The world's by far the largest ice yacht class, the DN ice yacht, got its name after the newspaper Detroit News in Michigan, in 1936, announced a construction competition. The criteria for the desired ice hunt were that it should be easy to build, easy to transport and not least fast.

 

Today there are about 5,000 DN ice yachts spread over 20 countries in the cold part of the world. Despite the age of the original drawing, it feels very "up to date". What remains of the original rules are the basic dimensions and that the hull must be built of wood. Otherwise, the material development is just like in the majority of sailing classes, that is to say that you find carbon fiber and epoxy wherever the class rules allow it.

 

For the sailor whose abstinence becomes too great in the winter, DN racing is the obvious alternative. No boat sails as fast as a DN ice yacht, not even the fastest hydrofoil boats. The allure of flying silently over the ice is hard to describe. What is clear is that you should not test sail if you already have enough hobbies today, it is simply too much fun. And it goes fast... the speed limit ranges from 20 to 145 km/h.