by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 21, 2022 | 2022, Home Page
Looking for a DN or DN parts? Have questions about DN sailing? If you are new to the sport or looking for your first ride, iceboat swap meets are the best place to find what you need and meet the ice sailing community. Here are five iceboat swap meets scheduled in the coming weeks.
HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA
Date: October 29, 2022
Time: Noon – 5 PM ET
Location: 470 Bay St. North, Hamilton, ON, Canada
The Canadian Ice Force is hosting a backyard swap meet and social at Les Druiven’s (KC3475) house. RSVP to Lester: dldruiven@gmail.com. Park at the Leander Rowing club on the shore and walk back up the hill on the footpath (1 minute). Canadian Commodore Colin Duncan and other Kingston sailors are attending.
NEW ENGLAND: Sponsored by the New England Ice Yachting Association
Date: Saturday, October 29, 2022
Time: 10 AM ET
Location: Thompson Speedway Golf Course, 205 E Thompson Rd, Thompson, CT 06277
More information.
MICHIGAN: Sponsored by Gull Lake, West Michigan, and Grand Traverse Ice Yacht Clubs
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Time: 10 AM – 1 PM ET
Location: The Dock ( at Bayview) from
12504 E D Ave
Richland, MI 49083
Map
Swap, sell, buy, trade. Catch up with friends and make many more who enjoy our unique sport of Ice Yachting.
MINNESOTA: Hosted by Tim Carlson at Sailcrafters
Date: Saturday, November 5
Time: 9 AM – Noon CT
Location: 7450 Oxford Street
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
Map
WISCONSIN: Sponsored by the Skeeter Iceboat Club
Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022
Time: 10 AM CT
Location: Delavan Lake Yacht Club
1501 Cedar Point Drive, Delavan, WI
Map
More information.
Swap starts at 10 AM followed by food and beverages inside yacht club. Packers at Detroit starting at noon. Admission free, ample parking and grassy area.
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 14, 2022 | 2022, Home Page
Here’s Samuel Bartel, fresh out of the starting-blocks as he pushes off for a race at the 2022 U.S. Nationals on Lake Senachwine in Illinois.
Photo: Sean R. Heavy
Get Started Sailing a DN
If you are here because of the Harken Blockheads YouTube videos, check us out. If you have questions on how to get started DN sailing, please contact us! secretary.idniyra@gmail.com Ice sailors are standing by, ready to help you get on the ice.
Via the Harken Blockheads website:
Ice waits for no one. Harken Marketing Intern Samuel Bartel is obsessed with ice sailing. To him, hard water yachting is the pinnacle of fun. Candidly, he’s more than a little bit obsessed. There’s one thing he really regrets: not getting into it sooner!
Why make the same tragic mistake Samuel did? Don’t let another winter go by sitting on the couch. Get involved in this outrageously fun sport now! If you wait any longer, you might miss out on the best experience of your life—or at least the best used equipment of the year. The time to start is NOW, while you’re sweating.
Watch this video series to learn how to get into it THIS YEAR:
See all four videos on the Harken Blockheads website.
Or view them on YouTube
Preparing for Iceboating
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 9, 2022 | Home Page
Runner Tracks
The Online Magazine of the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association
September 2022
September signals it’s time for DN sailors to THINK ICE. We have 58 pages of ice-thinking for you in this issue of Runner Tracks. In addition to several proposals and the 2022 European Secretaries meeting minutes, Mike O’Brien shares his story from the 1988 DN World Championship in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). It’s a fascinating glimpse into the waning days of the USSR, and the mindset of how a defending World champion handles the pressure, adjusts to conditions, and keeps his DN equipment tuned in a place where the corner hardware store didn’t exist. Thanks to photographer Gretchen Dorian for allowing us to use her work for the cover. And a big thank you to our sponsors who help keep Runner Tracks and the Yearbook on a steady course.
