My First Ride on an Ice Boat. 



In skilled hands, an ice boat is more easily managed than 

 the ordinary sailing craft. There are dangers that the man 

 at the tiller cannot reckon on until they appear to him ; but 

 he keeps a sharp lookout ahead, and usually avoids them by 

 so close a margin that it sends the cold chills creeping up 

 the back of the passenger who is taking his first ride. The 

 danger is not so great as might be expected from the great 

 speed made, and is often more apparent than real. When one 

 becomes the owner and master of one of these frail crafts, 

 what a world of new pleasure it opens up to him! One of 

 the prime factors in making it so fascinating is the very fact 

 of flying past these dangers and missing them by a few feet 

 by a simple turn of the hand which guides your craft safely 

 by. It cultivates a sharp eye, quickens the judgment, stimu- 

 lates the daring of the young, and causes the fire of youth to 

 tingle through the veins of the middle-aged. Ice boating is 

 not an expensive sport a recreation that can only be enjoyed 

 by the rich. The boat I took my first ride on was built and 

 rigged by the owner, and I do not think it cost him over $25.00 

 outside his own work. Unlike the summer sail boat, it is not 

 necessary that an ice boat should be built by an expert on 

 certain prescribed lines, in order to get speed out of her. The 

 most ungainly home-made affair will carry you over the ice 

 at a speed of nearly a mile a minute and furnish as much 

 pleasure to its owner as a $500 yacht ; but it must be strongly 

 built, properly handled, and carry plenty of canvas. I am 

 sorry for the one who lives away from the water, and who is 

 so unfortunate as to be debarred the enjoyment of this king 

 of outdoor winter sports. 



The amateur will need to take his first lessons in a light 

 breeze on open ice, as it is then easy for him to get familiar 

 with the handling of his boat, without incurring too much 

 danger ; and if a sharp gale springs up suddenly, as is often 

 the case on our northwestern lakes, it is better to postpone 

 farther practice until the elements are more favorable. A 



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