Ice Boat Sailing
If you live in the Midwest, especially in Lake Country, it is inevitable that you are familiar with our area’s prime winter recreation activities; ice fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, and skating. But are you familiar with one of the oldest and most unique winter sports, ice boating? Ice boating is every sailor’s favorite winter activity! If the love of wind and water gets your adrenaline running in the summer, ice boating will put you over the top, in the winter!
I’m not exactly sure where ice boating originated, but I remember hearing as a kid, that it was brought to the U.S. by the Scandinavians. In the late 1800’s, ice boats were considered the fastest mode of transportation on the planet! Huge boats were constructed and manned on the Hudson River, where, when the conditions allowed, teams of men would race the trains that ran along the river banks reaching speeds in excess of 80 mph. Years ago, Milwaukee Public TV ran a special with actual movie footage of just such an event.
For ice boating to occur, the “winter sailor gods” have to align the heavens for the perfect conditions. One needs, a frozen lake, little or no snow, and of course, wind! Because of this, some winter seasons come and go with little or no sailing, making the experience that much more coveted. The consensus is that if the conditions are right, you need to drop everything, and hit the ice. “Tomorrow snow may dump, and you’ve lost your chance!” My family has been ice boating for years. My uncle owns 3 boats, and my husband and I have inherited 2 youth boats. We’ve had years of fun, sailing on Golden Lake. As a child, we followed the regatta circuit on our local lakes, especially on Pewaukee Lake and Lake Geneva. Each winter, stories about the “perfect ride” circulate around the fireplace at family gatherings.
The boats themselves have various classes, just like water sailboats, based on hull and sail type, and typically resemble a torpedo like body with cross braces that have “skates” or “blades”…one in the front, and one on each side of the boat. The skipper steers the front blade and adjusts the sail to maximize the speed. Safety equipment consists of a helmet with face gear, warm clothes and often times, inflatable life vests, in the event of open water. It’s not for the faint of heart. The speeds are incredible, and if you hike up too far, the result can be a crash on very hard ice!
Many of my friends on Lac Labelle, sail the “Nite”. It’s the “Ferrari” of ice boats…sleek and beautiful. Opti iceboating is also hugely popular. My friend’s daughter sailed her opti ice boat at the world competition in Europe 2 years ago. One of our local Pewaukee sailors, won the North American Opti Championship, last year. There is a Wisconsin association that is dedicated to this sport, The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. Fabulous photos and information are on their site. In addition, you can Google “ice boating” and a barrage of websites, photos, YouTube sites, etc. pop up with information on this awesome and unique sport. Click here to see a YouTube video of an ice boat in action.
Check it out…yet another awesome activity in Lake Country, Wisconsin! Ice Boating!!
Posted by:
Karen Trepton
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This past weekend youth sailing heated up on Big Cedar Lake between Hartford and West Bend, with the annual 
The weather felt more like fall, with cool temps and rain, but the spectators bundled up and the sailors stayed warm and dry with spray gear. A fun item of note was the addition of a “special” spectator…the Met Life Blimp, as seen in the accompanying photo. The blimp hovered over the races for quite some time, before heading out.
Kate Klement from Lake Beulah won the overall title with 2 bullets out of 3 races. Nick Clemence from Pewaukee took 2nd, Connor Trepton from Lac LaBelle took 3rd overall and the bullet from the 3rd and final race, Charlie Kutschenreuter from Beulah was 4th and Natalie Kay from Okauchee was 5th overall.
This is probably one of my favorite lakes and it is because I grew up on this lake. It is where I learned all of my water sports. When I was little, I remember being thrown in the water and told to swim to the pier, and when I wanted to ski, I sat at the end of the pier with my skis on, yelled to the driver to begin, and the boat would take off. It was so easy to learn how to ski. It also helped having a cement pier.
One of my favorite memories was with my sister, Maria. It was winter and when we would get a smooth sheet of ice we would put on our ice skates and grab a garbage bag. We would open the garbage bag and used it like a sail. We would travel all over the ice on our skates. The only problem we had is when the wind would shift and we needed to get home. There were many times we had to skate a long way to get home.
If you are looking for a beach then you will want to visit the Pewaukee Beach. There you will find a docking pier and a very sandy beach for the children to swim.
Sharon Tomlinson
