1898: ICE YACHTS: KING OF WINTER SPORTS

Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine Series
Join us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport. This 1898 story describes ice yachting as the fastest and most thrilling winter sport in America, explains how the boats were built and sailed, and chronicles the famous Hudson River versus Shrewsbury River rivalry and pennant races that made the sport nationally known.

Found this magazine – so a fun look before we get started……. this is from 1909

Mentions: Commodore Anderson, Gardner Van Nostrand, George Cooper, George D. Allaire, Hiram Fuller, Irving Grinnell, James B. Weaver, Nathan Cook, Ollie Booth, Robert Stevenson, Samuel W. Morford, Theodore Wetmore, Archibald Rogers, Bailey, Barron, English, Fuller, Grinnell, Harrison, L. Wetmore, Maurer, Miller, Morgan, Purchase, Rogers, Roosevelt, Sampson, Sands.

Yachts Mentioned: Allons, Arrow, Arctic, Avalanche, Bear, Bessie, Blitzen, Blizzard, Blue Bird, Boreas, Bronco, Cannon Ball, Cold Wave, Comet, Cow Boy, Cyclone, Dare, Dart, Dragon, Dreadnaught, Eskimo, Esquimau, Flying Cloud, Flying Jib, Frolic, Galatea, Georgie, Git There, Great Scott, Gypsy, Haze, Hunter, Icicle, Ice King, Ice Queen, Icelor, Impulse, Irene, Jack Frost, Lady of the Lake, Lorna, Lucille, Magic, Maria, Meteor, North Star, Northern Light, Now Then, Onteora, Phantom, Plato, Reindeer, Red Dragon, Rocket, Santa Claus, Scud, Snow Flake, Star, Tempest, Troubler, Uncle Bob, Vixen, Windward, Zero, Zephyr.

New York Tribune · September 18, 1898

KING OF THE WINTER SPORTS

When the north wind blows, the ice yachtsman is happy.

A WILD AND EXCITING GAME THAT ONLY THE HARDEST CAN PLAY. It’s rapid growth in the last 15 YEARS. THE FIGHT FOR THE PENNANT.

Ice yachting has most appropriately been called the king of winter sports. This title may be disputed by some, but it will certainly not be questioned by anyone who has once enjoyed a sail over the frozen waters of the Hudson or Shrewsbury in one of the big white winged flyers of the winter fleet.

Ice yachting is like no other sport on earth. It is a cross between a runaway locomotive and a West Indian cyclone. The man who takes his first sail in an ice yacht, when the wintry northeast wind is blowing 50 miles an hour, experiences more kinds of sensations in the first 10 minutes of the trip than if he had been dropped from a balloon or shot out of a 13-inch gun. Tobogganing, besides ice yachting, may be compared to an afternoon siesta in a hammock. In fact, there is nothing like it in life. As Robert Stevenson said, it is living 3 to the minute. A man feels that he is scoring points on death, as every rod of space is covered at a speed approached by no other means of locomotion.

Probably not 1 per cent of the people in America have ever seen an iceboat, and yet in the localities where ice yachting is possible, the women as well as the men are enthusiasts, and the sport is rapidly growing in popular favor. Anyone who thinks that the ordinary sailboat and the ice yacht are similar only shows their ignorance of the latter. About the only similarity is the fact that both crafts are driven by the wind, and there the likeness ceases.

ANTIQUITY OF ICE YACHTING

Ice yachting is by no means a sport that has come up recently. Its origin is clouded in mystery, but it is probable that wherever ice sports have flourished, as, for instance, in Holland, Sweden, or Norway, there must have been boats propelled over the ice by means of sails. In this country, it dates back at least a hundred years. The writer was shown a pair of ice yacht runners by Ollie Booth, of Poughkeepsie, that were over a hundred years old, and there are stories current around the club firesides of even greater antiquity than that. But ice yachting, in its improved form, is of comparatively recent date. In fact, it has come to the front within the last 15 years, and all of the improvements that characterize the modern craft have been originated and applied within that period.

A majority of the articles published on ice yachting have given the East, and, in particular, certain localities near New York, as the only places where ice yachting is a popular winter sport. This is not so, as will be shown later. But it is nevertheless true that the Hudson River, in the neighborhood of Poughkeepsie, and the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers, in New Jersey, are the headquarters. And it is also true that the boom that the sport experienced several years ago arose in the plucky and gallant efforts of the yachtsmen of the latter place to capture the challenge pennant from the sailors of the North River. In the spirited contests that ensued between the boats of the rival clubs, great enthusiasm was aroused, and a National character and publicity were given the sport that did much to place it on its present basis.

