What do you do when there is below freezing temperatures and a lot of ice all around? Most say stay inside because it is too cold to go sailing, but that is not the case here. A few of us on the Dinghy Team go ice boating. Yes, it is possible and it has been around since the 1800s!
You must be thinking ‘what is an ice boat’ and ‘how fast do you go?’ Well it is just what you think; it’s a cockpit on three ice skates (as you can see in the photos). But how fast can you go? Well that depends on the wind and it is FAST - this weekend I clocked myself at about 50 knots. Try doing that on a Maxi! Since most of us dinghy guys don't go that fast in a 420 this is a chance to get your fix in before the sailing season starts.
We have been sailing most weekends and this year being abnormally cold has made for some great ice! AJ Bailey and I have a few boats, and are always willing to take people out and show them how to go really fast. We wear helmets because ice is a little harder then water and hurts if you flip. We have been sailing down in Toms River and in Lavallette. Also in Red Bank there is an Ice Boating Yacht Club that has some really cool vintage boats as you can see in the pictures. There website is www.nsibyc.com. There are ice reports there and a lot of information about ice boating and how you can get started if this is something that sounds fun to you. This is a sure way to scare yourself and push your skills to the limit on how fast you can go; an all-around great time!
Here is a video of some iceboating on the Toms River, thanks to Peter Slack:
See you on the ice!
Commodore (Eric) Horrocks
Eric: Is the gaff-rigged one on the bottom Carl's?
ReplyDeletethats a class A iceboat they are huge like 30 or more feet long. Carl's is a miniature one like 8 feet long.
ReplyDeleteSweet. Looks awesome. What were you guys on?
ReplyDeleteWe were on my brothers, a DN, and a Arrow.
ReplyDelete