by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 23, 2025 | 2025, 2026
Paul Chamberland KC5700 opened the North American ice sailing season today on Owlseye Lake, only a few miles from where he grew up near St. Paul, Alberta. He has been visiting family and watching the weather with the patience of someone who knows ice. Today it paid off.
His mother, brother, and the rest of the crew spent the entire day enjoying the lake, taking turns in the two DNs Paul hauled north.
Now we wait to see if Paul carries some of that cold south to northwest Minnesota for the Western Challenge, the unofficial start to the season on the fastest ice in the state.
by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 18, 2025 | 2025, 2026, Home Page
As many of you have heard, the DN class has lost JR Francis US807, a friend, a competitor, and a steady presence on the ice. Our condolences go out to his wife, Kylie, and to his family. His passing feels especially hard because it came without warning, and because we all expected many more years of seeing US807 at the front of the fleet.
From the Race Committee side, JR was the kind of sailor you hoped to see on the line: respectful, focused, and fast. He didn’t say much, but he spoke volumes on the racecourse. Those of us who watched the sharp end of the fleet know exactly how often US807 was right in the fight.
Skip Dieball knew JR all his life, and JR was like a brother to him. Thank you Skip for sharing some photos and your remembrance.
Robert F. Francis, Jr.
1969-2025
-by Skip Dieball
The iceboat family is mourning the loss of our good friend, JR Francis. He was a tremendous individual and will be greatly missed.
JR grew up in the Point Place community of Toledo, OH. There with the support of his family, he began a lifetime of boating that would pave the way for a successful career in the marine industry.
Just a few blocks from his childhood home, my brother Ernie and I formed a close bond that would carry on through our lives. Our ages were very close and we shared many of the same passions. Summer sailing, Iceboating, Bike riding and all the fun and travel associated. We went to the same schools, participated in the same summer sailing programs and iceboated on Maumee Bay as often as we could. We were brothers, and there weren’t many days that would go by without us getting together.
JR went on to become a successful boat captain working for very famous clients which included business leaders and professional sports icons. His attention to detail and preparation were key success factors in his career.
JR was a trusted sailing teammate. He and I won several sailing championships that were hard earned and well sailed. He was a fantastic tactician and had a pragmatic approach that led to quick decisions and success.
JR was an outstanding and highly ranked iceboating competitor in the DN class. He traveled all over the world to compete and strived to get better with every event. He truly helped me as I dove in and out of the sport through my adult years, always providing support and encouragement. At a recent DN Worlds, I had to race every qualifying race to get to the gold fleet. At the finish of each race, he was there to coach me and inspire me to get ready for the next race, as I had no idea where I generally finished.
Above all of his accomplishments, support and friendship, he dearly loved his wife Kylie and the life they built together. She made our great friend an even better person through life. JR’s had the support of a wonderful family. My deepest condolences to Bob Sr., Debbie and her family.
by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 1, 2025 | 2025, 2026, Home Page
Now this is super cool! European Rally Champion Miko Marczyk and Polish DNer Łukasz Zakrzewski P155 teamed up to film a Škoda spot that takes ice driving and sailing to another level. The surface looks incredible, and I can’t help but wonder where it was shot. This dropped yesterday on YouTube. Learn more on Skoda’s website.
Video link.
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 6, 2025 | 2026, Home Page
Here is an excellent photo from Poland that I’ve been waiting to use for a while, proving how far the obsession can go: a commercial ice cream freezer repurposed to keep runners cold during sharpening sessions. Brilliant!
It is no secret that DN sailors are obsessive about runners and keeping them sharp. For nearly 200 years, the explanation for why runners slip on ice was simple: pressure and friction melt the surface. But new research from Saarland University in Germany shows the real story. It is molecular dipoles, tiny electrical charges in the runner metal interacting with the ice, that disrupt the crystal structure and create a thin liquid film. If you want a deep scientific dive into why things like runners glide on ice, check out the full article on phys.org.
To get a better understanding of what is going on, it helps to know how ice is structured. Below zero degrees Celsius, water molecules (H₂O) arrange themselves into a highly ordered crystal lattice in which the molecules are all aligned neatly with one another, creating a solid, crystalline structure.
When someone steps onto this orderly structure, it’s not the resulting pressure or friction of the shoe that disrupts the top layer of molecules, but the orientation of the dipoles in the shoe sole interacting with those in the ice. The previously well-ordered structure suddenly becomes disordered.
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 3, 2025 | 2026, Home Page
Photo: Anna Suslova
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As many of you have heard, the DN class has lost JR Francis US807, a friend, a competitor, and a steady presence on the ice. Our condolences go out to his wife, Kylie, and to his family. His passing feels especially hard because it came without warning, and because we all expected many more years of seeing US807 at the front of the fleet.
JR was an outstanding and highly ranked iceboating competitor in the DN class. He traveled all over the world to compete and strived to get better with every event. He truly helped me as I dove in and out of the sport through my adult years, always providing support and encouragement. At a recent DN Worlds, I had to race every qualifying race to get to the gold fleet. At the finish of each race, he was there to coach me and inspire me to get ready for the next race, as I had no idea where I generally finished.