OLD AND NEW TYPES OF YACHTS

Years before the War of the Rebellion, iceboats were sailed on the waters in the East. Down in New Jersey, at the pretty little town at the head of navigation on the North Shrewsbury, known as Red Bank, tradition tells of the primitive affairs built by Nathan Cook and George D. Allaire. These boats were as unlike the modern craft as the present locomotive is different from the original model. The body was a big, shallow box mounted on 4 runners. An ordinary mast and sail were used. The forward runners were rigidly fixed to the body, and the steering runners were unhandy and cumbersome. Later on, the 2 runners in the stern were replaced by a single runner, which was a great improvement. At first, the runners were made out of skates and some of hoop iron, but these were followed by regularly made runners of steel. Gradually, the 4-runner box boats passed away, and triangular-shaped affairs of skeleton form succeeded them. These boats were the foundation for the present fine craft, and in general conformation, they are the same.

The modern type of ice yachts are skeletons. Two main timbers are fastened together in the shape of a cross. The lengthwise timber is known as the centre plank, and the cross timber as the runner plank. These timbers are, of course, as tough and strong as possible, consistent with lightness. On either end of the runner plank are fastened the runners, so secured as to move easily over the inequalities in the ice. The runners are of oak or ash, shod with iron or steel, and in many respects similar to the well-known bobsled runners so familiar to a person raised in the country. They are longer and narrower, however.

Recently, the Shrewsbury men claim to have effected a marked improvement in runners. They now make them curved at both ends, like the “rocker” skate, and declare that the new runner greatly increases the speed. This is probably true, as the old runner, with the sharp rear end, under certain conditions acted as a brake, which the curved rear end now avoids.

The most common rig for an iceboat is a jib and mainsail, but the cat rig is frequently seen. The lateen rig is also a favorite and has many advantages. A lateen sail may be said to be the jib and mainsail all in one, supported by an extra-long spar. The latter rig is a daisy for a heavy wind, but as a great deal of racing is in light airs, the jib and mainsail are probably more serviceable.

SAILING THE CRAFT

The cockpit is smaller than most people suppose. It is barely large enough for 3 persons and is very shallow. The steering is done by means of a movable rudder runner. The rudder moves at the slightest touch, and the boat answers the helmsman with surprising promptness. The ordinary tiller is used, but in some lately built boats, the steering is done by the helmsman with his feet. This enables him to give more attention to the sheet and the general conduct of the yacht.

The helmsman must keep his wits about him and be cool or there will be trouble. This is not easy when the yacht is racing along at the rate of 75 or 100 miles an hour, for a sudden jamming of the helm down or up would cause the boat to whirl around like a top and spill out the crew on the ice. When this occurs, the men slide along on the ice for rods until brought up against snow or rough ice.

Stopping an ice yacht is accomplished in the same way as stopping an ordinary sailboat, by running her up into the wind; or in certain positions, the rudder may be thrown across the stern, when it scrapes along the ice and acts as a brake. This is seldom done, however, as it strains the rudder. When at anchor, the ice yacht is lifted clear of the ice, and short “shores,” such as carpenters use, are placed under her frame. The sailing of an ice boat is a revelation to the uninitiated sailor. Her sheets are usually trimmed flat aft, unless the wind is so strong abeam as to cause her to slide on the ice or rear too hard, in which case the sheet is eased a little. She tacks without trimming and wears without jibing, and careers in running as though a big sea were behind her. Her speed is so great that unusual allowances must be made in steering, notwithstanding the prompt answering of the helm. An ordinary ice yacht can be built for from $300 to $500, but the large yachts run up to $800 or $1,000 or more, according to the expense of the fittings.

The crew of an ice yacht does not usually exceed 3 in number, the helmsman and a man for each end of the runner plank. It is obvious that in a strong wind the yacht must heel, and, as the leeward side can’t go down in the water, the windward side must rise in the air. The term for this is “rearing,” and when an ice yacht is coming toward one, with her windward runner 6 to 10 feet in the air, she is a startling and alarming object. One of the crew hangs on the windward end of the runner plank, his weight helping to keep that side of the craft down. In foul wind the experience is not pleasant. The windward runner rises suddenly, and as the puff dies away, that side of the boat drops with a slam on the ice that will shake the inexperienced sailor off if he is not careful. Often, the weight of 2 men is required to keep the unruly yacht down to business. The sensation of rising and falling as the yacht goes tearing along at tremendous speed is one which, for impressiveness and novelty, can only be compared to falling off the Washington Monument.

