News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes 

When summer is over it doesn’t mean that your days of lake sailing under blue skies are over. For more than 25 years, ice boating enthusiasts in Williams Lake have prolonged the joys of sailing by enjoying it as a winter sport. 

“Williams Lake has had ice boating and summer sailing, dating back to the 1930s,” said ice sailor Stu Fraleigh. “I’ve enjoyed sailing since I was a kid, and it was David Black, another sailing enthusiast, who got me into it.” 

(Photo: Barb Fraleigh is one of the local boat sailing enthusiasts who have enjoyed a spectacular ice season this winter on Williams Lake. Photo by Stu Fraleigh.)

He said that David Black introduced the Detroit News, a beautiful craft that goes back to 1937, to the Williams Lake area about 25 years ago. “The beauty of this boat is that it’s mechanically simple, reasonably priced and has sailed throughout the world,” he continued. “When David got a new boat, he sold me his old one---I had so much fun with my sons out on the lake on that boat.”    

Stu’s current boat was a Christmas gift from his wife a couple of years ago. “We go five times the speed of the wind---you test yourself in terms of speed, ice conditions and weather,” he explained. “It’s an inexpensive, enjoyable, unique outdoor experience. 

“When the ice is right, you go. Some years you get three or four days, and some years you get a month with excellent ice---smooth, hard, black ice.” 

He said that you stop by turning into the wind, and speed up by turning down wind. You steer with a stick—a handle that turns the forward skate.  “I like the speed and the sound of the ice chips flying, and I love seeing other people enjoying it."  

“We wear helmets, and this time of year, we make sure we have life jackets on. We carry ladders and rescue equipment to make sure we’re prepared.  You always want to know how much ice is under you and where the ‘hot spots’ are and where a hole can develop,” he continued.

He said that Williams Lake is an ideal place for ice boating, with steady winds west/east. “Recently, three of us sailed to the end of the lake doing formations,” he explained. “A sail in the wind is a sight unto itself---it’s magical.”

 (Photos above by George Cornett.)

| More...