2019 Gold Cup & NA
Read 2019 Gold Cup champion Michał Burczyński’s fascinating account posted on the Ullman Sails website. of how bad luck turned into good luck thanks some help from the DN ice sailing community.
We (the Polish team) had a few days head start in sending our iceboats to the USA, in case of any unforeseen problems. Our equipment got held up at the Paris airport. Our appeals to the shipping company went unheard. And just when things were looking up, our bad luck continued, as the plane which was supposed to bring our gear three days before the start of the Championships, failed to take off because of a malfunction.
We were very nervous. Further calls to the shipping company yielded no results, I gave up and just accepted that my ice boat would not arrive on time. All that was left was to just treat my stay as an opportunity to catch up with other iceboaters and a tourist trip. I tried to borrow an iceboat, just to appear at the starting line and finish the races.
Syracuse man, 68,races in national regatta at Wawasee CHARLOTTE STEFANSKI | The Journal Gazette
When Rick Lemberg moved from Chicago to Syracuse, he was asked by his friends on Lake Wawasee if he had ever tried ice sailing.
It was the most expensive boat ride he ever took.
Now 68, Lemberg is the owner of many boats, including his DN ice yacht, which he races with as many as 50 other sailors at a given time.
“It’s just an adrenaline rush. It’s just like racing a stock car. The speed is unbelievable,” Lemberg said. “And of course the camaraderie. I’ve known a lot of these guys for a long time, and it’s just a huge, international club.”
The race came to him last month, when the DN North American National Championship moved from Lake Indian in Ohio to Lake Wawasee. Continue reading.
As our season winds down, let’s reflect upon the simple joy of sailing an iceboat through the experience of a 100 year old DN sailor. Bruce Brown US1610 shares this video of his father-in-law, long-time IDNIYRA member Mel Nichols US2780, sailing Bruce’s DN on March 12, 2019 on Wolf Lake in Michigan. DN iceboating helps to keep us young!
The DN community extends it deepest condolences to the friends and family of Nick Vitale, a long time DN sailor and class member from Vermillion, OH who walked on Sunday, March 5th. Nick’s obituary is posted here. Fair winds and never-ending black ice, Nick.
Director of Harken engineering, Steve Orlebeke US4926, shares his obsession with ice sailing in the Harken magazine “At The Front”:
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Whisper it with me…black ice. One more time…black ice. I have a confession to make: I dream about black ice — even sometimes in July. Occasionally, even when I’m in a bunk on a boat sailing in soft water. Continue reading.
The DN is most popular iceboat in the world. Whether you are a racer or cruiser, your $25 membership in the IDNIYRA helps to promote the art and skill of DN ice yacht construction and the sport of ice yachting on all the hard waters of the world.