WONDERFUL SPEED OF ICE YACHTS

There are many well-authenticated cases showing the speed of ice yachts. On the Hudson River, races between the yachts and the express trains that run along the shore are not uncommon, and to beat the Empire State Express is considered easy. As far back as 1879 4 of the Hudson River boats sailed together 10 miles in 10 minutes. They were the Zephyr, the Phantom, the Comet, and the Magic. Lucille, in the same year, is credited with 9 miles in 7 minutes 10 seconds. In 1882, the Haze, another North River boat, did 9 miles in 7 minutes, and a part of the distance is said to have been covered at the rate of 2 miles in 1 minute. The Snow Flake also made 9 miles in 7 minutes. On Lake Minnetonka, near Minneapolis, the Irene, Commodore Hiram Fuller, sailed 20 miles in 30 minutes and 30 seconds, a fine performance, considering the length of the course.

Down on the Shrewsbury, however, are perhaps the best records, not only from a speed standpoint, but from the undeniable accuracy of the speed and time. The sailing course is a triangle, the total distance of which is 3 miles. The long leg of the triangle is 1 and 1 quarter miles, and the short leg, running almost across the river, is 5 eighths of a mile. The course was regularly surveyed and measured by George Cooper, a well known civil engineer, and is vouched for by him as absolutely correct. Over this course the Shrewsbury boats have made excellent records. The long leg of the triangle, 1 and 1 quarter miles, has been covered by the Scud in 48 seconds. The greatest feat of all was in the winter of 1892. The short leg of the triangle, 5 eighths of a mile, was sailed in 15 seconds, or at the rate of 150 miles an hour. The timer was the club’s commodore, Samuel W. Morford, an experienced man with a stopwatch. Half a dozen other stop watches also agreed with that of the official timer. This record may, perhaps, have been equalled, possibly beaten.

On the Hudson, but it is doubtful if the corroborating circumstances are as well established. Of course, the start was a flying one, the Scud being at full speed when she rounded the starting stake. The landsman often wonders how it is possible for an iceboat to sail faster than the wind. The explanation is simple. If the yacht sailed dead ahead, the boat would only travel as fast as the wind. As soon as it went faster, it would meet a counter current that would slow it up until the wind caught up again. But the skilled ice yachtsman sails a zigzag course, instead of straightaway, and gets the wind on the boat’s quarter. She thus cuts partly across the wind, and a constant pressure is kept on her sails. The speed may be double that of the wind, but as the latter comes over the quarter, it exerts a constant push, and the boat gathers headway at a rapid rate. As the yacht makes no leeway, owing to the firm hold of her sharp runners on the ice, it is easy to see how the great speed is attained.

COLDEST SPORT KNOWN

The ice yachting season is generally very short. A fall of snow will spoil the ice, or a mild winter will not develop ice of sufficient strength. But while it lasts, the devotee of the sport gets enough fun out of it to last for months. It is the coldest pastime known. As it admits of no exercise, the blood soon chills. Several suits of clothes are necessary. A man who ventures out without being properly prepared will wish he had never been born. The legs of the trousers and the arms of the coat are tied at the ankles and wrists, and long stockings are drawn on over the feet and hands. Only the eyes are left uncovered. Several coats are necessary. In stormy weather, goggles are worn for the eyes and a wire covering for the mouth.

Few women can stand the rigors of an hour’s trip in cold weather, so biting is the wind when the yacht is at speed. Sometimes an iceboat runs away, and then the scene becomes one of excitement and danger. In a sudden flaw the crew is thrown out, and the yacht is left without a master. The runaway craft dashes hither and thither on the ice, and woe to the person who gets in its way. Taking the bit in its teeth, its actions are not unlike those of an unruly horse, and it is just about as hard to catch. Occasionally, before it can be controlled, it smashes up several of the other boats and knocks over a dozen people.

