You don't see iceboats as often as, for example, snowmobiles that have already become familiar, but the impressions from trips on them are exceptional.

From the depths of centuries

Ice-boats appeared in Russia quite a long time ago. It is generally accepted that they come from Holland, but this fact is not unambiguously confirmed. The word "buer" is Dutch, but the fishermen of the Baltic Sea, as well as the Ladoga and Onega lakes, used buers for fishing - as a means of transportation on smooth ice. They were made in an artisanal way, whoever was good at anything, until Tsar Peter got down to business. It was under him that iceboats began to be built on the St. Petersburg shipyards; the autocrat himself loved to ride on a high-speed “crew”, driven not by draft horsepower, but by a fresh winter breeze. In other words, the iceboat for our Palestinians is not something borrowed or exotic - Russians, as you know, love fast driving in any form, including sailing on ice.

In the 19th century, yacht clubs appeared in Russia, and at the same time, active construction of boats continued. Moreover, in the area of ​​Peterhof - Strelna, on the ice of the Gulf of Finland, real sailing regattas were held in winter. At that time there were no standards for the manufacture of ice floes, so they were found in various shapes and sizes, sometimes gigantic. For example, in 1891 in St. Petersburg, at the Ash shipyard, a 15.5 m long buer was built (the current designs are much more modest). The price of these vehicles was also considerable, a different iceboat cost as much as a decent cruising yacht. Despite the hefty price and the availability of this sport only to wealthy people, in St. Petersburg and its environs, by the beginning of the century, there were about a hundred iceboats. In 1913, the St. Petersburg industrialists even established a boat club, the purpose of which, according to the charter, was "pure sport, without any participation of any gambling and so-called entertainment."

In the last century, iceboats were used (and successfully) by the military during World War II on Ladoga and the Baltic, and later they were built for sports purposes - in Soviet times, competitions on iceboats were regularly held.

Buer - what is it?

Since not everyone has seen the buer, it makes sense to explain what it is constructively. The main element of the buer is a long and narrow hull made of wood, which in some cases is finished with plastic. The body is mounted on three skates. Two skates are located on the transverse beam, with their help, the ice or snow glider is carried out. The front skate is steering, it can turn, changing the direction of movement of the ice rink. A mast with a sail is attached to the hull. The sail, in fact, is the mover of the buer, unlike snowmobiles, jet skis devoid of an internal combustion engine. This is an absolutely environmentally friendly vehicle that uses wind energy.

And therefore it is not surprising that there are a lot of yachtsmen among the fans of the yachting sport. A buer is a kind of “winter yacht”, a sailing projectile: when water bodies freeze, why not sail on the icy surface? Moreover, the speed of the iceboat (if the wind is fresh) is much higher than the speed of the fastest yacht, and sometimes even comparable to the speed of a racing car. This projectile easily accelerates to 80 km / h, and the world record (set in a hurricane wind in the USA) is 264 km / h. Even with an average wind, the boat accelerates to its maximum speed in a few seconds, therefore it is considered the fastest non-motorized vehicle in the world.

At one time, the Russians built the largest buoys (we always have the biggest), however, it was extremely difficult to launch such buoys into the stream, and the Americans were the first to succeed, who set the goal of making the buoy cheap, light and collapsible so that it could fit in the trunk of a car. In 1937, the Detroit News announced a competition to build an ice buoy that was supposed to reach maximum speed and still be transported by a private car. The winning project was named after the newspaper: DN. The development turned out to be very successful and soon gained popularity all over the world, thoroughly displacing all types of ice floes. Over time, this type of buoy, of course, changed in accordance with new technologies, but the basic principle remained unchanged for decades. At first, DN cost only 25 dollars, today its price is several thousand dollars. And the brand is still popular today.

However, European manufacturers of ice floes also tried to keep up, and in some ways even outstripped their overseas counterparts. In 1932, the Dutchman Eric von Holst designed and built the monotype-15 boat, which also became popular with boaters. It was a double boat with a rudder and a sail with an area of ​​15 square meters. m. It was not the front, but the rear skate that served as the helm. "Monotype-15" was the most common model in Soviet times, more than three hundred of these were built in the USSR, and our boaters regularly competed on them. However, in our time, both in Russia and in Europe, the American version of DN has won almost everywhere.

This is a single-seat collapsible device. The basis is a wooden case with a so-called "pit" in which the pilot lies during movement. As expected, this type of buer is equipped with three steel skates. The two rear ones are attached to the crossbar (it plays the role of a spring), the front manager is attached to a spring-loaded rack, which ensures a soft ride. The front horse is controlled by a tiller. All DN skates are removable and can be changed depending on the ice conditions. A five-meter mast with a sail of 6 square meters is attached to the hull. m. Due to the sail, both movement and braking are carried out (the buer does not have brakes as such).

