DN North American Championship RESULTS

The Racer's View: New England Commodore James "T" Thieler's North American regatta reports.

North Sails Interview: Chad Atkins on the new DN sail development

You just finished sailing the DN North Americans. What conditions did you encounter at this event and how prepared for them were you?
The NA's were held in Madison, WI the last week of February on a nice sized plate that had been resurfaced by some rain, wind and warmth just prior to the event. This left a reasonably flat and slightly textured surface that was somewhat soft and would go away quick in bright sunshine but would stay hard under cloud cover and wind. We had sunshine and very light winds that we couldn't do much with the first few days followed by full on-hold on breeze for a couple days and ending with a light to moderate last day. Continue reading.

Looking Cool!

Watch this cleverly edited video from from Scott Valentine and the guys from the Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat And Yacht Club who made the long drive to Madison for the DN North American championship in February. Watch it here.
Tip of the Helmet: Commodore T on the NEIYA website.

France 2 North Americans Video

More international coverage from the recent DN North American championship sailed on Lake Monona in Madison. The reporter and film crew came early in the week when there was no wind. They were able to use footage from the 2015 Gold Cup sailed in Kingston, Ontario and some other footage from New York. Watch video here.

France 1 TV Report

"It is -15 ° C and the wind is blowing at 50 km / h. During the winter on the frozen lakes of Wisconsin, lovers of skiing and sailing are found to go faster...they perpetuate the tradition of Dutch immigrants who sailed on the Hudson River." Watch video here.

Robert Jaeger Photos

Robert Jaeger shared his photos with us from the regatta. Not only did he get some great shots, he tried iceboating for the first time when "Daniel Hearn let me take his iceboat out for a few spins. I had never sailed one before, even though I've sailed a lot on water. What fun and thanks to him!"

Up In The Air

Another cool drone photo taken at the DN North American championship regatta on Lake Monona.

Jim McDonagh DN Video: North Americans

As always, Jim keeps coming back with new ways to look at DN racing.

Dave Clapp US 5116 On Board Gold Fleet Footage

Not Much Work Accomplished In Area Offices Last Week

14 seconds of racing action from last week's DN North American championship. These two clips were downloaded from Instagram and shot from skyline of Madison over looking Lake Monona. Toledo Ice Yacht Club DNer, Rich Potcova, noted that "we lowered productivity" in Madison office buildings last week.

North American Championships: Day Four (I think) PM Report

DAY 4 RESULTS HERE
Today was worth all the waiting, the wind calmed down enough for races to be banged off one after the other. So far, we have five in Gold and five in Silver. Stand by for results. Big news of the day is that Matt Struble did not win every single race today. Ron Sherry beat him in the last race. The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club's Mike Barnett won a couple Silver races today. Dave Elsmo is up at the top of the Silver fleet as well.

Money

Big wind for Wednesday's Gold fleet DN North American race made for some of the most thrilling racing I've seen as a scorer. The talk of the day was James "T" Theiler's dramatic finish with Ron Sherry just ahead of him. Photographer Joe Stanton, who was also at last week's Northwest, caught it on film. Heading out for Day 4 today. T wrote about the race here. There is no skipper's meeting and the Gold fleet starts racing at 9:30 AM.

DN North American Championship: Day 3 Photos by Joe Stanton

North American Championships: Day Three PM Report

PRELIMINARY RESULTS HERE
Iceboat racing is a sport of extremes. We've waited for wind for two days. Tuesday was sunny, warm, and the photos were spectacular even without racing. The Mary B stern steerer group and Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club members appeared on the horizon with a trailer filled with a catered lunch for the regatta participants. What a sight to see 71 boats rigged up right in the shadow of the Monona Terrace Convention Center and the dome.
Today, the wind announced its presence in a big way. The flag dropped at exactly 10 AM for the Silver qualifier and Matt Struble easily won the race. The Gold fleet had a spectacular race in the building winds. A few masts were dropped and there were some spin outs.
The RC decided to call racing for the day and everyone headed back into the pits where another lunch was waiting for them provided by the Mary B stern steerer group and Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club members.
A field trip to Harken in Pewaukee was organized for the afternoon.
We will try again tomorrow.

