Nite News 3/10/03
A Bit of Sailing, The Bite of Snow
From Fred Miller
(#371) 3/10/03:
Snow, cold, too much wind,
not enough wind, are the bane of iceboaters and we saw all of it over the past
month. Despite all of that, a bit of action took place around the iceboat
belt so here's what I know (yes, I know, very little).
Pewaukee Ice
Yacht Club sailed five pretty decent races on Sunday, February 23, on Lac
LaBelle in light to medium breezes. Two Minnetonka boats joined the
racing, 2003 Nite National Champion #544 Terry Erwin (sailing under his stealth
sail number - 306) and #559 Scott Brown who showed everyone how fast a cow
really is by winning four of the five races. Only Craig Adams (#120) kept
Scott from sweeping the day by winning race three. The ice surface ranged
from clear to hard drifts to large areas of shell ice. Fortunately, we had
enough wind to drive through the obstacles, leading to another great day of
racing in an already fantastic year.
PIYC 2003 Season Standings are updated as of 3/6/03. Current leaders are:
Saturday Series - #272 Tom Sweitzer and Sunday Series - #120 Craig Adams.
From Brett Larsen
(#37) 3/4/03:
New photos from Brett from
the 2003 Nite Nationals. Click here to view.
From Debbie Whitehorse,
Iceboat.org webmaster 2/27/03:
Follow this link:
http://www.photo-fest.com/dunsworth.shtml
To professional photographer Pat Dunsworth's web page of 2003 Fond Du Lac Northwest Ice Yacht Regatta Photos. You'll find great action shots of just about everybody who participated in the regatta. Pat also attended last seasons' NIYA at Lake Kegonsa where he took quite a few photos.
From Robert K. Lee (Bantam
Lake, CT) 2/27/03:
Bantam Lake finally
became sailable on Feb. 26th after two days (and nights) of heavy weekend rain
and three nights of temperatures in the teens and single digits. My wife, Fran,
and I set up the boat but were only able to get in a couple of short rides due
to light air. Hopes are running high for the weekend barring any new snow and
with 18-24 inches of ice tight to the shoreline the feeling is that we may have
a somewhat extended season this year.
The thumbnail below
(click to enlarge) is a 1 1/8" lapel pin we recently obtained for club members.
The cost was $2.55 apiece for 150 pins(we sell them for $5). It might be something to consider
for the Nite Association.
Check out this great article on iceboating from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dated 1/14/03:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/jan03/110518.asp
Known Ice Conditions
Always be sure to check with locals or sail with a friend before venturing out on any unknown ice surface!
Pewaukee Lake, WI: Snow covered.
Lac LaBelle, WI: Snow covered.
Bantam Lake, CT: 18" - 24" of clear ice.
Lake Como, WI: Snow covered.
Lake Delavan, WI: Snow covered
Lake Mendota, WI: Snow covered.
Lake Monona, WI: Snow covered.
Lake Geneva, WI: Snow covered.
Green Lake, WI: Snow covered..
Nagawicka Lake, WI: Snow covered.
Lake Kegonsa, WI: Frozen. Snow covered.
Lake Minnetonka, MN: Snow covered.
Lake Carlos, MN: Snow covered.