Oskar Svensson, Tomas Lindgren look on while PRO Pat Heppert runs through the flight check with Tomek Zakrzewski as he readies to sail the C Skeeter.
2023 DN World & North American Championship AM Update Madison, WI, USA
As we wait for our ice scouts to report back, we’ve heard from some of our Lake Kegonsa scouts. Please stay off of Lake Kegonsa today and tomorrow until Race Organizers approve the lake for sailing. Right now, the lake is slush, we don’t want it rutted up for the regatta. It should freeze solid fairly soon.
NEXT UPDATE: Thursday, January 19, 2023 by 2 PM CT/ 3 PM ET
Karol Jablonski P36 on Lake Kegonsa, January 18, 2023
Via Western Region Commodore Chris Berger US5166
We are postponing the site decision because of tonight’s weather system, a mix of rain and snow approaching Wisconsin. We will have ice scouts checking the ice in the morning. The next update is Thursday, January 19, 2023, by 2 PM CT/3 PM ET.
NEXT UPDATE: Thursday, January 19, 2023 by 2 PM CT/3 PM ET
Line up for the DN Western Region championship on Lake Mendota.
Via Western Region Commodore Chris Berger US5166
Incoming weather with a snow-rain mix is making site selection tricky. Even though it’s early in the week, the Governing Board and Race Committee want to inform you what we know and where we may be headed.
Here’s what we know: Sites under consideration now include Lake Kegonsa, Lake Winnebago, and Lake Petenwell in Wisconsin and Lake Pepin in Lake City, MN.
We are closely watching a weather system arriving Wednesday night and exiting Thursday morning. The location of the rain/snow line will be critical. We are hoping the area lakes will be sailable after the weather event.
If too much snow falls on area lakes, we may hold the regatta at Glasgow, Montana, on Fort Peck Reservoir, the site of the 2020 North Americans.
Per the Notice of Race, the next update will be Wednesday, January 18, by 9 PM CT. Be aware that we may postpone the site selection decision until Thursday.
NEXT UPDATE: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, by 9 PM CT
The start of the 2023 DN World Championship is in just a few days, and you can feel the excitement in the air. Over 100 competitors from 5 countries are preparing to battle it out for the illustrious “DN Gold Cup”. It’s going to be a spectacular regatta, both on and off the ice.
There will be 4 organized events outside of racing: the Opening Ceremony, the Speed Symposium, a Raffle, and the IDNIYRA Annual Governing Meeting.
1. Opening Ceremony – Saturday night, January 21st Come one, come all! Raise your country’s flag. Sing your national anthem. Catch up with old friends and meet new competitors. Join us for a celebratory kick-off to a great event. It wouldn’t be a world championship without an opening ceremony! All are encouraged to wear patriotic clothing, bear flags from your respective countries, and represent your national ice sailing team prior to the first race. Location TBD. Likely indoors.
2. Red Gear Racing Speed Symposium – Monday night, January 23rd The Speed Symposium is your chance to learn from a panel of ice sailing champions. They are the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The all-stars of ice yacht racing. Do you have a burning question that needs to be answered? Great. Bring your questions, curiosities, and good vibes.
Sponsored by Red Gear Racing. Location TBD. After racing on Monday. Duration: ~45-60 minutes.
Panelists include (but are not limited to):
Karol Jablonski (P36), 12x World Champion
Tomek Zakrzewski (P55), 3x World Champion
Ron Sherry (US44), 5x World Champion
James “T” Thieler (US5224), North American Champion
4. Raffle – World Championship Awards Ceremony This isn’t just any old giveaway raffle. This is THE raffle. We’ve got sails, runners, hardware, hull covers, runner bags, Harken Derm, and so much more! Plus, the world famous “Wheel of Desire” game is back and better than ever! Don’t like what you won? Spin the wheel for a chance to trade up to bigger and better prizes. Things may get crazy. We may have too much fun. You’ll want to be there to experience it for yourself. Location TBD. Before awards. Beverages and Appetizers
COMPETITOR COMMUNICATION Texting:
As we’ve done in the past three years, we will use a texting program to communicate with competitors. No need to download an app, messages from the Race Committee will come right to your phone. After each race, when the scoring team completes the line-up sheets, they will send a photo by text for your convenience. (Of course, this depends on cell phone coverage, but we have yet to encounter a problem.) If you don’t carry a phone on the ice, we will post the line-up sheets as usual. Unfortunately, our texting software doesn’t handle international numbers, but no worries, we have you covered with WhatsApp. WhatsApp
We’ve set up a WhatsApp Group to communicate with our international competitors. If you’d like to join, email or text Deb, and she’ll send you the link to join.
HARKEN – AT THE FRONT, THERE’S ICE Harken is the official media sponsor of the 2023 World Championship. Harken marketing communications team members, including Hannah Noll, will join us on the ice to produce daily video reports and social media content. Hannah and the Harken team will be looking to interview competitors, so here’s your chance to share your passion for DN sailing with a global audience.
Follow Harken on Instagram and Facebook for storytelling throughout the event.
Sign up for the Harken quarterly newsletter at bit.ly/AtTheFrontSubscribe
See their special iceboating issue here: https://bit.ly/AtTheFrontFebruary2021
FOLLOW IDNIYRA ON INSTAGRAM Did you know that the IDNIYRA has an official Instagram account? Check out the reels and photos created and curated by Sam Bartel US1011.
2023 DN Worlds Home Page
DN North America and the Western Region are thrilled to announce that Harken is the official media sponsor of the 50th Anniversary of the DN World Championship, January 21 – 28, 2023. Members of the Harken marketing communications team, including Hannah Noll, will join us on the ice to produce daily video reports and social media content. We anticipate about 100 DN sailors from around the world will compete in this event.
The Western Region (MN, WI, IL, IN), the host of the 2023 DN Worlds, is Harken Country. Pewaukee, Wisconsin, is the headquarters of the world’s most famous marine supply company. Harken’s tradition of their commitment to the ice sailing culture began with founders Peter and Olaf Harken, who sailed Skeeters and Nites. From DNs to Skeeters to the giant Stern-Steerers, many employees at Harken have iceboats and are devoted to the sport.
Harken Tribal Elder Will Perrigo summed up their passion for ice sailing in the At The Front Newsletter, “Some of the most famous sailors in the world will tell you they’d quit sailing everything else before they’d stop ice boating. I agree.”
Don’t Miss the Excitement of 2023 DN Worlds
Follow Harken on Instagram and Facebook for storytelling throughout the event.
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.
