Hey all,
I moved from Hawaii to Chicago almost two years ago. When I'd left, I had been windsurfing about 4 years but fell off after I wrecked my last sail and got into sailing. A little too late for the season, I've been feeling the need to get back into the sport. I stumbled into some info on Winter Windsurfing/Ice Boarding. Anybody here ever try that out locally or up north?
John

Welcome, John!

Wisconsin is a ice sailing/winter sports mecca. They can't wait for winter.

Ice boating is big on Lake Geneva, some local clubs might hook you up. Some ice boats like the Arrow are a two man. A guy at Clinton Lake had one. DN ice boats are also popular.

Ice Boats on Lake Geneva, WI



Ice sailing is big on Lake Winnebago. They even hosted the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships (WISSA).

Ice Windsurfing on Lake Winnebago, WI



Wind Power Surf Shop might be able to hook you up or who to talk to locally.
Link: https://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/about



I sail the Kitewing with a snowboard. Not my vid but shows what a Kitewing can do.

Kitewing on snow!




Guy Trudeau has a unique way of putting skis together with a windsurf rig.

Time to Sail on Snow - Addiction



Wind Snow Ski - He's looping on it.



How to built a windski and a windsnow!

I found one from Lake Andrea, fairly recent 2018 . Looks like the person who posted it ice-boards on Lake Winnebago a lot aswell, but that’s a long way from Chicago. Wolf Lake would be another option when it freezes over.

Hey guys, thanks for the posts. I certainly have a newfound respect for people from Wisconsin. I've started construction on a board with skis for a base to practice on in snow locally if the wind's strong enough. Plan on creating a removable attachment that I can replace with skates for ice. It's bound to get interesting.

John Blake wrote:

Yep. They know how to winter.





John Blake wrote:

Cool. Feel free to start a thread on it in the Gear forum, would love to see pics of the ongoing progress.

John, years ago I used to own one of these. Only goes on hard-pack snow that's on a frozen lake. Also goes on ice because the skis are canted 45 degrees and the edges bite the ice. It was hard to turn.





Also years ago got to ride a friend's blade-board. Works really well on clean ice as seen in the videos above. Turns easy, but back winds easy. Goes scary fast. Guys are breaking 60 mph on them.

Alright, so here's the initial prototype. Going to try it out with some ice boaters this weekend near lake geneva. Only went with a 10 degree cant so I can see if it'll work in snow, but I imagine steeper will be required for ice after that fails. Weight is a concern (regretting the flat iron bars) and expectations are limited, but we'll see what happens. Here's to making the best of winter!

Cool! I hit the "Insert" button so your photo is in your post. It looks like you can add degrees to the skis if needed easily. And i'm not sure the one I had was 45 degrees now that i'm looking at the photo above, looks less. One of the biggies no matter what the ice / snow craft is, is getting the skis or blades perfectly parallel.

It looks like you're having fun and gonna have more fun. Keep us posted.