Archives
2013
Composite Concepts at Gull Lake
Ron attended the swap meet sponsored by the Gull Lake, MI Ice Yacht Club.
Toledo Ice Yacht Club's Aaron and Kim Stange 11 month old baby boy, Jacob, (alias Wolfgang) with aunt Erica in early iceboat training at Gull Lake.
Hard At It In The Shop
October is a busy time in the shop for Ron, making DN hulls, planks, masts, and all other kinds of ice boat components.
Steve Orlebeke's DN hull before the decking.
Steve's hull with decking October 24, 2012.
Peter Lundt's DN runner plank.
14 new DN bullnose runners.
On the Bench
Ron is busy in the shop getting boats ready for the upcoming season. Here's a new hull for Pewaukee, WI DNer Steve Orelebeke. But then...
"Steve won't know until he hits a bump..
10 lbs. at each end!"
Leon Lebeau stopped by to help make Steve go "faster".
2012
"Fantastic Festival"Grosse Pointe News
May 24, 2012
"The Great Lakes Boating Festival took place at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club May 18-20...Three generations of Sherrys, from left, Lorne, Griffin and Ron, who is sailing director at GPYC, stand near an ice boat display at the Great Lakes Boating Festival. Lorne raced from 1950-2004 and is a three-time world renegade champion. Ron started racing when he was 4 years old and is a five-time world champion and 10-time North American champion. Griffin has been ice boat racing since he was 4 and is a three-time North American Opti champion."
See photos and article here.
Ron's 50th Birthday Party Photos
Bill Sarns
Bill & Ron
March 26, 2012
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bill Sarns, a legend of the ice boating world.
Bill founded Sarns Hardware in Harrison Township, Michigan in the late 1940s. He made quality hardware available to the masses at a very affordable price allowing thousands of people to enjoy the sport of ice sailing. Bill machined parts for DNs, Nites, Arrows, and made custom Skeeter hardware. He was instrumental in helping to establish the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association and served as the first class secretary. Bill made the Sarns DN plans available so that everyone could make build them. Bill's wife, Joan, said that he was all right until the last two days and that he thought everything was going to be okay. Let’s keep the spirit of Bill Sarns alive by helping fellow ice boaters in any way we can. Put some extra time into helping sailors get a chance to go for their first ride and get established. Bill's funeral is Saturday, March 31, 2012."
Ron Sherry
Link to obituary.
DN North Americans Photo CD
Mike Derusha DN US2545 and Sam Meyers DN US2645 in close battle.
Photographer Catherine Firmbach has a 2012 DN North Americans Regatta Highlights photo CD, containing 1,000 images, available for $25.00.
Click here for ordering information.
We've posted some of them on the Ice Boat Racing Photos page here.
Photos: DN North Americans and the Northwest Regatta
Here's a really cool photo gallery from the 2012 DN North Americans and Northwest Ice Yacht Racing Association Regatta (NIYA) both sailed on Green Bay. Above photo is of Dan Clapp's Insanity, winner of the Skeeter Class at the NIYA. There are quite a few shots from the North Americans too.
2012 DN North American Championships
By Ron Sherry DN US44
"Mother Nature has been showing her sense of humor this season. She tested our patience at this year’s North Americans again. When we picked up Joerg Bohn G737, Jost Kolb G936, and Dideric Van Reimsdijk H467 from the airport on Tuesday, we thought we were going to Lake Champlain in Vermont. Joerg was making early predictions of Green Bay and I hate it when he is right." Continue reading.
GOLD FLEET TOP 5
1 US44 SHERRY, RON 1 1 3 5.00
2 US4691 DENNIS, JOHN 3 2 1 6.00
3 US183 STRUBLE, MATT 2 4 2 8.00
4 US5224 THIELER, JAMES 8 6 4 18.00
5 G737 BOHN, JORG 4 3 13 20.00
SILVER FLEET TOP 5
1 US4055 STRUBLE, BOB (M) 3 1 1 5.00
2 US4249 KAISER, RICHARD (M) 1 3 6 10.00
3 US4291 KALLMAN, RICK 2 4 5 11.00
4 US1277 BOWMAN, HAL (GM) 5 5 2 12.00
5 US5435 KJOLLER, JODY 6 7 4 17.00
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS
Click here to see awards ceremony pictures.
