UPCOMING:
4LIYC Meeting : November 2025
International Skeeter Association Regatta: Postponed
4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE: Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online
Join Us to Celebrate Walter Whitehorse’s 100th Birthday!
The Whitehorse family invites all ice sailors, past and present, to celebrate Walter Whitehorse’s 100th birthday on Friday, March 28, 2025, at the Ho-Chunk Branch Office in Madison, Wisconsin.
Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
Location: Ho-Chunk Branch Office
4724 Tradewinds Parkway, Madison, Wi
Lunch Served: 11:00 AM
Grand Entry Honoring Walter’s Military Service: 12:00 PM
A Grand Entry is a Native American tradition that marks the opening of a gathering with an honor procession and will honor Walter’s WW2 military service. Veterans are encouraged to wear military attire for the event.
Walter and his brother, Harry Whitehorse, were long-time Skeeter sailors in the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. In the late 1960s, they helped build the “Red & White” feet in Madison, spearheaded by Bill Mattison, Dave Rosten, and Paul Krueger. Walter sailed on lakes across the Midwest and beyond, including Lake St. Clair (Detroit), Lake George (New York), Pewaukee, and many others. One of Walter’s fondest memories is the ISA regatta at Pewaukee, where he recalls sailing in a pack of boats arriving at the top mark—20 deep and 10 wide!
Join us to celebrate and honor Walter Whitehorse!

1975 ISA in New York: The usual suspects – Left to Right: Harvey Witte, Gary Sternberg, Susie Whitehorse, Greg, Gary, Barb, Sandy Witte, Ken and Wally.
Christmas in March “From All the Trolls”
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Postponed to March 21-23
Very warm temperatures upcoming for next weekend have moved the 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship out a week to March 21-23. A cool down is forecast starting Sunday the 16 giving a chance for some sailable ice in the vicinity of Boulder Junction, WI for the 21. Next update March 16.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
The Mattison Scrapbooks – Cool Shots

Staging the perfect shot back in the day —no filters, no drones, just a guy in a business suit on the ice and a camera.
I recently visited with Mauretta Mattison and her daughter, Lynn. Mauretta handed over a box overflowing with iceboating memorabilia that she had meticulously collected over the years, detailing her late husband Bill’s and family’s extraordinary life on the ice. It’s a collection that could keep an iceboating historian busy for months. As I quickly flipped through it, two items caught my attention: a pair of photos capturing what looks to be a lazy, light-air day on the ice and another featuring Elmer Millenbach, the Renegade’s mastermind
The first photo is a behind-the-scenes look at a photo shoot on the ice. Wisconsin State Journal photographer Edward Stein is lying on his side, dressed in a business suit and dress shoes—no winter gear.. He’s aiming at Bill Mattison, relaxed on the runner plank of his Skeeter, with another guy peering up at the sail from behind the boom. Next to it in the scrapbook is the finished product—the photo Stein snapped that day, which ran in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Then there’s a second photo that caught my eye—a classically cool image featuring Elmer Millenbach and his wife, Cora Lee, standing beside their Ford Thunderbird (possibly a 1964?) with Elmer’s Renegade on top of the car. Elmer, the Detroit innovator who designed the Renegade, was known for transporting his hull on top of cars instead of using a trailer. The Thunderbird is stylish match for the sleek lines of the Renegade.
Stay tuned as I dig deeper into this box of history.

Elmer and Cora Lee Millenbach have Fun Fun Fun cruising with style.
4LIYC Meeting News: March 12 @ Breakwater
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club – Final Meeting of the Season
It’s hard to believe, but the last Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club meeting of the season is coming up! Join us on Wednesday, March 12, at 6:30 PM at The Breakwater in Monona to wrap up what has been the best season in decades.
We’ve scheduled this meeting for March 12 so that members can attend a special event on March 5 sponsored by Hoofers: “Jerome Rand – Sailing Into Oblivion.” This event promises to be an incredible talk about solo ocean sailing and adventure. More information here.
Spring awards banquet news coming soon—stay tuned!
4LIYC Scores Posted
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing scores are now posted, thanks to our tabulator Damien Luyet.
4LIYC Scores
Regatta Watch: 2025 ISA & Renegade Championship Postponed to March 14-16
The ISA and Renegade championship regatta for 2025 is postponed to March 14th -16th, 2025. The Race Committee is hoping for a freezing period to stabilize some of the locations that still have thick ice. Next update, Sunday, March 9, 2025.
Steve Schalk
Secretary/Treasurer
International Skeeter Association
4LIYC Racing Report for March 1, 2025

Don Anderson sailing Renegade EASY RIDER on Lake Monona. Photo: Marcus Berghahn
Saturday, March 1, was one of those days that reminded us why we love this sport. With perfect wind and great ice, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club welcomed our Nite friends from Lake Geneva for a full day of racing. Nite Commodore Maureen Bohleber joined in, helping wave the flag and record scores.
4LIYC Vice Commodore Ron Rosten said It was the perfect day to tune your boat—figuring out what worked and what didn’t. And with conditions this good, nobody was in a hurry to leave. Renegaders Donny Anderson and Damien Luyet kept everyone fueled with a grilled lunch, and the sailing continued until the last dog was hung, with boats rolling into the pits just as the sun set. Sunday may be a different story as the wind forecast isn’t so good.
Check out Marcus Berghahn’s photos here for a glimpse of ice sailing on Saturday.
4LIYC Racing Update for March 1-2
Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club racing is ON for Lake Monona! March 1 – 2. Note: The landing has changed from Olin Park to the Tonyawatha Landing. Please roll trailers onto the ice—do NOT drive on the ice.
4LIYC Racing Tentatively Called on for Lake Monona – March 1-2

BLADE RUNNER
4LIYC racing is tentatively called on for Lake Monona out of Olin Park. The first race kicks off at 10 AM on Saturday, March 1.
Important: We have entered spring-sailing conditions. NO trailers on the ice – boats MUST be carried on. The landing is deteriorating, so please do everything you can to save the landing. We will monitor the landing situation and provide an updated report at the end of today.