Ice Boats Return To Fort Peck Lake
Ice boats from Montana and the Midwest descended on Fort Peck Lake Feb. 22-27. Glasgow’s Sean Heavey told the Northern Plains Independent that approximately 10 boats traveled to the lake to take advantage of ideal conditions for practicing the sport.
“A chinook blew through on Monday,” said Heavey. “Conditions were perfect.” Heavey said racers were treated to coveted polished black ice and high winds. Gusts of 60 mph and higher were recorded during the week.
According to Heavey, ice boaters have begun to track conditions at the lake and have started adding the location to their ever-changing list of possible race and/or practice sites.
The international DN Ice Yacht Racing Association 2020 championship was held at the lake in January of last year. According to their website, IDNIYRA was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Michigan in 1962. Their mission is to “promote, protect and perpetuate DN
(Photo by David Ahlstedt)
one design ice boating, to advance the art and skill of the DN ice yacht construction and sailing as well as the future development of the DN class ice yacht and the sport of ice yachting on all the hard waters of the world.”
Heavey said the latest invasion of yachters was informal, driven by the search for promising conditions. “It’s a lot like storm chasing,” said Heavey. He said participants use radar, weather mapping and other technologies to pick sites, with plans changing regularly down to the last minute.
For more information about the sport, visit idniyra.org.
