…Wish You Were Here…
The media team at Harken has released a fantastic video about the people who make up the DN ice sailing community and their experiences at the 2023 World Championship. It’s only on Facebook for now but I would expect it to be available on other channels soon. See it here.
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
Samuel Bartel is a college student on the University of Wisconsin-Madison sailing team. Sam has discovered that DN racing is flat out fun and helps his soft-water reflexes. The fine crew with Harken Blockheads filmed Samuel right before the U.S. Nationals. (You will note that Sam accomplished his goal of a top-ten finish in the Silver fleet by placing 4th at the Nationals.)
When he’s not racing a DN or Skeeter, Steve Orlebeke has a day job as Harken’s Director of Engineering. In this video, Steve explains DN hulls and runners and his super-fast Class A Skeeter.
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.
iceboat.org Minnesota Ice Sailing Association New England Ice Yacht Association