last weather leg on all of them thinking that I couldn't hold onto
the sheet any longer...
After the races, "Team Madison" had planned to do some more
day-sailing and tuning, but I was totally wiped-out. I loaned Wes my
boat so he could see how a DN is supposed to sail, and he and Dan went
out for a quick spin around the race area. Watching that gave me a
"second wind" and after taking my gear back to the launch area I
had
to take one last run. What a thrill to barrel across the big-ice of
Winnebago. I sailed almost to the far shore when I saw a large heave
ahead and turned back for a high-speed downwind ride. A great end to
the weekend.
Most of the 60 boats sitting in the pits
(during a rare moment of sunshine)
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Day 1
The first day of racing in the Western Regional Championship started
out with a breezy pair of races for the approximately 50 sailors
divided between the gold and silver fleets. As the day wore on the
wind slowly died, leaving the final silver fleet race an endurance
event for everybody (especially the race-committee); a number of boats
made it back to the launch area as the sun was setting.
My finishes followed the wind; I was extremely happy with a 10th place
in the first race - we won't talk about the later races... Dan
Hearn's finishes improved throughout the day, ending up with a solid
10th place in the final race. Another 4-Lakes Renegader, Wes Willcox,
came up to give his new DN a trail run. He spent most of the day
working on various new boat problems, but got on the course for the
final light-air race, and beat many more experienced DNers with a 13th
place finish.
At the taco-bar "banquet" hosted by the South Shore Ice Yacht
Club, we
ran into 4-Lakes DN sailor Allen Penticoff, who had been cruising
around the lake with some friends from there. He reported an
excellent day on the ice, too!
Day 0
The "practice Friday" before the DN Western District
Championship
regatta was a great day of sailing. Pete Johns was one of the first
folks out onto Lake Winnebago and he came back with the assessment,
"it's very fast ice, get your longest, flattest runners...".
Dan
Hearn and I (the current "Team Madison", although we're hoping
for
more representation tomorrow) setup our boats and went out for some
the scrub races. The ice *is* fast - and bumpy. The wind was
in the
low teens with some exciting gusts to around 20 mph. That got the
boats moving pretty well, and keeping an eye out for lumps on the
surface was the watchword for the day. I lost track of the number of
races that were run, but I think I sailed in four. By the end of the
day there were well over 20 boats out on the course. It was quite a
"shakedown cruise" for Dan's new boat, but it came through with
nothing more than the usual "first sail" kinds of problems.
Tomorrow's forecast is for slightly less wind and *much* higher
temperatures (although the "Microcast" model is still showing
highs
below freezing - we can hope...). It will be interesting to see what
happens to the ice surface.
Battle Lake in western Minnesota
DN
Western Challenge
December 3-4, 2005
Battle Lake in western Minnesota
Website: Minnesota iceboating.net
Geoff Sobering and Byron Tetzlaff, aka as "Team Madison", are
heading to the epic DN Battle on Battle. Their hotel is wired and Geoff
will send periodic updates and photos.
December 4, 2005
No surprise ending - no sailing again Sunday.
The forecast which had been so accurate on previous days didn't quite
deliver Sunday. The wind was supposed to build to almost 10 mph by
noon. It was nearly calm when the fleet assembled in the morning;
slowly the flag at the launch began to flutter slightly as the morning
wore on. Ken Smith and few intrepid sailors pushed out and tried to
sail, but even when the flag was flying reasonably well, the 1 inch of
snow was just too sticky.
At about 11:15 the first boats started being de-rigged, and the fleet
was soon on the road.
Despite the dismal sailing, the regatta was still a great (some might
even say "epic") event. We got to talk iceboating with
many of our
friends from across the county (and the world!), see lots of cool new
ideas for hardware and rigging, and generally have a good time.
Saturday night Dick Wollam and Julie Richards hosted a pizza and
smoked chub party in their suite. I was going to take some more
"iceboaters gone wild" photos there, but a bunch of folks
standing
around, talking, and looking at iceboat photos on some laptop
computers just didn't seem as exciting as sail repair and runner
sharpening. Maybe it's just me...
Ice flakes forming on the surface of Battle Lake
(more:http://geoff-s.net/wia/image/tid/27)
The fleet Sunday morning (larger: http://geoff-s.net/wia/node/94)
December 3, 2005
Wind? You need wind for iceboating? D'oh! Why didn't
somebody tell me...
When Byron and I arrived at the launch site the flag was waving pretty
nicely. We were hopeful that we could sail through the 1/2 inch of
snow that fell overnight. Unfortunately, the wind died as quickly as
we could get the boats setup. Sigh. At 10:00 the
race-committee
(unofficial, as is everything about the regatta) held a competitors
meeting. A number of people counted boats, and the general consensus
was that there were well over 50 sailors on the ice. Around noon the
wind was still missing, so the fleet broke for lunch. While we were
eating the snow continued to fall, and the wind slowly increased. At
2:00 a number of people went out to try different runners and sails.
A few folks were able to move, but the vast majority stalled fairly
quickly. A group congregated out on the course hoping that the wind
might fill in late in the day, like it did yesterday. No such luck.
I pushed out and had a great conversation with some of the Germans.
As the sun set everybody packed up and covered their boats, hoping for
better conditions tomorrow. The forecast is for nearly 10 mph winds
and much colder, so we may yet get some races in.
The fleet gathers for the skippers meeting.
The flag at the landing area in its familiar state.
JD pushes out to try the post-lunch conditions.
The launch area.
Exposed! Ice
boaters gone wild! What *really* happens after the races
are done! Hotel room mayhem!
Byron tweaks the edge on his runners...
Geoff repairs a batten pocket on his full sail..
December 2, 2005
More than 40 boats showed up for the tune-up day before the Western
Challenge regatta. Unfortunately, it turned out to be almost a
washout. Most of the day the wind was just too light to sail through
the 1/2" snow cover; many sailors tried and many walked back...
Despite the sub-15 degree temperatures is was pleasant and comfortably
warm. In the late afternoon the wind picked up just enough to get
most folks out for a test run. Byron and I both got a couple of good
runs on our new boats. The max-length cockpits are absolutely great!
Both boats a very comfortable. As the sun was setting the wind
increased a bit more and the folks who hadn't de-rigged already were
able to get some hot-laps and scrub racing in. Byron and I watched
jealously from our nice warm car as we drove back to the hotel.
The pits
The new boats look great!
Some of the international contingent at the
regatta from Germany and Poland.
Geoff contemplates the long walk back.
December 1, 2005
We had a very uneventful trip "up north". The snow was
still falling
in Madison when we left, but the roads were no problem. The sky
cleared up as we drove north and west, and we only saw scattered snow
flurries in the afternoon. Other than dodging 4x8 sheets of plywood
flying off a truck, nothing much happened. Byron and I split the
driving (and photography), and the trip went by quite quickly. We're
at the hotel and our runners are all sharpened and ready to go for
tomorrow. The only other sailors we've run into so far are Dick
Wollam and Julie Richards from Traverse City (now that's a long
trip!).
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Byron left, Geoff right
November 30, 2005
This evening Byron and I tucked the new boats into their covers and
strapped them on some temporary bunks fitted to Jim Nordhaus' Renegade
trailer (thanks Jim!). On the drive from the shop to my house the
trailer tracked perfectly; it looks like it will make the trip
beautifully. Right now they're all bundled under a tarp in my
backyard waiting to start the drive "up north" tomorrow morning.
We're staying in the same Best Western as last year, and they still
have wireless Internet access, so I should be able to send back some
photos and stories over the weekend