Dutch Icesurfing Nationals...

[Tony_F18 0]

I was at the icesurfing nationals today to take some pics.

Such a fun event with people riding professional boards and others that ride boards that where probably built a few days before in a shed with materials from the local Homedepot-ish store.

Link to webalbum.

[Rmanen 0]

Neat! where was this?

[Tony_F18 0]

Neat! where was this?

Telstar Beach Center @ Strand Horst

http://maps.google.nl/maps?hl=en&sourc...mp;t=h&z=16

[ZeroTheHero 47]

how do you turn? Looks like many of the boards have fixed runners. Lean back and get the front runner up?

 

I would be very into this except there is always too much snow on the ice here.

 

By the way the ice in much of Vermont isn't very good this year. Rotten ice. Some of the ponds froze just days before the first snow of 12 inches so there is very little ice under the snow. Plus we got a little rain after the snow so that trickles down through to the ice and then freezes the bottom few inches of snow to the ice but it is very porous and not strong. There were 3 fatalities not to far from here last week when 2 snowmobiles went through. A 50 year old guy, his 6 year old passenger and a 25 year old woman, all from the same family. Sad.

[Tony_F18 0]

vtfishsailor:

With the triangle-type boards the front runner is usually a very blunt blade, or a doorhandle or something.

It is not suppose to have much grip so you can use the sail to push the nose around, the four blade skateboard-type boards can tilt both ways to steer.

 

What you should look at if your lake is covered with snow is what they call an iceboard or icecarver, there are a few pics of it in my gallery.

I was surprised how well they sailed even with very little wind, http://www.blackbeard.se/Iceboard/

[premiumunleaded 2]

I have two Freeskates, a similar more advanced version of this. It was designed and patented by Paul Midnich, who was a true genius although rather a free spirit as well as one of the best wavesailors NJ has ever seen. Fiberspar bought the rights to make them. Another company, Hibernia, used (stole) his idea. The ice has been rather crappy in NE this winter so I haven't gotten out much. But if anyone ever wants to try the Freeskate, let me know when you see me out on the ice. It is WAY easier than windsurfing. I taught my nephew in about 15 min. and although he had never windsurfed, he was a good sailor.

This style of ice sailing is really fun. I guy named Jeff Brown is really into it and gets them into the 50mph range often, I hear.

[czo79 7]

Nice. There is good ice to be found in VT! Lake Carmi had great black ice earlier in the year, and Lake Morey was all black ice too! Saw people out on the CT river and it looked skateable. The "inland sea" of lake champlain is supposed to be good right now too and they are holding the eastern US DN iceboat championships there this weekend. I'd love an ice boat, but I'm too poor, so my poor man's iceboat is this: Nordic Skates and a Kitewing. When the ice gets snowcovered, we just switch to skis. You can use them in the summer too! Speeds well over 50mph are possible, and flights of hundreds of meters too! The world championship is supposed to be in Quebec this year! We have a group of people around who use them, and meet up wherever the ice is in New England. We often go to Sunapee in NH, and sometimes set up marks and do windward/leeward races as well as point to point distance races. There is a yahoo forum we use to plan and trade tips and ice condition reports. There is also an VT ice reports forum, and the company that imports nordic skates is in VT, and they maintain an email list that they send out ice reports for all over new england, and further afield as well.

-Czo

[Albatros 456]

Neat! where was this?

Telstar Beach Center @ Strand Horst

http://maps.google.nl/maps?hl=en&sourc...mp;t=h&z=16

fuck that, the taste of smoked eel comes up again on me

[ChiGuy 9]

I have two Freeskates, a similar more advanced version of this. It was designed and patented by Paul Midnich, who was a true genius although rather a free spirit as well as one of the best wavesailors NJ has ever seen. Fiberspar bought the rights to make them. Another company, Hibernia, used (stole) his idea. The ice has been rather crappy in NE this winter so I haven't gotten out much. But if anyone ever wants to try the Freeskate, let me know when you see me out on the ice. It is WAY easier than windsurfing. I taught my nephew in about 15 min. and although he had never windsurfed, he was a good sailor.

This style of ice sailing is really fun. I guy named Jeff Brown is really into it and gets them into the 50mph range often, I hear.

 

Any idea where you can find a FreeSkate these days? Are there perhaps plans for constructing one from some sort of skateboard?

[us7070 286]

I have two Freeskates, a similar more advanced version of this. It was designed and patented by Paul Midnich, who was a true genius although rather a free spirit as well as one of the best wavesailors NJ has ever seen. Fiberspar bought the rights to make them. Another company, Hibernia, used (stole) his idea. The ice has been rather crappy in NE this winter so I haven't gotten out much. But if anyone ever wants to try the Freeskate, let me know when you see me out on the ice. It is WAY easier than windsurfing. I taught my nephew in about 15 min. and although he had never windsurfed, he was a good sailor.

This style of ice sailing is really fun. I guy named Jeff Brown is really into it and gets them into the 50mph range often, I hear.

 

 

it's easier than windsurfing..., until you fall - then, it hurts.

 

i suggest some ice hockey pads while learning.

[glowmaster 0]

I used to freeskate alot until I saw a couple of ice accidents that keep me off the ice.

 

Two happy things do come to mind. I remember getting clocked at 20mph in 5 mph wind. that was amazing. Calculates to be almost the limit to apparent wind. So smooth...

 

Then getting clocked at 53 mph in a nasty snow squall. Jeff Brown and Lincoln Baxter did 60! that day. I have seen friends with bruises on their legs that you wouldn't believe. Getting slammed hard right onto your thigh/butt was a common occurrence. Especially on hard ice with marginal blades.

