iceboats
01-29-2007, 06:10 PM
#1
iceboats
yeah..before you start screaming blowboat obscenities..these little things weigh less than 50 lbs, sit a couple inches off the ice and can do over 50 in a decent breeze, some of the bigger ones can do well over 100
anybody around toledo that wants to give it a try...drop me a line
anybody around toledo that wants to give it a try...drop me a line
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01-29-2007, 07:14 PM
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Re: iceboats
Every once in a while, the ice gets thick enough on the Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ for them to run ice boats. About 4 years ago is the last i remember them doing it. Much different rigs than in your pic. Some of these rigs are close to 50 years old and 30+ feet long with more than 1 sail. Some take more than 1 person to run. And yes, they move pretty good.
Just found a link to some of the boats in Red Bank from '03.....the one in the first pic may be the one my buddy crewed on that year. They won first place that year.
http://hometown.aol.com/sargebcs/Iceboat.html
Just found a link to some of the boats in Red Bank from '03.....the one in the first pic may be the one my buddy crewed on that year. They won first place that year.
http://hometown.aol.com/sargebcs/Iceboat.html
01-29-2007, 07:58 PM
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Re: iceboats
Wish I was in the area. I would take a ride on that thing in a heartbeat
01-30-2007, 07:22 AM
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Re: iceboats
That boat is really old, like 80 years old. The ice boat club in red bank has some pretty interesting chatacters. A guy built a new high tech boat with a wing for a sail. I see carbon fiber all over the new race boats instead of hardwood. Crazy paint too , just like the offshore extreeme! Fast theese things are pushng triple digits. Hope we get some ice to make putting up with this cold worth it. Love to see them run!
02-18-2007, 08:03 AM
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Pretty good timing on this post. They haven't run in Red bank in 2 years......but 2 weeks after this post, they're on the ice again. The power of OSO 
Here's a pic, article, and link...
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...702180441/1004
RED BANK — It may be cold and breezy, but it's just the weather needed to draw some sailors out of hibernation.
For the first time in two years, the Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club members have what they need to run their National Sweepstakes Regatta — a clear crisp day ensuring below-freezing temperatures and winds measuring 15 to 20 knots.
It is why Kevin Anderson, 42, of Rumson and his 7-year-old son, by the same name, brought their 1930 "stern steerer" to the Navesink River on Saturday morning.
"This is a family tradition," the elder Anderson said.
They were met by well over 30 ice sailors who lined up to enter the two-day regatta.
"It looks like it's going to be a great day," Bob Matthews said Saturday morning before the start of the race. "It's breezy, and that makes it exciting."
Like most of the day's entrants, Matthews, a 63-year-old Highland Park resident, waited until Thursday night to ensure that there would be perfect weather before deciding to run his 12-foot DN in the competition. The DN is named for the Detroit News, which in 1936 ran a contest to find the best ice-boat design. That contest yielded a narrow, single-person cockpit design with three steel blades in tricycle-like configuration.
Donning thermal overalls, goggles, a crash helmet, bear claws and creepers, 12-year-old Michael Clapp had only one thing on his mind prior to racing his DN:
"I don't want to embarrass my dad," the Point Pleasant Beach resident said.
Clapp is a fifth-generation ice-boat sailor whose father, Dave, and uncle, Dan, are nationally ranked competitors. Sailing for three years now, he began his career racing 8-foot Snowbirds.
DNs and Snowbirds were but two of seven ice-boat classes to compete in the two-day event. Others included the Yankee class skeeters, the larger A-class boats and the flat-bottomed scooters whose turning capability is based solely on the manipulation of the jib and main sheet. But no matter the size, shape or amount of sail, the wind and ice were right.
"This is the best (ice-boat sailing) conditions we've had in 13 years," said Dave Minton, commodore of the 127-year-old club. "Three weeks ago, we weren't even sure this was going to happen."
