LATEST NEWS
September Runner Tracks Newsletter
Runner Tracks, the newsletter of the IDNIYRA, has been virtually delivered to your door. Meade Gougeon is on the cover, the first photo of Meade ever taken by Gretchen Dorian while at her first iceboat regatta in ten years ago. European IDNIYRA Secretary Chris Williams has provided a timeline as to what transpired when DNs were being considered for Olympic glory and why that didn’t happen. Other features include class members sharing their remembrances of Meade, minutes of the 2017 EU Secretaries meeting, and the 2018 International Rank list. [If you have any questions about the list, please email to exec.secretary@idniyary.org.] Read all about it here on the Runner Tracks page.
Did you know that Runner Tracks is available in three different electronic formats and you can also order it in a print version?
Flipbook magazine: Best for laptops and desktop computers
PDF: Best for tablets
PDF Single Page: Best for mobile devices
Western & Eastern Region Regatta Dates Announced
Dates for two regional DN regattas have been announced.
WESTERN REGION CHAMPIONSHIP
Date: January 6-7, 2018
Location: Best ice in the Western Region (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, or Iowa)
EASTERN REGION CHAMPIONSHIP
Date: January 13-14, 2018
Location: Best ice in the Eastern Region
Meade Gougeon US882: 1938-2017
The DN class sends our thoughts and condolences to the family of Meade Gougeon who passed away on Sunday, August 27, 2017. Meade was a well respected class leader and had a tremendous impact on ice boating and all forms of sailing. Jane Pegel US805 remembers Meade:
It has been a privilege to witness the “Gougeon” era. The brothers Meade, Jan, and Joe were all top notch DN sailors. While Joe ventured away from Gougeon Brothers, Meade and Jan became innovators in the boat building industry. “Get out the Gouge” became a familiar phrase, especially to those of us building and racing iceboats.Meade Gougeon was an outstanding leader, both in business and the DN class. When a discussion was getting “heated”, Meade would step forward and with a few words lead us in a sensible direction. A tough, but fair, competitor, Meade’s contribution to the sport of iceboating reached far beyond the race course and is much appreciated.…Jane PegelDN 805
DN CLASS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
North American Championship First Place
1997
1980
Gold Cup
1991 5th place
Gold Cup Senior Trophy
1989
1991
1993
1995
2001
Past IDNIYRA Commodore
1985
1986
Proposal Deadline: October 28, 2017
In the taking care of business department, proposals for the 2018 Annual Meeting agenda must be submitted to the Secretary by October 28, 2017.
IDNIYRA Constitution
Article VII MEETING & QUORUM
…”All proposals to be made at the IDNIYRA Annual Meeting shall be submitted to the Governing Committee in writing ninety (90) days prior to the meeting. All proposals so submitted must be published in the DN newsletter by December 15.”…
Ballot Results
Following are the results from the 2017 ballot. The By Laws proposal passed.
Many thanks to out going Secretary Geoff Sobering for continually stepping up to serve the class. He is a valuable member of the DN class, maintains the DN forum, and contributes behind the scenes IT work for the website.
2017-2018 Executive Committee Members
Commodore Eric Anderson
Vice Commodore Warren Nethercote
Treasurer Wes Wilcox
Secretary Deb Whitehorse
Past Commodore: Lou Lonnecke
PASSED:
BY LAW PROPOSAL: CHANGE REGATTAS, FLEET SPLITTING TO READ:
All registered sailors will be divided into fleets as necessary. The number of sailors in each fleet will be determined by the race committee, with approval of a majority of those members of the Governing Committee present, after the close of registration. The recommended maximum fleet size is fifty sailors per fleet. Fleets of approximately equal size are desirable but not mandated. The safety of all participants is the primary consideration.
72 Ballots received (all before the July 1 deadline)
72 “Yes” votes for the slate of Exec. Committee members.
0 “No” votes.71 “Yes” for the by-laws proposal
1 “No” for the by-laws proposal.Cheers,
Geoff Sobering
Outgoing IDNIYRA-NA Secretary
In The Mail: Your 2017-2018 IDNIYRA Spring Ballot
There’s a ballot arriving in your mailbox within the next few days. You will be voting to elect officers and on a proposal regarding how regatta fleet splitting is determined.
Please take a few minutes to fill it out, put it an envelope,stamp it, and mail to Secretary Geoff Sobering. All ballots postmarked July 1, 2017 or sooner will be counted.
If you are a member and don’t receive the ballot, please email to exec.secretary@idniyra.org and I will mail one to you.
Runner Tracks May 2017 Posted
2017 May Runner Tracks has been posted.
It’s a big end of season issue with filled with regatta reports and results and features some world class photography from Gretchen Dorian and Evgeny Ryazhev. The DN class is fortunate to be able to use their work to help promote the sport. Of special note is Gretchen’s cover photo of Anja Fiedler G390 of Germany, the first to be awarded the new IDNIYRA World Championship Trophy for the highest placing woman. Read it here on the Runner Tracks newsletter page.
