Pre-Season opener!

First week of December every year we have the Great Western Challenge Regatta put on by our friends in Minnesota.  I have been lucky enough now to attend 3 years in a row.  For those who drive the extra distance, it may extend their season by a month or so.  The regatta is free to enter, and is intended as a tune-up session.  Friday is scrub racing, and Saturday and Sunday is scored like a traditional regatta. 
This year we met at Pelican Lake, near Ashby, Minnesota.  Beautiful ice was barely 4" thick.  There was a nice plate on the North end of the Lake that was marked by an easily underestimated crack to its south.
About 80 boats competed in Gold, Silver, and Opti Fleets.  Mark Christensen ("The Doctor") lead the Gold Fleet, Peter Orlebeke edged out Junior Sailor Griffin Sherry for Silver Fleet first.  Griffin won the Opti fleet.  Full results can be seen here: http://www.iceboating.net/node/3729
The TIYC group started as 4 of us, picking up a Madison, WI area sailor on the way.  A 6th to our group, newbie Mike Beresni flew in to Minnapolis to visit his mom, then met us at the ice where his boat had the 6th spot in the trailer.  It is fun to have a new guy to pick on, but also fun to see the excitement in his eyes as his performance continues to impove each race!  Mike managed to sail into some shell ice and get the ol "wetfoot" but that didnt dampen his spirits.  Perhaps it was a good thing he flew home, as he might not have had much tolerance for our groups taunting the whole way home.  We can be brutal at times.  Thats why we keep Jody around...

Mike Beresni all smiles after a day of ice boating

Cant beat early-season ice!