We can all be envious of Mike Madge, this crazy DN-er who sailed Thunder Bay, Ontario today. As far as we know he is the first person sailing in North America. Well done Mike! Glad you got to be first on the dance floor. See article and pics on http://www.iceboat.org

This bodes well for the upcoming Great Western Challenge, the season opener for the rest of us. To be held on the best ice in Minnesota, first weekend in December, which this year is December 1-3, Friday to Sunday. There will be a ton of DNs there, maybe other classes as well.

IF you are planning on going or want to go and need a ride, please email me at t_thieler@yahoo.com Let me know what kind of car you have, how many empty seats you have, where you are leaving from and when, and whether or not you have a trailer. Hopefully we can match cars and drivers with copilots and navigators. Whatever it takes to show up with a big eastern contingent! The site to watch for official info on this one is http://iceboating.net/ although http://www.iceboat.org will have info and this site should as well.

And the weekend after that the Tune Up Clinic will be held at Steve Lamb’s shop. Rick Bishop is putting together a good itinerary for this event and no matter what class of boat you sail you will learn something that will make you better and faster! December 9 is the day, tune in to this site for details.

Cold snap is on the way, time to THINK ICE!!

James “T” Thieler

t_thieler@yahoo.com