Starting in 2026, Mr. Local History will partner with the New Jersey Historic Project to document the history of ice boats and ice yachts in New Jersey, from the 1850s through recent history. We love the sport so much that we even added a little New York in the mix.
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If you have a topic you’d like to see, or perhaps deep knowledge of a particular club, topic, or area, we’d love to hear from you (Contact Us). Please remember that these stories are posted early, so to find people who might have greater insight into the topic, please be gentle with our researchers if you talk with them. They’re all volunteers and do the best they can. Remember, they’re researchers, not historians.
New Jersey Ice Boat & Yacht History Research
Historic Ice Yacht Gifted to Lake Hopatcong Club- It’s “Ours”
Views: 343 On February 9, 2026, Brian Haumersen and Mike D Achille returned the historic ice yacht OURS to the ice of the Navesink River at the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club for the first time in approximately…
Production Ice Boats & Contraptions – Getting Started on Ice the Easy Way
Views: 1,796 “I want to try this ice boating. But I Need THREE EASIES: Easy to Set Up. Easy to Sail. Easy to Put Away.“ Ice boating has always lived in that wonderful space between ingenuity and obsession. For generations,…
Profiles in New Jersey Iceboating – 1889 – History of Ice Boating in Red Bank
Views: 659 Yachtsmen Preparing for The Winter (1889) New York Times Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in…
Profiles in New Jersey Iceboating History – 1830 First Ice Yacht in New Jersey
Views: 612 A Look Back to 1840 – ICE YACHTING NOW IN SEVENTY FIFTH YEAR (1915) Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesDecember 9, 1915 article recounts how Captain George D. Allaire built and sailed the first ice…
Profiles in New Jersey Iceboating History – 1894 – Shrewsbury Ice Yachts
Views: 493 SHREWSBURY ICE YACHTS (1894) – Over forty years since George Allaire built the first ice boat in New Jersey. Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesThe article traces the evolution of ice yachting on the Shrewsbury…
Ice Boating History – Gardiner Van Nostrand
Views: 1,372 Gardiner, sometimes spelled Gardner, Van Nostrand entered the world on November 9, 1852, in Brooklyn, at a time when New York was swelling with energy, trade, and ambition. He was born into an old Dutch family that understood…
Profiles in NJ Ice Yachting History – 1891 Faster Than The Wind
Views: 522 Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport. This January 28, 1891 article highlights the…
Ice Yachting’s Greatest Races for the Van Nostrand Cup
Views: 1,007 In the late 19th century, when ice yachting was one of the fastest and most thrilling sports in America, Gardner Van Nostrand set out to establish a true national championship for the sport. Van Nostrand was a devoted…
Profiles in NJ Ice Yachting History – 1913 Rockets Agustus Haviland
Views: 757 Red Bank’s Capt. Haviland, Present Owner of the Scud, Built His First Boat in 1860. Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those…
Profiles in NJ Ice Yachting History – 1902 South Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club
Views: 590 Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport. The theme of this story is the…
Profiles in NJ Ice Yachting History – 1904 HAZEL L Wins World’s Third Class Pennant
Views: 566 Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport. In this story, the South Shrewsbury Ice…
Van Nostrand Cup: The America’s Cup of Ice Yachting Returns To New York
Views: 2,731 The “Hard Water” America’s Cup of Ice Yachting NEWS UPDATE: Trophy History: The Van Nostrand Cup The America’s Cup of ice boating, the Gardner Van Nostrand Trophy, today known as the Ice Yacht Challenge Cup. Gardner Van Nostrand…
1898: ICE YACHTS: KING OF WINTER SPORTS
Views: 980 Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine SeriesJoin 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…
Historic Rocket Ice Yacht Reborn on the Navesink
Views: 1,235 In 1888, a fast and ambitious ice yacht named Rocket was built to race on the frozen reaches of the Navesink River at Red Bank, New Jersey. At a time when ice boating was one of winter’s great…
New Jersey Iceboating Legends & Super Heros
Views: 1,299 “It’s time the Garden State Honors the Legends & Super Heros of New Jersey Iceboating.” Based on numerous interviews and research about the history of New Jersey iceboating, we hope that our New Jersey Legends of Iceboating list…
Iceboats Flock to New Jersey Ice Again – Historic Winter Times
Views: 4,460 How exciting to announce that the cold is back and there’s ice on our lakes, rivers, and bays across New Jersey. In fact it’s so cold, we have to pray to the snow gods to slow down the…