"Ice boating away on a new day"
By Tom Watts
For The Daily Tribune
Have passion in what you do.
"Ron Sherry has passion and it was evident last week when the Clinton Township resident won his 10th career DN North American Iceboat Championship held in Green Bay, Wis." Continue reading.
2012 DN Gold Cup According to Ron
"The 2012 Worlds presented many challenges. Going into these events I want to be prepared as possible because I don’t want have any excuses for not doing well. If I don’t win, it’s because of mistakes I make. If I listed all the things that I did wrong on this trip you would wonder how I got around the race course at all. So I’ve decided to first list the things that I did right."
Continue reading.
2011 Centrals Results
Click here to see results.
Sarah Somes 2011 IDNIYRA Centrals Recap
By Sarah Somes, pictured above
"I have spent many winters waiting for the ice to melt and feel the first splashes of spring, but on December 28 I received an invitation that opened new doors to my world of sailing. George Peet invited me to meet up with Ron Sherry and Mike Rehe on Lake Missaukee, Lake City, MI for IDNIYRA 2011 Central Lakes Championship."
With eight hours to pack and sleep, I scrounged up all the warm gear I could get my hands on and started my adventure. I originally planned on learning the boat and playing around on the ice, but the incredible support and encouragement from all of the competitors, event organizers, and volunteers gave me the courage to register and race.
We left early Thursday morning and were registered and racing in 6 hours. When we arrived the temperature was in the 20s and blowing about 15 kts. We jumped right into action rigging the boats Ron Sherry supplied for Charlie Trost, another new ice boater, and I. In the morning Ron, Mike, and George helped Charlie and I learn the rules, sail with proper form, rig our DNs, and gave a short tutorial as we sailed to the starting line.
The ice was wavy but had no pressure ridges or obstructions on the race course. Throughout the day we experienced a steady shift east from the southeast, lighter pressure with gusts in the teens, and periods of snow and low visibility. Gold Fleet kept a fresh level of intensity and excitement while the rest of the Silver Fleet and I watched and learned, patiently waiting for our turn to feel the rush and hear our runners glide over the ice.
I was one among six new racers, of the 14 in Silver Fleet, and all of us were greeted with excitement and advice after every race making all 5 races thrilling and fun.
My favorite part of the race is after the finish, when all the boats stop and the skippers hop out to meet the other fleet waiting for their start; I saw joy on everyone’s face. After racing we all walked to a nearby restaurant where I got the chance to meet many other competitors. The atmosphere among the members of the IDNIYRA was very enjoyable and inviting for newcomers like myself.
In one day I learned how to sail, rig and derig a DN, stone and grease the runners, read the ice and the conditions, sail with apparent wind angles, starting, finishing (without cutting the starting line), the differences between hard water and soft water racing rules, ice boating safety, and most importantly the joy of the sport and sharing the experience with friends.
I’d like to thank Rich Potcova, Eric Lind, Ron Sherry, George Peet, Mike Rehe, Loretta Rehe, and the Traverse City guys that found the ice for making this opportunity possible. I appreciate you welcoming me into iceboat racing and making it a great first experience.
December 29, 2011: Collegiate sailor, Sarah Somes, sailing an ice boat not only for the first time, but in her first regatta at the DN Centrals on Missaukee Lake near Cadillac, Michigan. She's in 4th place in the Silver fleet after the first day! Photographer Gretchen Dorian captured the day's sailing and has posted pictures on her website.
