VIDEO Ice sailing (at insane speeds) is all the rage

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The moment the lakes in the U.S. freeze over, will people stop sailing? But no way: The Yanks have come up with the World Iceboat Championships (DN Iceboat Worlds, now in their 11th year), raced on ultralight boats that glide on blades, just like skates. The start is lined up in running style, complete with a checkered flag judge giving the go-ahead: the skippers run across the ice pushing their boats and then launch themselves at the helm. After that it is a full-fledged regatta, with speeds exceeding 35 knots. One of the best performers in Ice Sailing is a sailor from the cold: Poland’s Karol Jablonsky, a helmsman with experience also in the America’s Cup (remember in 2005 Desafio Espanol?), who won the World Championship this year at Lake Kegonsa in Madison, Wisconsin.

HERE A VIDEO OF THE SPECTACULAR REGATTAS

KAROL JABLONSKY, VIDEO FROM EDGE TO EUROPEANS

ICE SAILING, AN ANCIENT PHENOMENON
But beware, the Ice Sailing phenomenon has its roots as early as the late 1800s in the northern United States, where winters were harsh and rivers froze, people used to make boats built to glide on ice propelled by sails to move from one side of rivers to the other. Boats that are now coming back to life

A MISSILE FROM THE LATE 19TH CENTURY
Every first weekend in March, an Ice Boats gathering is staged in Catskill Mountains (100 km north of New York City), and some of the guys, in past editions, showed up with the “Rocket,” a spectacular 50-foot ice boat that took 10 years to restore. Entirely made of solid wood and equipped with a classic sail rig, the “Rocket” made her last sail on ice in 1920 before being abandoned in a barn. It took all the patience in the world to restore it to its former glory, but it was worth it. Check out what a missile this beast came straight from the 19th century!

LOOK AT THAT “ROCKET” SHOW IN NAVIGATION

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