RUNNER TRACKS IS AVAILABLE IN THREE DIFFERENT FORMATS:
Flipbook Magazine
Download pdf file (best for tablets)
Download single page pdf (best for phones)
IN THIS ISSUE
- Proposed Revised Specifications from the IDNIYRA Technical Committee for Sections A,B
- Commodore’s Column
- Proposed Revised Specification for D7 Boom
- 3 Proposed Revisions to EPIC Agreement
- Proposal to Revise IDNIYRA Constitution
- 1988 DN World Championship in Leningrad by Mike O’Brien US3456
- Minutes of the 2022 European Secretaries Meeting
Get this issue in a full color soft cover book for $18. 
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 5, 2022 | 2022, Home Page
Today we have finished work on two sections of IDNIYRA OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS.
Thanks to modern technology, Technical Committee met six times online for two-hour sessions each to prepare a updated version of the class rules.
We would like to thank Warren Nethercote for laying the foundation for the committee’s work. Without Warren’s work, it would not be possible to achieve our goals.
We hope that our work will be positively received by members of the DN class and that the proposed rule format will be voted on.
TC members will be happy to answer any questions that may arise after publication in Runner Tracks [September 2022].
On behalf of TC,
Tomek Zakrzewski, P-55
by Deb Whitehorse | Sep 2, 2022 | 2023 Worlds & North Americans, Home Page
49 years later, 2022: Robert Graczyk, Poland
In 1937, the Detroit News newspaper asked for volunteers to attend a workshop to create an easy-to-build, easily transported, and inexpensive iceboat, which came to be known as the DN. The DN’s popularity grew, and sailors organized a class and sanctioned the first North American championship in 1953, won by Jack Moran of Michigan.
The comparatively small boat found its way to Europe. The “Johnny Appleseed” of European DN sailing, Holland’s Wim Van Aker, traveled the continent, giving DNs to aspiring ice sailors with the instruction, “do something with these.” And did they ever.
North American and European class officers, including Wim Van Aker, Bill Connell, and Art Teutsch, organized the first world DN championship for the 1973 season. They set it up so that the World Championship alternates between Europe and North America. Michigan’s Lake St. Clair was the primary site, but, as can happen in this sport, the lack of ice conditions on Lake St. Clair forced a move.
DN sailors from America, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland made their way to Gull Lake, Michigan. After dealing with less-than-ideal sticky snow conditions and several days without wind, the race committee and 41 competitors hung tough and finally completed the regatta. There are familiar names on the 1973 results list, with a few still racing. Estonian Ain Vilde won the first Worlds in a tight battle by two points over Gull Lake local Randy Johnson.
2023 also marks the 70th anniversary of the North American championship. Tim Woodhouse of Michigan won the 1973 North American Championship, held a few weeks earlier than the World championship.
The IDNIYRA will celebrate these anniversaries at the DN World and North American championships regattas in 2023. Western Region Commodore Chris Berger and the committee are in the planning stages to bring you a great regatta and commemorate 50 years of international competition. It’s time to start thinking ice!
Read more:
The DN Iceboat
A Brief History of the DN
The Blue Streak 60
North American Championship Records
World Championship History Records
by Deb Whitehorse | Aug 22, 2022 | 2022, Home Page
The IDNIYRA Technical Committee has been working diligently over the summer for the DN Class. Here’s an update on their progress.
Via TC member Tomek Zackrzewski P55:
Here is short summary of what has happened within TC:
On Sunday, August 22, the IDNIYRA Technical Committee members completed online meeting #4. Main focus is to deliver revised wording of Section A (fuselage) and section B (runner plank).
The main goals are:
- Incorporate interpretations into Official Specifications
- Rewrite to deliver more user friendly wording
- Enrich each section with measurement guide incl. measurement drawings
- Consolidate fragmented sections
- Eliminate loopholes and grey areas by giving more precise definitions
- Maintain unchanged specs
There are two more online meetings scheduled by September 1st.
IDNIYRA Technical Committee Members:
Jeff Kent US3535
David Croner S1
Paul Goodwin US46
Tomek Zackrzewski P55
Steve Orlebeke US4926
Argo Vooreemaa C36
