iceboating.net Minnesota Ice Sailing Association

The Meyer, Miller team took a 40 minute road trip west on 7 to Silver Lake. 3-4" of solid black ice, faster than a greased pig! We scrub raced a short 1/2 mile course 3 laps at least 7 times. Fast and skidding leeward rounding made it exciting. A perfect sheet of ice slightly bigger than Swede.
See photos in library images under Silver Lake.

Swede is open water shore to shore as of Thursday afternoon, Dec. 17th.

browner

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/brainerd-mn/56401/month/333828?view=table

I selected the forecast for Brainerd, Mn where they are many possible iceboating venues for the DN Western's, scheduled Jan2-3, 2016. This includes Gull Lake where a very successful Western's was held about 8 years ago!
Looks very promising and very little snow.
I think we may have at least a dozen black ice lakes to select from, including Lake Minnetonka (yes a permit is being issued this week)

Get your boats and trailers ready.

4824 and 4961 and me, 5214 went back up to Christina yesterday (Saturday, December 12th). Light wind let us get in some practice racing. The ice condition at first appeared better. The surface was all nice and clean. Once we got out there, there were a lot of drain holes and we had to carefully navigate those to get to west side of the lake. We setup some cones, marked the obvious drain hole, and had a nice day. I learned that the drain holes are the shiny black areas. Drain holes are hard to see, for me.

If your still looking to do some iceboating,the Zambonie went thru Thunder Bay and re flooded Whitefish and Barnum Lake up here near Thunder Bay. 6" of very smooth ice and Spring like weather.
Images posted in Library (Barnum Lake)

Sss

See replies for current conditions.

Hey,
Christina is frozen. Plan to sail Friday after turkey day. Remember ice has had know one on it at this time.

JD

According to the Finnish Facebook page they have ice!
"Cara Vlada and Johnny just came back from the ice. Currently we have 11-12 cm hard ice."
They plan to sail in Säräisniemi, Vaala, Lake Oulunjärvi next weekend.

It is hard to believe but last year we too sailed the weekend of Nov 15, on Christina.
Think Ice!

In Canada, they are always thinking Ice. While up in Ottawa last week, ran across this Canadian Citizen Science "Ice Watch" postcard where citizens monitor ice on and ice off conditions for Environment Canada.

More info can be found at:

https://www.naturewatch.ca/icewatch/

Maybe NOAA can take a clue from this......

The fall issue of RUNNER TRACKS (the magazine of the IDNIYRA) is available online at http://runnertracks.org/.
It won’t be long now so Think Ice!

Every year, in the spring, John Bushey (DN 5158), spends a few weeks quietly boiling maple sap at his sugar shack on the shores of Lake Riley. The fruit of his labor is the best maple syrup you will ever taste. This year, however, you need not take my word for it. This year, there is undeniable proof.

The ice boat season is over...at least on Tonka.

The lake is officially liquid again as the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office declared "ice-out" on Sunday morning, April 5, 2015.

Mike Bloom launches boat. Film at 11.

Another sign of spring: Ore boats on lake Superior.

Thanks to U.S. Coast Guard ice cutters Alder and Mackinaw, there is an open shipping lane on Lake Superior. With that, the first boat of the season, the 768 feet long John G. Munson, is expected to leave Duluth harbor today for Gary, Indiana carrying nearly 26, 000 tons of iron ore. She left her winter layup berth at Superior on Sunday, fueled, then headed over to load taconite at the CN dock. The Munson likely will make the first down bound passage at the Soo Locks, en route to Gary.