Profiles in NJ Ice Yachting History – 1891 Faster Than The Wind

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 January 28, 1891 article highlights the thrilling speed, competitive culture, and growing prestige of ice yachting in the 1880s, detailing major challenge pennant races between Hudson River and North Shrewsbury clubs while showcasing standout yachts like Scud and Icicle. It also covers some historic events of the time.

FASTER THAN THE WIND

Personalities: Gardiner Van Nostrand, Captain James B. Weaver, Captain Darby
Yachts: Scud, Phantom, Avalanche later renamed Great Scott, Iazee, Whizz, Northern Light, Jack Frost, Icicle.
Clubs: New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club, Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club, North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club, Hudson River Club, Orange Lake Ice Yacht Club, O L S Y C

January 28, 1891 The Daily Item – Lynn, Massachussetts

Ice Yachts Which Are Speedier Than the Wind.

FASTER THAN THE WIND.

Thrilling Races on the Flying Steel shod Ice Yachts.

The owners of ice yachts most possess more patience than even old Job could boast of if they do not chafe and worry themselves early into a fit at the tantalizing weather we have had during the last few winters. A severe winter is necessary to the sport. When a few frosts have come and the mercury has started well on its way down to the zero mark the owner of an ice yacht feels his spirits rising in the same proportion, only, alas, to have them dashed down to the earth again by a sudden thaw or a heavy fall of snow.

Yacht owners have, however, been more fortunate this winter than they were last. The Mercury River in New York has long been the happy hunting ground for owners of these nimble craft, but it has by no means a monopoly of it. There are more yachts on the Hudson, as is natural, owing to the larger field for operation which the river affords, still the Shrewsbury boasts of a very choice lot of boats, first and foremost of which is the Scud.

Did you ever ride on an ice yacht before a good breeze? If you did you know what the sensation is. You have known what it is to fly. The feeling must be nearer that induced by flying than any other sensation. The runners of the yacht offer next to no resistance, and it travels as fast as the wind which supplies the motive power. Indeed, in running with the wind in the count, the ice yacht goes faster than the wind itself.

The ice yacht challenge pennant is the great prize for which all ice yachtsmen lift their eyes in longing. It is to the owners of ice yachts what the American challenge cup is to their summer brethren, the emblem of supremacy. And like the cup, it is difficult to retain, for the owner of it has to battle for it against all comers. Indeed, the conditions under which it has to be sailed for have given rise to many expressions of discontent, but these conditions are unalterable. Thus, for instance, the club holding the pennant may defend it with its whole fleet. Of course, any contesting club may send all its boats to strive for the prize, but the cost of sending a larger number of boats from one point to another is, in a measure, prohibitory.

The pennant was originally given by the New Hamburg I Y C, in 1881, and was won by the Phantom of that club on March 5, when challenged by the Poughkeepsie I Y C. The course was 20 miles, and time 57m 14s. A summary of the events for the pennant since that time is as follows:

1883, February 6. P I Y C challenging N H I Y C, at New Hamburg. Won by Avalanche, since renamed Great Scott, P I Y C. Course 20 miles. Time 57 minutes.

1884, February 7. At Poughkeepsie, North Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club challenging. Won by Iazee, P I Y C. Course 20 miles. Time 1h 5m 30s.

1886, February 14. At Poughkeepsie, N Y C, challenging P I Y C. Won by Whizz, P I Y C. Course 20 miles. Time 1h 1m 15s. Again on the 15th of the same month at New Hamburg, N Y C, the North Shrewsbury Club challenging, it was won by the P I Y C, the Northern Light being the boat to retain the honor for the club by this time. Course 20 miles. Time 1h 5m 42s.

1887, February 14, at Poughkeepsie. Jack Frost won it for the Hudson River Club over a 16 mile course in 43m 40s.

1888, at Hyde Park. The R I Y C won it again, the North Shrewsbury challenging with the Icicle. Course 12 miles. Time 38m 50s.

1889, The Icicle won again the victor at Hyde Park when challenged by the North Shrewsbury, as the year before. The course was 16 miles in length and the time 54m 15s.

Among individual ice yachts the Scud stands in the foremost rank. It is owned by Capt James B Weaver, and was built in 1885. She first sailed with the late rig, but this was found to be unsatisfactory and was discarded in the season of 1887 for the jib and mainsail. She was taken to the Orange Lake, at Newburgh, to compete for the Van Nostrand cup this season against the Orange Lake Ice Yacht Club, and secured an easy victory. She was sailed by Captain Darby.

The cup, of the value of $235, was put up early last winter by Gardiner Van Nostrand, of the O L S Y C, and has, contrary to his intention, taken its abode in many states. Mr Van Nostrand insists that its proper name is the Ice Yacht Challenge Cup of America.

The sport of ice yachting is a fascinating one, healthy and exhilarating. Nor is it by any means without its dangers. As every one knows, the yacht is simply a long beam, across which a smaller one runs, making a machine like a cross. A runner is attached to each end of the cross beam, and another to the helm, and these runners are all that touch the ice. The whole affair is constructed simply to carry a large expanse of canvas. The amount of canvas carried by some of these racing machines is tremendous, and easily explains how they are able to attain the great speed with which they fly over the ice, keeping in mind the very little resistance the runners offer.

Ice yachting, however, if first a sport, is most a sport. The following of it for mere pleasure does not seem to satisfy our people. They must make of every pleasure a contest, and each strive against his neighbor for supremacy. And it is well it is so, for with emulation we owe the many improvements which are being made from year to year, not only in racing machines, whether sailed on the ice or the water, but in the implements used in every kind of sport or pastime, and in the arrangements for and the conduct of the contests themselves.an M. Haviland and Frank S. Haviland.

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Today’s Historic Ice Sailing Epicenter – Red Bank, New Jersey

Down on the Navisink River just off the shores of Red Bank. Iceboating on the Navesink River was a vivid winter tradition that turned frozen water into a racetrack and social gathering place for river towns like Red Bank and Fair Haven. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, when winters were colder and ice stayed thick for weeks, local sailors adapted their yachting skills to sharp steel runners and towering sails. Iceboats with names like Icicle, Snowbird, Jack Frost, and Swallow skimmed across the river at astonishing speeds, often faster than any sailboat could manage in summer.

Historic Ice Boat Video Collection

Check out the Mr. Local History Collection and the beauty of ice boating in New Jersey as well as a few other spots that honor the beauty, history, excitement, and yes, the speed of these great frozen machines.

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New Jersey Iceboating Authors

New Jerseyans have been experts in the field of iceboating for generations, so much so that they helped define the sport by writing some of its classic books. S. Calhoun Smith drew on countless hours spent racing and studying iceboats to explain how speed, balance, and design truly worked on frozen water. His writing reflected hard won experience and became a trusted reference for sailors not only in New Jersey, but across the United States and internationally.

Jack Andresen brought the same depth of knowledge to iceboating from the sailor’s perspective. Having lived the sport during its postwar rise, he understood the excitement, technique, and danger that came with sailing on ice. In Sailing on Ice, he captured what it felt like to rig a boat in the cold and fly across a frozen lake, turning personal experience into enduring guidance. Together, their work shows how New Jersey’s iceboating tradition produced experts whose influence reached far beyond the state.

Author	Cover	Book Title	Year First Published	Link
S. Calhoun Smith		Ice Boating: A Complete Guide to Ice Boat Development, Design, Construction and Sailing	1962	https://archive.org/details/iceboatingcomple0000scal
Jack Andresen		Sailing on Ice – An introduction to the fast sport of ice sailing.	1961	https://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Ice-Jack-Andresen/dp/0498012417