Time for a quick update before heading to the lake. Racing began at noon yesterday on the first day of the EC because of brutally cold temps in the morning. A C qualifier, B qualifier, an A, and another B were sailed. Ron Sherry us44 took the first race.
It’s cold again this morning but lighter winds are predicted which will make for challenging conditions. Off to the lake!
Congratulations to Poland’s Karol Jablonski for winning a 12th DN World Championship and his 5th in a row!
A bit of Snow fell over night making which made for some drifting. Another cold day. Off to dinner and then registration for the European Championship which begins tomorrow. Results will be posted on the European IDNIYRA website.
To be continued…
It was a bluebird day for iceboating racing but a cold one. Winds were light to medium which allowed for ten races.
After placing well in the first race, Chris Berger had some tough luck at the start of the second Gold when he lost his halyard seconds before the race started and was unable to compete. After a tough first race, Ron Sherry made some changes that brought him up to second place in the next two Gold races. T Theiler kept climbing in the results all day, ending the day with a 4th. Tomorrow will be the finale of the Gold Cup and the European Championship will begin on Wednesday.
Results here.
The fleet made its way to Lake Wielimie near the city of Szczecinek, a five hour drive from Gizycko, Poland. Because there was no freeway, the trip took an extra two hours of driving through the winding roads and small villages of rural Poland. We were slightly delayed in our departure because of a flat trailer tire but a full pit crew of iceboaters made record time making the change. As you can see from the photo above, the sky was dramatic as we pulled in. It’s been another long day and will write more tomorrow night after the first day of competition. The Worlds begin tomorrow. Winds are forecast to be 7 MPH. Stay tuned for more.
We arrived last night to Gizycko, Poland. The last 30 km were a challenge because of a heavy snow squall that reduced visibility. Not the kind of weather that gives confidence while approaching an iceboat regatta. Today, scouts found another site with black ice in western Poland, 5 hours from here. Racing begins Monday. To be continued! 
2015 European Championship
Estonia celebrates their 100 year old tradition of ice sailing and is the host country for the 2018 DN World and European Championships. I’ve been to Estonia twice for regattas and was looking forward to seeing their beautiful country again. However, the regatta has been moved to Poland because of weather and ice condition concerns.
Like Estonia, Poland is another country that takes ice sailing competition very seriously, they’ve even issued postage stamps that commemorated their ice sailing champions. This will be the 5th time the world championship has been held there. Poland is the home of arguably the greatest DN racer in the world, Karol Jablonski P36 who has placed the Gold Cup on his mantle for a record 11 (corrected from 10-thanks Martin) times. In the DN International Ranking System, there are 20 Europeans ranked in the top 10 and 8 of those are Poles. These top ranked Poles along with a slew of others from Europe and North America are gathering in Gyzecko, Poland hoping to take home the cup and deny Karol his 11th World Champion. The first day of racing begins on Sunday, February 25. I am writing this on the table in Joerg Bohn’s Sprinter camper (not so easy because the table is shaking as Joerg puts his foot into the gas pedal), heading east from Germany to Poland. We are joined by our friend Natali Burdukovskaya who handles scoring and tabulating duties for the Baikal regattas. Vice Commodore Warren Nethercote, Ron Sherry, and James “T” Theiler are somewhere ahead of us hauling a trailer full of boats. We will soon pass them at the pace we are going. Tonight, we will be in Poland.
More: In the Polish media.
Minnesota Ice Sailing Association Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club