Meghan Mawhinney, 7, and Sarah Hermus, 11, both of Long Island, New York, kept a watchful eye on Sarah's brother J.C., 7, as their fathers, Roy and Bob, respectively, prepared to race their two-man scooters. Both girls say they've been ice-boat sailing for a few years but opted to watch their fathers battle the elements.
"It's exhilarating," said Bob Hermus before his race began.
"Today will be a little scary for us because this is a smaller piece of ice than we are used to," said Bob Mawhinney.
Although the full course measured two miles around, tacking against the wind could add another full mile, race officials said.
The races began shortly after 10 a.m., and by noon all seven boat classes had completed one leg of the three-leg competition. The regatta will continue today, weather permitting.
"What makes this a great sport is the cold air, the speed and the exhilaration," said Richie Litfin, 56, of Lake Hopatcong.
ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com, and click on this story in the Monmouth section for links to ice-boating sites.
Michelle Gladden: (732) 308-7753 or [email protected]
Here's a pic, article, and link...
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...702180441/1004
RED BANK — It may be cold and breezy, but it's just the weather needed to draw some sailors out of hibernation.
For the first time in two years, the Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club members have what they need to run their National Sweepstakes Regatta — a clear crisp day ensuring below-freezing temperatures and winds measuring 15 to 20 knots.
It is why Kevin Anderson, 42, of Rumson and his 7-year-old son, by the same name, brought their 1930 "stern steerer" to the Navesink River on Saturday morning.
"This is a family tradition," the elder Anderson said.
They were met by well over 30 ice sailors who lined up to enter the two-day regatta.
"It looks like it's going to be a great day," Bob Matthews said Saturday morning before the start of the race. "It's breezy, and that makes it exciting."
Like most of the day's entrants, Matthews, a 63-year-old Highland Park resident, waited until Thursday night to ensure that there would be perfect weather before deciding to run his 12-foot DN in the competition. The DN is named for the Detroit News, which in 1936 ran a contest to find the best ice-boat design. That contest yielded a narrow, single-person cockpit design with three steel blades in tricycle-like configuration.
Donning thermal overalls, goggles, a crash helmet, bear claws and creepers, 12-year-old Michael Clapp had only one thing on his mind prior to racing his DN:
"I don't want to embarrass my dad," the Point Pleasant Beach resident said.
Clapp is a fifth-generation ice-boat sailor whose father, Dave, and uncle, Dan, are nationally ranked competitors. Sailing for three years now, he began his career racing 8-foot Snowbirds.
DNs and Snowbirds were but two of seven ice-boat classes to compete in the two-day event. Others included the Yankee class skeeters, the larger A-class boats and the flat-bottomed scooters whose turning capability is based solely on the manipulation of the jib and main sheet. But no matter the size, shape or amount of sail, the wind and ice were right.
"This is the best (ice-boat sailing) conditions we've had in 13 years," said Dave Minton, commodore of the 127-year-old club. "Three weeks ago, we weren't even sure this was going to happen."
Meghan Mawhinney, 7, and Sarah Hermus, 11, both of Long Island, New York, kept a watchful eye on Sarah's brother J.C., 7, as their fathers, Roy and Bob, respectively, prepared to race their two-man scooters. Both girls say they've been ice-boat sailing for a few years but opted to watch their fathers battle the elements.
"It's exhilarating," said Bob Hermus before his race began.
"Today will be a little scary for us because this is a smaller piece of ice than we are used to," said Bob Mawhinney.
Although the full course measured two miles around, tacking against the wind could add another full mile, race officials said.
The races began shortly after 10 a.m., and by noon all seven boat classes had completed one leg of the three-leg competition. The regatta will continue today, weather permitting.
"What makes this a great sport is the cold air, the speed and the exhilaration," said Richie Litfin, 56, of Lake Hopatcong.
ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com, and click on this story in the Monmouth section for links to ice-boating sites.
Michelle Gladden: (732) 308-7753 or [email protected]
