“...What a long strange trip it’s been.” – Truckin, by The Grateful Dead

 

Eight sailors represented Toledo Ice Yacht Club at the DN North Americans which were held in the Western Region on January 31^st and February 1^st.  The Regatta was originally to take place in Vermont in the Eastern Region, but snow made the ice un-sailable.  Just a few days before the scheduled beginning of the regatta, the call was made to sail it at Lake Winnebago, near Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

 

Rich Potcova, Chris Teal, Aaron Stange and Kent Baker loaded up a trailer on Friday night and were West Bound on the Turnpike by 7:30.  By 2:30 AM they were settled down on their beds at the hotel in Oshkosh, WI.  Also making the trek together were George Reis, Dave Zoll, Don Williams, and Rob Holman.  Glen Betzoldt drove the whole way by himself.  Saturday morning all the sailors, looking forward to some practice races found up to an inch of standing water on the ice, and no wind to sail in.  The unseasonable warm weather was creating drain holes that concerned the race committee. 

Sundays racing was postponed, and the inclement weather drove the sailors back to the hotel.  Meanwhile, we wait...  one of the toughest parts of the sport is the waiting and the uncertainty.  But the good part - we meet lots of fascinating people, such as Jeorg Bohn from Germany and the lovely Merili Randmaa from Estonia.  We share stories of sailing and culture and pick up some tips here and there on how to go faster or make things a little easier.  Being put in a room across from several Detroit Ice Yacht Club members we quickly established our end of the hotel as party central.

Below: Aaron Stange, Merili Randmaa, and Kent Baker make friends while waiting for ice conditions to improve.

The delay was taken advantage of and an annual DN Class Association meeting was held Sunday afternoon.  TIYC’s own Rob Holman, acting treasurer of the Class was elected to a full five-year term.  Amongst the topics covered were concerns over interpretation of runner measurements and chock dimensions.  Another topic was trying to increase new participation in the large regattas where format and race fees were discussed.  The most invigorating topic however was on Junior Sailing and also of building the Opti DN.  Seems that there is a lot of interest In getting this going.  That evening all the sailors from the Central Region ate at the local Mexican Restaurant.  Aaron, Chris, Kent and Rich all showed up in sombreros borrowed from the hostess stand and stirred things up a bit.  It seems there was some serious business to discuss for the Central Region members, but that all came to an end when  the four amigos arrived.

 Below: Rich Potcova, Chris Teal, Aaron Stange, and Kent Baker test the patience of a waitress at a Mexican restaraunt.

By Monday morning rain and big snow flakes put 2” of slush on the ice rendering Lake Winnebago un-sailable.  The word then came in that there was a great sheet of ice at Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River.  Reports gave the ice a 9 out of 10 and invigorated, the sailors packed up and went 4 hours further west.  As we left it felt as if we had been there a week.  That afternoon, everyone seemed to arrive at the same time and started rigging.  Not having local knowledge or updates on the current conditions, several boats sailed into cracks or holes… luckily the wind was light and nobody was hurt.  Later we found out that all the good ice was further North and we needed to sail over a crack in a certain area to pass.  The ice had deteriorated considerably since the report was made from a 9 to a 5.

 

We stayed in a hotel about 30 minutes away in Red Wing, Minnesota – the home of the famous brand of shoes.  Each morning we were treated to a scenic drive along the mountains and Mississippi river.  In almost every location on the river where there was open water and ice, Bald Eagles could be seen by the dozens.  Usually sitting on the ice or soaring around.  Sometimes you could see them chasing one another fighting over a piece of fish.  The more we made this drive the more eagles we would spot.  Interesting fact – Lake Pepin is actually part of the Mississippi river.  With mountains at each edge, it is so deep that the current is almost imperceptible.  This allows ice to form.  We found there to be an odd collection of local ice boats.  A few stern-steerers including a gaff-rigged number and a couple that looked similar to 15 meter class boats but with undersized spars.  Each evening we ate and had a drink at the Pickle Factory, which was located right next to the launch site.  The trip back to the hotel each night was dark and tiresome.

 Below: The flag raising ceremony at the start of the regatta.

