VIDEO: Ice boaters take to frozen lakes in the USA
Ice boaters have hit the frozen waters of Lake Geneva and Lake Como in Wisconsin, USA, as temperatures dipped.
As Lake Como is the smallest of the Lake Geneva area lakes, it’s the first to freeze over and the first lake for the ice boaters in the area to flock to.
While fair weather boaters bid goodbye to their season during winter, ice racers and recreational ice boaters in the area gear up for the start of the ‘ice season’ in the area.
A small group of sailors meet during the winter to race on the ice when it is feasible. According to Kenosha News, events are organised throughout the winter. Steve Schalk, fleet captain for the Skeeter Ice Boat Club which started in 1933, organises the events.
Skeeter boats are piloted by a single skipper and steer from the front of the boat as opposed to original iceboats, which were crewed by two or more and steered from the rear.
According to the International Skeeter Association Regatta, ‘the Skeeter is the Formula One of ice yachting, a wide open development class where state-of-the-art sailing is seen annually. The only restriction on the Skeeter builder is a 75 square foot sail maximum sail area’.