THE FIGHT FOR THE PENNANT

The fight for supremacy of the frozen waters of the East between the fleets of the Hudson and Shrewsbury rivers during the winters from 1882 to 1892 attracted the attention of sportsmen all over the country and made ice yachting famous. It boomed the sport tremendously and encouraged the building of many new crafts. The ice yacht challenge pennant of America is the recognized emblem of supremacy on the ice, and occupies the same place in ice yachting circles as does the America’s Cup in yachting. This pennant is a faded strip of red and white silk, but never has a trophy been more gallantly fought for and none is more highly prized.

The pennant was originally offered by the New Hamburg Club, Hudson River, in March, 1881. The Poughkeepsie Club challenged, and in the race, the Phantom, of the New Hamburg Club, successfully defended it, sailing 20 miles in 57 minutes 14 seconds.

In February 1883, the Avalanche, of the Poughkeepsie Club, succeeded in capturing it, sailing the 20-mile course in an even 57 minutes. In the meantime, the Shrewsbury Club sent representatives up the Hudson to sail against the New Hamburg Club, but bad weather prevented a race. After the Poughkeepsie Club beat the New Hamburg boats, the Jerseymen tried it again, and in February 1884, they prepared for a desperate attack on the enemy. 4 boats were shipped north: the Icelor, the Uncle Bob, the Dreadnaught, and the Tempest. The Haze of the Poughkeepsie Club won, the Shrewsbury boat Dreadnaught being a good second. The time was 1 hour, 6 minutes, 30 seconds.

Defeat only spurred the Jerseymen on, and again they challenged. The New Hamburg Club had the first call, however, and was beaten by the Haze in 1 minute and 15 seconds over the hour. The course was the same, 20 miles, that had been fixed as the distance for a challenge contest. 4 days later, the Shrewsbury men had their innings. A new boat with lateen sails, the Scud, had shown tremendous speed in trials, and her crew were sanguine of victory. When the time came for the race, the wind proved light, an unfavorable condition for the Scud, whose best hold was a gale, and she was beaten, the Dreadnaught, of the Shrewsbury Club, finishing second to the Poughkeepsie boat Northern Light.

In 1887, the newly organized Hudson River Club succeeded in wresting the pennant from the Poughkeepsie Club, the Jack Frost sailing 16 miles in 43 minutes 40 seconds. In 1888, the Shrewsbury Club challenged again, and the Icelor of the Hudson River Club won. Again in 1889, the Icelor beat the Scud.

Sometimes a dozen competitors took turns in blanketing the challenger, and under the conditions, it seemed impossible for a single challenging boat, even though she possessed equal or possibly greater speed, to win out against the whole fleet. The Hudson boats still retain the pennant.

THE SCUD WINS THE VAN NOSTRAND CUP

On the pretty Orange Lake, 6 miles west of Newburg and 1,000 feet above the Hudson River, is as gallant a body of ice yachtsmen as anywhere else on earth. Gardner Van Nostrand, a wealthy sportsman, offered a handsome silver cup for competition, to be held as a perpetual challenge trophy for the championship of America. In January 1891, the North Shrewsbury Club, having challenged the Orange Lake Club, the race for the cup came off. The challengers were represented by the famous Scud. The defenders entered the Lady of the Lake, the Windward, and the Dragon. The course was 20 miles, with 10 turns of 2 miles each. The Scud won handsomely in 1 hour and 5 minutes, an excellent time for such a course. This cup is still in the possession of the Shrewsbury Club.

Of late years, there has not been so much racing, for the reason that the challenging clubs have found out that it is almost impossible to win unless the sailing conditions are changed. It is hoped that the different clubs may get together and a new code of rules be made. The principal point is to have only 1 representative from each club, the challenger and challenged, similar to the present conditions of the America’s Cup races. The method of measurement should also be made uniform, some clubs taking the sail area and others the distance between runners. The distance of a challenge race should be 20 miles. And the time limit is 1 hour.

LEADING CLUBS OF THE EAST

The headquarters for ice yachting in this country is the Hudson River, in the neighborhood of Poughkeepsie. On the Hudson, there are 3 principal clubs, the largest of which is the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club, with nearly 40 yachts. The first class boats are the Blitzen, Colonel Archibald Rogers, owner; the Boreas, Captain Grinnell; the Icicle, Captain Roosevelt; the Northern Light, Captain Barron; the Windward, Captain Morgan; the Zero and the Flying Cloud, Irving Grinnell; the Avalanche, Captain Sands; the Jack Frost, Captain Rogers.