Tuesday Morning the race committee called to go ahead with the racing.  The ice had drifts,  but they were melting down and becoming slushy.  The wind was light for the first Silver Fleet race, and several could not make it around the course without pushing.  Once the Gold Fleet held its first race the wind picked up a little and the course was then easier to sail.  Gold and Silver Fleets Each had 3 races for the day.  There was one collision which wrecked two boats in a port-starboard situation.  Luckily there were no major injuries.  This was a result of a starboard tacker falling off instead of holding his course or steering upwind.  This is an all too-common mistake.  Aaron Stange got to try out his new invention “The Chock-Wagon”  a box with small bicycle wheels that tows behind the iceboat to the starting area.  The idea worked out very well, allowing him to bring all the necessary runners, tools, food, clothes and extra parts to sail all day.  The Race course was nearly two miles from the starting area making it difficult to go back in the light air and get back for the next race.

Left: Rich Potcova does some work on his boom with the aid of the "chock wagon"

Right:  Aaron Stange off the starting line. 

 

Wednesday morning there was standing water on the ice all around from the nights rainfall.  The wind was up quite a bit and Aaron Stange’s new invention “The Chock Wagon” suffered catastrophic failure when he could not slow down the iceboat enough. to haul it safely.  There was a crowed of spectators on the nearby breakwall as well as a group of sailors in the launch area that witnessed this calamity and gave Commodore Stange a well-deserved standing ovation.  The ice was a lot slicker now and the drifts were softer.  Boats were now hitting some good speeds.  The Gold Fleet had 4 races and the Silver Fleet had 3.   Nearly every race there was a rig failure or wipe out.  Starts were delayed to go clear the course of disabled boats.  One collision spun out Jan Gougeon and bent his steering about 45 degrees out of alignment.  He was still able to finish 18^th that race.  By afternoon it turned colder and the ice refroze to a nice slick hard surface.  There were still drifts, but the wind provided enough power to drive through or around the them.  Jeorg Bohn, one of the heaviest sailors on the course was observed keeping up his reputation as a slow starter, but one of the fastest by lap 3 - thundering past much of the Gold Fleet sailors late in the race. 

 Left: Action at the leeward mark

The Winners were Ron Sherry for the Gold Fleet doing well enough not to have to race the last race. Matt Struble won second, and John Dennis was third.  Aaron Stange was the top finisher from Toledo Ice Yacht Club with 6^th place - this was especially impressive given the fact that he skipped a season sailing and was using a brand new hull, mast and runners that he hadn’t quite dialed in yet..  Richard Potcova qualified for the first time to race in the Gold Fleet and performed respectively for a new Gold Fleet racer. 

20 year old Merili Randmaa of Estonia won the Silver Fleet easily with 6 bullets.  George Reis was the Top TIYC finisher in the Silver fleet with a 4^th place.  Kent Baker, racing his first ranked regatta, scored mid-fleet earning him a 1^st place in Bronze Fleet Subdivision.

 

Left: Merili Randmaa and Ron Sherry pose after winning firsts in Silver and Gold Fleet s, respectively.

Wednesday night, adrenaline still overpowering the aches and pains of a long hard day of racing, aided by liquid courage, the four amigos decided to go ahead and compete in the Canadian Championship – to be held at the same location the next day.  Once the Ibuprofen  wore off, the next morning we decided it best to head home.  As we woke up watching coverage of a weary rodent being paraded in front of a large crowd of onlookers on CNN, Rich commented on how our week has been just like the movie Groundhog Day with the alarm going off at the same time each morning.  Thankfully the similarities to the movie ended as soon as the sailing began,  Glen called us that afternoon to inform us that the wind had died in the middle of the first race and all had to push their boats and gear the two miles back to the launch site.  So wimping out paid off this time.

 

Sailors traveled from all over the globe to compete.  Many drove from as far away as Main and New Jersey to attend a regatta that was originally to be held in their region.  There were also several Canadians, Germans, Polish, and of course one from Estonia.

This year about 12 American sailors will travel to Europe to compete in the worlds.  Next year the Central Region will host the worlds.  So if you have any interest in competitive sailing come join us for the Central Regional Regatta the weekend of February 18th, or any other events that the weather allows us to hold.  There is no better way to improve your skills as a sailor and learn new tricks.

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"The Rig"	Aaron, Merilli, and Kent	Rich and Merilli	Mexican Food in Oshkosh, WI	Rich's Trailer
	Aaron Stange's "Chock Wagon" also makes a fantastic work bench.
				Jan Gougeon, Ron Sherry and Matt Streuble
					AAron Stange off the starting line.
Rich Potcova off the starting line.