North American Championships: Day Two AM Report

On Monday, after two rounds of postponment because of no wind, the Silver qualifier was attempted at 3 PM. The Silver Qualifer is scheduled to be resailed today at 10 AM. Race management deemed that yesterday's race wasn't a fair race because of light and variable winds. Off to the lake for the 9 AM skipper's meeting.

North American Championships: In The News

Check out this photo set from the Wisconsin State Journal of yesterday's attempted Silver Qualifier.

North American Championships: In The News: Channel 3 Video

North American Championships: Day One

Great opening ceremony last night. Wind, or more like lack of it, will be the topic of the day but you never know until you get to the lake. The breeze will arrive here eventually. I have a feeling there will be a few Facebook pictures titled "What Do You Do While You Wait for the Wind?".

Welcome to Monona!

Madison's skyline at dusk provided a beautiful backdrop to the opening ceremonies of the DN North American Championships. Seven flags were raised representing Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United States, and Torsten Siems from Germany who raised the DN flag. Happy birthday Torsten!

DN North American Regatta: Sun Rise Sail

Ride along on an ice check from a DN on Lake Monona this morning.

DN North American Regatta: Check Please

Ride along on an ice check from a DN on Lake Monona this morning.

Called ON for Lake Monona, Madison, WI

The 2016 DN North American regatta has been called on for Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. All official information will be posted on the IDNIYRA website page, The Hotline. Click here for official information.

Get Ready Get Set

Good morning from BZ. We still don't know where the regatta will be sailed. The pace is picking up in the shop with runners being aligned and sharpened, and the logistics of getting the group to the as yet unknown destination. Chris Berger's repaired hull was delivered this morning.
Last night, we had dinner at Spieker and enjoyed the local custom of eating eel and then pouring schnapps over our hands.

Willkommen

The countdown begins. Where will the Gold Cup and European Championship be sailed? I'm in Bad Zwischenhan, Germany, home town of IDNIYRA Europe Commodore Joerg Bohn and several other DN sailors. The decision on location North American sailors here include Ron Sherry, Mike Bloom, Mark "The Doctor" Christensen, Eben Whitecomb, James "T" Thieler, Eric Anderson, Steve Madden, and Chris Berger. Bob Cummins is traveling out of Hamburg.
Chris Berger brought his "wind surfer" in the airplane from Chicago yesterday. This morning during the "unwrapping of the boats ritual", Chris' hull was found to be cracked on the starboard side.

A local DN builder arrived almost immediately and after consulting with Ron Sherry, whisked it away for repair. Chris is walking over to "see how the surgery" is coming along. I'm using Torsten's office while on the other side of the door, the guys are working on their boats.

In The News

"Ice boat regatta on Green Lake
Perfect ice conditions bring sailors to SpicerLakes Area Review, New London-Spicer. By Dori Moudry
Editor Ideal ice and wind conditions, extremely rare during this El Niño winter, brought 71 ice boat racers from all over the U.S. to Green Lake this past weekend for the 2016 International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association (IDNIYRA) 2016 Western Regional Championships." Continue reading.

To Be 18 Again

Mike Miller shared this great video of a great start by Frankie Hearn who placed second in the Silver Fleet.

Winter Yacht Racers travel from afar for Spicer's "Good Ice"

"Some traveled from as far as New England, lower Michigan, Chicago and central Wisconsin to race on the slickest ice in the hemisphere this weekend on Green Lake at Spicer, Minnesota. The Western Regional attracted the nation's top iceboat racers, not only from the West but also the Central and Eastern Regions, just to satify that "Need for Speed." Click here to see video.

McDonagh's Monday: Video from the Regatta

The video says it all.

DN Western Regional Regatta Day 2: 33 Seconds

Results

The DN Western Region Championship is in the books. Matt Struble put on an other worldly performance and took 7 bullets. Apparently sailing Moths and A Class Catamarans every day is good training for DN racing and vice versa. Scorer Loretta Rehe timed a 33 second delta between Matt and the second place boat.
In the Silver Fleet, two 4LIYC sailors made the top two, Dave Elsmo and Frankie Hearn. The Silver fleet racing was close and exciting to watch. Stay tuned for more photos and video. Thanks to DN Western Region Commodore Mike Miller, PRO Dan Heaney, Fred Stritt, Loretta Rehe, Mercedes Auger, and all of you who pitched in to help make the regatta a success.