 

I watched Jeff Brown fall thru the ice one day, go back to his car, get changed and go back out. I was done after that! He is the best in the world at this and a little crazy about it.

 

I think they sailed yesterday at lake wequaket here on the cape this weekend.

 

 

is it spring yet?

 

 

ed

[raildwn 0]

I have two Freeskates, a similar more advanced version of this. It was designed and patented by Paul Midnich, who was a true genius although rather a free spirit as well as one of the best wavesailors NJ has ever seen. Fiberspar bought the rights to make them. Another company, Hibernia, used (stole) his idea. The ice has been rather crappy in NE this winter so I haven't gotten out much. But if anyone ever wants to try the Freeskate, let me know when you see me out on the ice. It is WAY easier than windsurfing. I taught my nephew in about 15 min. and although he had never windsurfed, he was a good sailor.

This style of ice sailing is really fun. I guy named Jeff Brown is really into it and gets them into the 50mph range often, I hear.

 

Any idea where you can find a FreeSkate these days? Are there perhaps plans for constructing one from some sort of skateboard?

 

Easy-peasy: http://www.tupusurf.net/freeskate_en.html and http://www.amcboston.org/windsurf/iceboardinfo/

 

Of course, if I start now it will be the wrong season when I finish. Same as the i550!

[us7070 286]

freeskates occasionally turn up in the windsurfing category on ebay.

[Geff 196]

Any You Tube vids? This is awesome! Thanks for the post and pics.

[czo79 7]

Here is a kitewing video that kicks ass. Mostly kitewing skiing, but some skating too. Don't think they have any of the summer stuff like kitewing boarding on water, or with mountain boards, roller blades, or dirt surfers. What ever you do, make sure you check out the big air competition at 5:20 into the video!

[Tony_F18 0]

Any You Tube vids? This is awesome! Thanks for the post and pics.

This is the best video from the event:

 

Another really cool thing about this event was the realtime track-and-trace for automatic lap-scoring.

You could een follow the event from inside the warm tent.

http://www.mylaps.com/index.php/emea_eng/W...ce_surfing_2010

[Geff 196]

Any You Tube vids? This is awesome! Thanks for the post and pics.

This is the best video from the event:

 

Another really cool thing about this event was the realtime track-and-trace for automatic lap-scoring.

You could een follow the event from inside the warm tent.

http://www.mylaps.com/index.php/emea_eng/W...ce_surfing_2010

 

Great...Thanks!

[shortbus 0]

how do you turn? Looks like many of the boards have fixed runners. Lean back and get the front runner up?

 

I would be very into this except there is always too much snow on the ice here.

 

By the way the ice in much of Vermont isn't very good this year. Rotten ice. Some of the ponds froze just days before the first snow of 12 inches so there is very little ice under the snow. Plus we got a little rain after the snow so that trickles down through to the ice and then freezes the bottom few inches of snow to the ice but it is very porous and not strong. There were 3 fatalities not to far from here last week when 2 snowmobiles went through. A 50 year old guy, his 6 year old passenger and a 25 year old woman, all from the same family. Sad.

 

VFS: I have a couple pieces of good news:

 

1: VT is actually a great place the sail and the news about bad ice in VT is not entirely accurate. As with most years there is plenty of bad ice around but the unique thing about Lake Champlain is that big swaths stay open and freeze differently so when one section gets wrecked there are still chances for good ice elsewhere. The inland sea, north of the sandbar causeway, was great this weekend with about 5" of black ice primarily because it was open during the big storm a few weeks back and then froze after when the snow pretty much quit and the weather turned cold. The bottom line is to check with the ice sailing and Nordic skating boards to hear where people are finding ice and you will be surprised to learn how often there actually is good ice not that far from home.

 

2: I have an original freeskate as well as a home built version which needs some work, so drop me a line and we can meet up and get out on the ice.

[glowmaster 0]

Here is a treat,

 

the latest video from Jeff Brown, the iceratz, from his new go-pro HD camera.

 

 

 

 

enjoy,

 

 

ed

[Tony_F18 0]

Here is a treat,

 

the latest video from Jeff Brown, the iceratz, from his new go-pro HD camera.

 

 

 

 

enjoy,

 

 

ed

Very nice video, image quality of that little GoPro HD is quite spectacular.

Really thinking about building one for the next icy period.

[us7070 286]

Here is a treat,

 

the latest video from Jeff Brown, the iceratz, from his new go-pro HD camera.

 

 

 

 

enjoy,

 

 

ed

 

 

fantastic!

 

i think i'll get one of those cameras.

 

could be posted on the front page - i've seen a lot worse there...

[Geff 196]

I agree! Should be front page. Amazing vid!

[ZeroTheHero 47]

Hey cool on the steering thing. Also I wasn't trying to say every lake in VT is unsafe but beware, a lot of the lakes around Okemo are not safe. Yesterday I went up to Plymouth to ski Bear Creek and there were people out on the ice on Lake Rescue and Echo Lake but there was open water in a few places. Also there were snowmobile tracks on Rescue and they were all full of water. Yikes! If they had slowed down, would have been a different story. Did that once on x-country skis. Went right over some very rotten ice. Looked back and my ski tracks were filling with water. Temp was about 20 degrees f and the water instantly froze to the ski. Very slow walk home.

[jaspervs 0]

Some extra pics:

 

http://www.jeffreyleeflang.nl/Home/Portfol...rfing_2010.html