You can also read Vice Commodore Warren Nethercote’s article about his recent visit to Warsaw for the European Secretaries meeting and Secretary Geoff Sobering’s submission of the minutes from the 2017 North American annual meeting.
Did you know that Runner Tracks is available in three different electronic formats and you can also order it in a print version?
Flipbook magazine: Best for laptops and desktop computers
PDF: Best for tablets
PDF Single Page: Best for mobile devices
2018 Regatta Dates Announced

John Atkins is checking the marks in preparation for the 2018 DN North Americans which will be hosted by the Eastern Lakes region.
2018 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
January 21 – 27, 2018
Host Region: Eastern Lakes
It’s never too early to mark you calendars for the 2018 ice sailing season. The DN North American championships will be hosted by the Eastern Lakes region. The dates are January 21-27, 2018.
Registration will take place on Sunday, January 21 and racing will begin on Monday, January 22.
Via Vice Commodore Warren Nethercote who recently attended the European Secretaries Meeting in Warsaw, Poland.
“The meeting set dates for key regattas in 2018, starting with the Gold Cup. Estonia will be the host nation for the 2018 World Cup and European Championships, February 25th to March 3rd, 2018. If the weather and ice conditions allow the regatta to be sailed in Estonia it will be an opportunity to celebrate the centenary of iceboating in that country. Other regatta dates spun off the dates for the Gold Cup: February 5th to 9th, 2018 for the Junior DN and Ice Opti Worlds and January 21st to 27th, 2018 for the North American Championships.”
2017 DN Gold Cup: Tour of the Pits
What do you do while you are waiting for wind at a regatta? If you are Long Island, Pete Truesdell (with the help of Scott Valentine), you take the opportunity to catch up with your neighbors. Thanks, Pete and Scott, for reminding us that the camaraderie in iceboating is a big part of the experience.
Chris Berger Makes National News
Sailors from Europe, Russia, and North America raced DN iceboats in an annual regatta held on Siberia’s Lake Baikal last week. North American IDNIYRA member Chris Berger US5166 of Chicago, IL won the Baikal Cup on Friday, March 24. CBS national news has been running footage from the regatta. Even the Olympic Channel has noticed DN iceboat racing!
Event website
Photographs from Baikal Ice Yacht Racing
If you’ve stopped by to learn more about ice sailing and want to try it, read our “Getting Started” page. Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions. Join us in “Thinking Ice” and sailing the coolest boats on the planet.
Canadian Championship Regatta Report from March 25, 2017
Via Mike Madge KC5449:
Champagne sailing, sun, wind, nice ice, and close fast racing. The wind was a pretty steady 10-12 knots all day out of the east and slowly clocked southeast. The racing was fast as the ice stayed hard and the top 6 boats were finishing within a minute of each other. Mark Christensen US4824 and Mike Bloom US5432 were tied going into the final race. Mark made a few adjustments throughout the day and along with some great starts and smart sailing, that gave him the edge.
Even with 9 races, we had nice breaks during the day where we where entertained by Pat Hepper’s C Skeeter, DRIFTER, sailing less then 2 minute lap times on his Skeeter over a 3/4 mile course. We finished early enough for some competitors to cruise around and check out the scenery. Some lucky sailors even had the opportunity to try out DRIFTER. All I can say about that is “Wow what an experience.” Also the famous old tandem Skeeter THUNDER JET, was out all day giving rides.
It was such a perfect day for sailing that the competitors agreed to just keep racing and complete the regatta in one day.
The after regatta party was hosted by a great sailing sports bar, On Deck, where for the first time in 2 years, the prestigious Canadian DN trophy was presented.
The ice is still here and the sailors who are sticking around are going to race again today. Many thanks to all the competitors that made the effort to come up and sail with us. All were very helpful and supportive of our new fleet members. Also special thanks to my wife and kids that volunteered for Race Committee Duty.
Canadian DN Champs results (9 races)
POS NAME R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 TOTAL 1 MARK CHRISTENSEN US4824 2 (3) 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 11 2 MIKE BLOOM US5432 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 (3) 2 13 3 GUY LOVEJOY US4638 3 1 3 (5) 4 3 3 2 3 22 4 MIKE MADGE KC5449 6 6 4 4 3 4 4 (6) 5 36 5 DAVID FROST US5358 5 4 5 6 6 5 (6) 4 4 39 6 PETER VAN ROSSEM KC2766 4 5 (6) 3 5 6 5 5 6 39 7 JORI LENON US5397 7 (7) 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 56 8 LIZ PETRONE KC246 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 (9) 64 9 MIKE FABIUS KC 9 9 9 9 9 9 (10) 10 10 74 10 JIM CAMERON KC3811 (10) 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 76