How are things coming with your ice program? It sounds like you are taking a prudent approach to this difficult surface. The longer I spend sailing on ice, the more respect I have for its complexity and unpredictability. If you are patient (or lucky) you should get the conditions you are looking for.

NALSA will be having its spring racing event on Ivanpah from March 23 to 28 (see www.nalsa.org for details). If you or some of your team members are interested in attending, you will be most welcome. With some advance warning, we should be able to find yachts for you to race. If the ice version of WindJet has wheels, I expect it will be pretty quick on the racecourse in anything but the lightest winds. I assume you will fit into our Class II (less than 121 square feet of wing). If we get winds over 30, it will be too windy to for us to race but would be ideal for a record attempt.

Good luck with the ice project.

Bob Dill