“North Star Sail Club member Jack Vallad shares video memories of Ice Boating in the 1950s.”
This vintage video provides a fascinating glimpse to the beginnings of the DN class at the North Star Sailing Club in Harrison Township, Michigan.
Jane Pegel recalls:
Remi DeBlaere, who was a member of North Star DN Fleet built my first DN, #305 in the fall of 1956. The North Star club house was an old one room school house. Skip Boston used to tell me this story about North Sta : Via the grapevine, Skip learned that they were starting their DN races like sailboat races, everyone sailing jockeying around for the best start like in a sailboat race, with some collisions, as would be expected. So Skip went over to North Star and taught them how to line up for an iceboat race. Some of those original North Star DN fleet members became champions and as time went on some of the best DN sailors in the country were members of North Star and were very influential in the DN class growing throughout the North American and into Europe. Currently, North Star Sailing Club is one of the outstanding clubs on Lake St. Clair.
From the 2018 IDNIYRA Yearbook:
On January 7, 1954 the North Star Sail Club offered to be host for the annual regatta. There were no other offers so theirs was accepted. Sixty-two programs were sent out on February 1 for the regatta scheduled for February 20 and 21. On February 19 the regatta was transferred to Cass Lake because of poor ice at the North Star Club House on Lake St. Clair. The first five DN’s in this regatta were: (1) Jack Moran, (2) Skip Boston, (3) Paul Eggert, (4) Bill Sporer, and (5) Bill Sarns.
From the North American Championship History in the 2018 IDNIYRAYearbook: 1953: North Star Sail Club on Lake St. Clair in Michigan was the only club that offered to host the first annual regatta. 62 programs were sent out for the regatta scheduled for February 20-21. On February 19 the regatta was moved to Cass Lake, Michigan because of poor ice at the North Star club house on Lake St. Clair where it was originally intended. 1954: North Star Sail Club again sponsored the regatta and it was held at Cass Lake. The maximum fleet was 30 boats in the fourth race. 1955 The regatta was sponsored by the West Michigan Ice Yacht Club and held again at Cass Lake. 32 skippers registered. 1956: The regatta was sponsored by Anchor Bay Ice Yacht Club and held on Lake St, Clair. 25 sailors registered. 1957: 21 skippers competed on Lake St. Clair and the regatta was sponsored by the North Star Sailing Club. 1958: The sixth annual regatta was sponsored by the Detroit Ice Yacht Club and held on Lake St. Clair with clear ice and moderate wind. There were 29 sailors registered. 1959: 44 sailors registered for the regatta which was sponsored by the North Star Sailing Club and sailed on Lake St. Clair. It was the first year that the first five placing yachts were measured and checked for compliance to the official specifications.
1. PROPOSAL TO ALLOW PARA-ARAMID FABRIC (KEVLAR) IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TILLER.
Amend the Interpretation General dated 11/23/87: “Material – Kevlar cloth may not be used in DN constructions with the exception of the tiller, reference Spec A22 “ Amend the last sentence in Spec. A22 to specify that para-aramid fabric is
allowed in the construction of the tiller: “ Material is optional and may include para-aramid fabric.”
Ballot Results: The proposal passed with an overall (North America and Europe combined) vote of 197 yes and 15 no.
The 2018 IDNIYRA Yearbook is now available for order for $17. It’s bigger than ever at 248 pages. New this year are synopsis of the European Championships from Daan Schutte. Jane Pegel also helped with filling in some missing North American regatta history. Bob Cummins assisted by looking over each page with a sharp editor’s eye. My thanks to them for helping to improve the yearbook.
The yearbook is sponsored by:
BUY A YEARBOOK Order an official DN class printed yearbook. Chock full of information including class history, governing, specifications, and more. Order a Yearbook: $17
December Runner Tracks, the newsletter of the IDNIYRA, has been virtually delivered to your mailbox just in time for the Holidays. Great photos and stories about the two early season regattas of the North American and European season. Bob Gray breaks down how to select runners. Vice Commodore Warren Nethercote has written a timely article detailing on the ins and outs of voting online, a proposal for discussion at the 2018 North American Annual Meeting.
Sit back and read 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
This DN boom has been around and is filled with familiar looking travel stickers!
IDNYRA Gold Cup champion Karol Jablonski P36 talks ice sailing and about Poland’s Masurian Lakes District in this German TV travel piece. It’s worth watching even if you don’t understand German for some history about Karol’s soft water accomplishments and how to make the Pierogies which Karol and the host enjoy in the hotel dining room.
2019 Gold Cup Info
You may now register for the 2018 North American Championship by using Paypal or by downloading, printing, and mailing a form to the Eastern or Canadian Commodore.
Click here to see the dedicated webpage set up where you will find everything you need to know about the regatta including registration, important dates, and regatta documents.
The DN is most popular iceboat in the world. Whether you are a racer or cruiser, your $25 membership in the IDNIYRA helps to promote the art and skill of DN ice yacht construction and the sport of ice yachting on all the hard waters of the world.
