by Deb Whitehorse | Dec 31, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship

Sit Tight!
DN Sailors:
We still have one venue in play about an hour north of Madison that reportedly survived last night’s weather quite well. The snow was absorbed into the moisture on the surface and has frozen on top of the 5” of original ice. It has not formed into shell ice, but the surface is reported to be somewhat pebbly. Even now, the new layer of ice is solid under the footsteps of a 200+ lb. walker. Temperatures will be in the teens this evening, which should further firm things up. The sheet will be inspected and sailed tomorrow by a highly experienced racer and ice checker. There’s potential for a small amount of rain/show (less than 1”) on Friday. Weekend wind forecast looks very good—10-20 mph both days.
Presently, there doesn’t appear to be any other sailable ice in the region. The long-range forecast does not look favorable for forming new ice on the many lakes that returned to a liquid state or have yet to freeze. This venue will not be available to the DNs the weekend of Jan. 11-12, and after that, we are bumping up against our North American Championship, the Gold Cup, and also the Northwest and ISA for sailors who also race in other fleets. If we postpone, we’re likely off until March, and at that point, we may not get it in at all. SO, if we can make it happen this weekend with acceptable conditions, we’ll likely go for it.
That’s what we know for now. Be ready!
Daniel Hearn
Western Region Rear Commodore
US 5352
by Deb Whitehorse | Dec 30, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship

Line up for the 2018 DN Western Region championship on Lake Mendota.
DN Sailors:
At this point, we appear to have limited possibilities for a Western Lakes Championship for this weekend (January 4-5, 2020). We have not ruled it out, as we have two potential venues that are moving in the right direction, but also some rain/snow potential for late in the week. We’ll continue to monitor and keep you informed. In the meantime, if you have any other possibilities, please serve them up to me (dhearnUS5352@gail.com) and Bob Cummins (rcummins@new.rr.com).
Think Ice!
Daniel Hearn
Western Region Rear Commodore
by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 16, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship

Published in the Hastings Star Gazette:
The International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association held its Western Regional Championships on Lake Pepin on Jan. 5-6 with 46 boats competing in two divisions.
“They set tentative dates, and we check on Thursday nights to see if the event will take place or not,” said Rhea Nicholas from Detroit. Continue reading.
by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 9, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship

The Lake City, MN folks took advantage of the opportunity to photograph the coolest sailing around at the 2019 Western Region championship on Lake Pepin. Above is a slide show from Tom Chamberlain.
Take a look below for more beautiful shots and video from Manda Baldwin.
by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 7, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship
Here’s another video to bookmark for those times when you want to show someone what DN racing is all about featuring former Commodore of the IDNIYRA Kent Baker US5219 and current Vice Commodore Dave Elsmo US5486. Thank you to Jim McDonagh US5214 for creating this video.
One of the fine folks from Lake City, MN passed this along. Sunday sunrise over the DN forest on Lake Pepin.
Photo: Manda Hart Baldwin
by Deb Whitehorse | Jan 7, 2019 | 2019, Home Page, Western Region Championship

Western Region Championship DN Sailors
The Western Region regatta was concluded on Sunday in much colder and faster conditions compared to Saturday’s Miami-beach like weather. Ron Sherry (Michigan) and John Dennis (Minnesota) each scored 13 points in the Gold fleet. The tiebreak went to Ron Sherry. Matt Schmidt (Wisconsin) won the Silver fleet. Grand Master winner was Bruce Williams(Michigan), Master was Jim Grogan (Michigan), and University of Wisconsin sailing team member Soren Hughes won the junior division. Congratulations to all who competed in this event and to Western Region Commodore Daniel Hearn for his efforts to make this regatta happen.
Final results are here.