Among other yachts are the Blizzard, the Bessie, the Dreadnaught, the Great Scott, the Santa Claus, the Dragon, the Arctic, the Arrow, the Cyclone, the Eskimo, the Hunter, the Dare, the Magic, the Galatea, the North Star, the Vixen, the Snow Flake, the Onteora and a dozen others of the fourth class. 2 other clubs on the Hudson are the New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club and the Carthage Ice Yacht Club. The former has about 25 boats, and the latter in the neighborhood of 30.

The Orange Lake Ice Yacht Club is a flourishing institution, with 15 or 16 boats in the first class. The principal ones being the Ice Queen, the Esquimau, the Troubler, the Windward, the Cold Wave, the Ice King, the Impulse, the Frolic, and the Flying Jib. The Orange Lake men are thorough sportsmen and keen yachtsmen.

Down on the Shrewsbury, at Red Bank, is the home of the North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club, with a fine fleet of over 30 vessels. The Scud is the best known, having sailed a number of times against the Hudson River and Orange Lake boats. Other prominent yachts are the Uncle Bob, the Dreadnaught, the Rocket, the Now Then, the Git There, and the Georgie.

CHAMPIONS OF THE NORTHWEST

While the Hudson and Shrewsbury rivers and Orange Lake may be considered as the leading centres of ice yachting in America, they are by no means the only places where it is a popular and well-known winter pastime. On lovely Lake Minnetonka, near those great cities of the Northwest, St. Paul and Minneapolis, is a lively and growing band of ice boating enthusiasts, headed by Commodore Theodore Wetmore, of the Excelsior Ice Yacht Club. The Commodore brought this sport West from the Hudson, and it is now one of the chief diversions of the 2 cities when the frost king holds sway.

Among the principal boats are the Reindeer, Commodore Wetmore; the Star, Captain English; the Gypsy, Captain Purchase; the Red Dragon, Captain Sampson; the Icicle, Captain Bailey; the Blitzen, Captain Miller; the Blue Bird, Captain Harrison; the Bronco, Captain L. Wetmore; the Plato, Captain Maurer, and a number of others. Lake Winnebago, with its flourishing coterie of clubs, among them being the Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, and Fond du Lac, of the towns named. Regattas are sailed each winter for the Wisconsin Cups.

Lake Pepin, another Wisconsin town, is fast coming to the front in this sport. The lake is really the Mississippi River, which broadens out here several miles in width and affords an excellent course. Clustering on its banks are the towns of Lake City, Stockholm, Pepin, Frontenac, and Wabasha. Pepin is the principal, and the club bears that name. St. Paul is less than 50 miles away on the opposite side of the river. Over 30 years ago, the iceboat, then a very crude affair, was not unknown here, and little by little the sport advanced until the Pepin boats compare with any in the country. Each winter, numerous races are held, and several years ago, the Pepin men journeyed over to Minnetonka and captured the challenge cup and pennant from the yachtsmen of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Pepin yachts have an enviable record for speed, one of the best being a race of 20 miles in 30 minutes, or an average rate of a mile in a minute and a half.

Like their rowing friends of the University, the Westerners have an itching to try conclusions with the East, and a contest with the rank yachts of the Hudson or Shrewsbury is not improbable in the near future. The most noteworthy Pepin boats are the Tempest, Captain Fuller; Commodore Anderson’s Lorna and Irene; the Cow Boy; the Bear; the Maria; the Dart; the Meteor; the Cannon Ball and the Comet.

The Burlington Ice Yacht Club, on the Delaware River, in New Jersey, has about 20 fine yachts, some of them very fast.

James B. Weaver

Link to Article (newspapers.com) https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-1898-new-york-tribune/190918454

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About the Author

Brooks Betz is a researcher and writer for the Mr. Local History as well as the New Jersey History Project, focused on uncovering overlooked stories, places, and people that shaped New Jersey and American life. His work draws on archival newspapers, maps, photographs, and firsthand accounts to turn forgotten details into clear, engaging history. His approach is best described as History With a Social Twist, grounded in personal reference and firsthand knowledge gained through years of research, interviews, and on site exploration.

The only thing I remember more are the people I friended along the way. It’s been years since I thought about them all, and now I’m inspired to rekindle some of those friends, and memories, and hopefully make a few new ones. Mr Local History & Gambit Iceboat DN Painting – Mr. Local History (aka Brooks Betz, Basking Ridge, New Jersey). I can be reached at brooksatmrlocalhistory.org “Be Safe and Sail Fast.”

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