Classic video from Pewaukee Lake

The Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club racing Skeeter class iceboats on Pewaukee Lake in Wisconsin sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Video uploaded Jul 15, 2020.

Reports Deb Whitehorse, Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club:
It’s always a good day when a surprise arrives in the mail, particularly when the package contains vintage ice sailing footage shot by Bill and Mauretta Mattison. Don Sanford recently had Kodak transfer the Mattison’s 16, 8, and Super-8 mm into electronic files which he burned to disc and sent off to me. (Speaking of Kodak, the Mattisons owned one of Madison’s premier film processing labs, Star Photo, for many years.)

Let’s begin by traveling back to the late 1950s/early 1960s on Pewaukee Lake. At first I thought this may have been the 1957 International Skeeter Association Regatta which was sailed on Pewaukee (Buddy Melges won) but a couple clues led me to believe that we are watching a Pewaukee Ice Yacht Club race.

Bill Mattison

All of the boats, except for one, carry the Pewaukee designation V on the sail. The biggest clue is that Bill is filming from the weather mark. Bill finished 8th at the 1957 ISA so therefore, he would not have been filming at that regatta. The 1957 ISA newsletter regatta report and results are posted below.

Stay tuned to the end of the video to see the spring ritual of carrying iceboats through a wet and deteriorating shoreline.