Ice race boats like these will hit Mille Lacs Lake this weekend for the Detroit News Ice Boats North American Championship ice yacht regatta.

By CLINT WOOD
Staff Writer

Mille Lacs Lake has hosted several kinds of racers the past few winters, including snowmobiles that hugged or soared over the ice. This weekend a different kind of racer will hit the ice.

The lake will be the site of the Detroit News Ice Boats North American Championship ice yacht regatta.

An open-air ice boat, piloted by a sailor, is 12 feet long and about six inches off the ice with a sail.

Randy Rogoski, director of communications for the championship, said Tuesday that some of the top racers click off laps in less than three minutes.

"(The yachts) will go 60 mph with winds," he said.

Rogoski said Mille Lacs was chosen because "it is a huge lake with a nice piece of ice on it."

The course will span at least a mile between the upwind and downwind marks, Rogoski said. Drivers will race around the course three times and the fastest boat wins.

Racers are divided into gold, silver and bronze fleets. The fastest racers are in the gold fleet, second-fastest in silver and third-fastest in bronze.

Racers from all over the world also will compete.

Last year the competition was conducted on Lake Miltona near Alexandria. Racers will compete for the Howard Boston Trophy.