Ice boating on the bay attracts Canadian champions

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Kate Everson

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Ice boats participated in the Canadian Championships, Starting At CFB Trenton.

Kate Everson, Stirling EMC

Ice boats participated in the Canadian Championships, Starting At CFB Trenton.

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Each ice boat had its own designs put on by the owner.

Kate Everson, Stirling EMC

Each ice boat had its own designs put on by the owner.

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Ice boaters warm up for the race, getting everything ready.

Kate Everson, Stirling EMC

Ice boaters warm up for the race, getting everything ready.

EMC Lifestyles -Trenton - It was a cold, blustery, snowy, icy day.

"Perfect for ice boating!" declared Red McGillivray from Carrying Place. He added he wasn't racing today because he did not have the right kind of boat (DN class).

Ice boats were lined up along the bay at the CFB Trenton Yacht Club, getting ready for a race. The Canadian Champions Ice Boat Race attracted pa r t i c ipant s

from Montreal, Kingston, Michigan, Quinte West and Hamilton.

Gord DeVries from Trenton had his ice boat ready to go. Mayor John Williams came out to take a look Saturday morning, but declined a ride.

"It's too cold!" he said, holding onto his Quinte West tuque.

The hardy iceboaters had no such qualms. They were dressed for the weather.

David Frost from Charlotte, Michigan (near Lansing), said he has been ice boating for eight years. He travels all over, setting up plans online to meet other ice boaters with DN Class boats < http://www.cyberquebec.ca/iceboatingmontreal>and covers over 4,000 miles just get-ting there.

"I even have a little sidecar for the kids," he says. "But they also have their own boats, three-quarter size."

He says big lakes like Lake Michigan aren't that great for ice boating so he chooses smaller lakes like Green Bay.

"I go wherever the water is," he said with a smile. "It's a blast!"

The ice boaters generally meet on a frozen lake and were grateful to have use of the CFB Trenton Yacht Club for registration.

Frost said the snow that covered the ice would make the ice boats less speedy for the race but expected to get up to 80 miles per hour.

"Snow slows you down," Frost noted.

There were pilons set up on the ice for two kilo-metres from the base toward Trenton. The racers had to go around the pilons and back four times. The minimum 140-pound boats were all built by hand and each one had a different look. Frost's boat even had a mark on one side with the handwriting, "Thanks, George."

"That's where George ran into me," he said laughing.

Please see additional photos on page 3