DN Western Regional Regatta Day 1: Not Average

It was classic day of black ice and fast racing at the DN Western Region Championships. There is an impressive amount of talented sailors here. In fact there are 6 who have rankings in the top ten. In the World. But unranked Matt Strubel (he's unranked because he hasn't competed in an international regatta in the last two years) took bullets. I overheard a Silver fleet competitor remark thst Matt Struble "makes those guys look average". Two Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club members will be duking it out for Silver fleet titles. Frankie Hearn leads Dave Elsmo by one point. Getting ready for breakfast and then to the lake. Here's a link to some video.

DN Western Regional Regatta Called on for Spicer, MN

"The 2016 Western Region Championship Regatta is called on for Green Lake at Spicer, MN." More information on the DN Forum. Watch for photos and reports directly from the ice on iceboat.org On The Road.

1:36 of the Western Challenge

From one of the GoPro bosses of iceboating, Dave Elsmo.

Western Challenge Local Press

"The Great Western Challenge DN Iceboat Regatta took place on Lake Christina in Northwest Douglas County last weekend. About 50 boats were on hand for the regatta, which is sponsored by the Minnesota Ice Sailing Association." Continue reading.

Talent Show

Your Jim McDonagh Youtube Western Challenge video is ready.

Catching Up From the Western Challenge

There are still sailors driving home from the first fun regatta of the season, the Western Challenge. Warren Nethercote's drive to Nova Scotia will take a few days; the Europeans will arrive home before he does!. Congratulations to JD (for not only winning by showing his light air mastery) and the rest of the Minnesota sailors for hosting a successful event. Results here. More to come later...

Sunday AM

Shot of the masts through the frost covered grass.

The Best Day: Lake Christina

Today lived up to its reputation as Friday being the "best day" at the Western Challenge. A group of about 50 DNs had a relaxing day of racing. There may have been 10 or so races. The ice was described as "slow" with a styrofoam surface. Luckily the wind was enough to keep everyone moving. Quite a few fast sailors and smiling faces in the pits late in the afternoon. NEIYA Commodore T was the fastest guy out there today. Racing starts tomorrow at 11 AM.
I will TRY to post to the iceboat.org On The Road website from the ice tomorrow if there's time.

Lake Christina

The Doctor may be the first in North America to get runners on the ice. He's setting up on Lake Christina near Alexandria, MN.
Watch for information on Minnesota iceboating.net

Western Challenge

Watch for information on Minnesota iceboating.net

Tim Woodhouse

UPDATE: Link to obituary.
The iceboating community sends our condolences to the family of Tim Woodhouse who passed away Monday, August 31 after a long illness. He was highly regarded and had an impressive regatta record. Tim won the DN Worlds in 1974 in Zergrze, Poland, was third in 1975 in Saginaw, Michigan, and 4th in 1981 in Hamilton Bay, Ontario. He won the DN North American championship in 1970 on Lake St. Clair in Michigan, 1973 in Sodus Bay, New York, 1974 in Hamilton Harbor, Canada, and placed 3rd in 1977. He was the highest scoring junior in the DN North Americans in 1969, 1970, and 1971.
Jane Pegel remembers, "Tim owned Hood Sail makers This is an international sail making firm. He bought the company several years ago. Tim was only 16 years of age when he won the DN North Americans in 1970 and went on to win more championships.
Tim was a big help when we were writing the DN sail measuring procedure (about three years ago) and he felt strongly that it was important for the DN sail to remain a dacron cross-cut sail so to keep it economical to build. "
UPDATE: Ron Sherry remembers Tim, " Tim was one of the most competitive people ever born. He graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School in 1971 where he held swim team records forever. Tim won the DN Iceboat North American Championships for the first time in 1970 on Lake St. Clair at the age of 16. He challenged my son Griffin to do the same." Continue reading.