2012 IDNIYRA Western Region Regatta
The 2012 IDNIYRA Western Region Regatta was sailed December 7-8 on Green Lake in Spicer, Minnesota. The 59 skippers including 3 Ice Opt sailors enjoyed three days of excellent conditions on 10" of snow-free ice that was hazard free and basically smooth with a slight amount of texture. The warm conditions made for excellent grip as well as no complaints of being cold. On Friday's training day, the wind was blowing 25 knots which made for exciting conditions with a few spin outs and break downs. It was good to get practice in those kind of conditions so that when they come up on race day you have the confidence to compete. It was really great to get a chance to work with all the top ice boaters of the Western Region. Working on our tuning together will only make me more competitive at the Worlds in Germany at the end the month. Quite a few Spicer residents came down to the ice to see what the excitement was about and learn about ice boating. Congratulations to Hal Bowman
DN US1277 for taking first in the Silver fleet.
Results here.
By Ron Sherry, DN US44
I believe you need a looser rig when you are having a hard time getting the boat going.
I mean so light and/or sticky that you might have to push more than once. After that, you need to tighten the rig as the breeze starts to build. Then when it is really windy, you need to loosen the rig again so that you have more control and do not spin out.
On Green Lake in Minnesota at the 2012 DN Western Regionals, we had excellent ice
conditions with 4-9 kts of breeze. I think this is the condition when you want to have the rig set as stiff as you will ever need it. These conditions are when you want to get the boat to hike so that you can make sure you are pointing high enough upwind and low enough
downwind.
Don't get me wrong, it is still possible to make the boat too stiff. When you get the boat set up the way you like it, try making small rig adjustments and see if you can feel the difference in how quickly the boat hikes.
Good luck and great sailing.
Click here for printable pdf file.
Read complete DN Tuning Guide here.
Great Western Challenge
Ice Optimist skippers at the GWC
"The first regatta of the season was sailed on Lake Christina in Ashby, Minnesota, December 2-4, 2011. Over 70 DNs and 3 Ice Optimists sailed in this non-sanctioned tuning regatta, some sailing a DN for their very first time.
Friday's high winds limited racing to the truly brave (or crazy) with winds blasting over 30 kts. Several sailors who attempted to sail on the hard fast ice and big breeze found themselves spinning out. The harsh conditions put a premium on mainsheet maintenance. Joerg Bohn DN G737 remarked, "We'd better race again before the wind completely dies." Friday was Joerg's day and he fully tortured his new Composite Concepts hull and mast and loved every minute of it.
Saturday was just a perfect day with hard, fast ice and 8-12 kt winds. We sailed 5 races each in the Gold and Silver fleets and 4 Ice Optimist races. After 5 races in the Gold fleet, second, third, and fourth were separated by only 1 point. It was truly perfect conditions where everyone had control, speed, and fun. The level of equipment on display at this regatta gave everybody a chance to win.
Griffin Sherry waits for the start of the Silver Fleet race. Photo Credit: Kent Baker
Sunday's wind conditions were much lighter and there was only one race each in the Gold and Silver fleets. The best part of Sunday was when Skip Dieball had 120 lb. Griffin Sherry race his DN in what was the last race of the Silver fleet and he finished second.
The good news is that all the Europeans have called me to tell me that they've made it home safe and sound. A big thanks to all of them for making the trip and making it a truly international event."
Ron Sherry DN US 44
Regatta results
Hal Bowman DN US 2177 3rd Silver fleet
Joerg Bohn DN G737 7th Gold fleet
Wolfgang Butlger DN G597 13th Gold
Uwe Dieckmann DN G600 25th Gold
2011
Strings
Jan Gougeon lauches his latest Catamaran creation, Strings, on
July 9, 2011.
Celebrating the Life of James Wendell Sherry
By Ron Sherry
"I don’t know about all of you, but these situations always leave me with more questions than answers. My name is Ron Sherry. Wendell is my uncle."
Continue reading.
2011 IDNIYRA Gold Cup Report
by Ron Sherry US-44
JANUARY 2011: "I finally had time to work on my own equipment with all the orders filled, lots of extra parts made, and charter boats organized, aligned and shimmed.
I checked the profile and shimmed 20 sets of runners, that’s right, 60 runners. Most of them had been prepped before but still a huge task." Continue reading.