The equipment of the buer is similar to the yacht, but has its own specifics. As you know, the sails of yachts are multi-colored, and even from a long distance you can determine the type of a small vessel by color. The sailboats have white sails and no advertising on them, only the crew number.

In terms of prices, some varieties of DN racing boats are quite expensive, up to $20,000. But a lover of boating sports has the opportunity to purchase a high-quality iceboat for 4-5 thousand dollars.

The buer can be made independently, it can be ordered from the manufacturer. If the buer is made to order, according to the anthropometric data of the customer, its price will be above average, but not prohibitive. So it can be argued that this sport is available to the general public.

But do the masses strive to master the swift ride on a winter yacht? The experience of recent years shows that the popularity of boating is growing. The International Association of Boating Sports was established a long time ago, but Russia is not going to lag behind in this regard. In different regions (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, etc.) there are already fleets of DN boats, and the Russian Boating Association has joined the international one. We are not among the leaders yet, but we are already in the top ten of the world rating of boaters.

And most importantly, more and more neophytes dream of getting into a capsule of a buer to throw out adrenaline and experience incomparable emotions. It is enough to apply to a sailing club or a yacht club, where in winter they practice sailing, since there are plenty of ice plains in our region.

Safety

Since the buer moves quite quickly, riding on it requires certain skills, abilities, as well as compliance with safety regulations. To move the ice sailboat from its place, the boat operator pushes it, jumps inside and lies down inside the hull on a special deck chair. With good acceleration, the buer begins to resemble a Formula 1 race car or a high-speed "bob", on which bobsleigh masters go down the icy tracks.

At the same time, neither standing up to your full height, nor hanging your legs overboard (which is still possible on a yacht) is unacceptable. Management is carried out by turning the front skate, as well as by the sail. With certain skills, you can master acceleration, turns, braking, etc. The main thing is not to surrender to the will of the wind. There were cases when, in a spacious water area (for example, on Lake Ladoga), a buerist, in euphoria from fresh wind, bright sun and shiny ice, was carried away beyond the horizon, moving away from civilization at a great distance. Then the wind suddenly subsided and the sports equipment had to be pushed to the shore by hand. In the meantime, the sun was setting, the frost was getting stronger, and the frivolous boater began to have problems.

If not properly controlled, the buer may roll over, and the buer operator may fall out of the capsule and be injured.

Therefore, riding requires serious preparation, as well as physical endurance.

One of the features of skiing on a boat is the right choice of place and weather conditions. The ice should not be heavily covered with snow, a suitable wind speed is about five meters per second, and the temperature is just below zero. Such conditions are not always and not everywhere, so the boaters change their places of skiing, wandering in search of suitable ice and wind.

What is the maximum speed you can develop under sail? “Almost 50 knots,” you say. And you'll be wrong. World record among boats - 188 km/h

Some say that the first boats were made by fishermen of the northern lakes and seas. In winter, they attached skids to the bottom of their sailboats and rode them over ice and snow. Others claim that the Dutch came up with the buer in the 18th century, referring to the fact that the name itself comes from the Dutch word boeier. This is what the Dutch call a platform mounted on skates or wheels, which can travel on ice or on land due to wind-blown sails. One way or another, but the history of the ship is covered in the fog of time. Moreover, both ancient and relatively modern. For example, among the enthusiasts of the iceboat there are still disputes about what maximum speed the iceboat can reach.

The control of the buer requires incredible composure from the pilot: it is necessary to follow both the wind and the supporting surface, and all this at “car” speed!

The fact is that in the Guinness Book of Records there is a category "highest speed on ice." According to the collection of records in 1938 on Lake Winnebago (US State of Wisconsin), pilot John Buckstaff accelerated his Debutante to an incredible speed - 143 miles per hour (230 km / h)! What seems implausible in this story is that the record was set with a wind speed of 116 km / h. “In this wind, a man can hardly stand on the ice,” says Bob Dill, builder of the record-breaking Iron Duck. “It is hardly possible to control a sailing machine in such conditions.” So contemporaries are still far from overcoming the mythical record and are trying to beat a reliably established achievement - this is 135 km / h on ice and 187 km / h on a non-slip surface.

Prices for DN-class racing boats can reach $20,000. However, cars are usually five times cheaper. Many of the participants in the sailing regattas assemble their racing cars on their own. The body of the apparatus and the mast are made of wood, the sail and skates themselves are bought or made. In general, boaters are wary of too expensive yachts: most people like that this sport is not commercialized and is available to almost everyone

Buer effect

People are often surprised by this rule. But yachtsmen are well aware that a sailing vessel can go faster than the wind on some courses. This is related to two things. Firstly, the sail usually works like a wing: only thanks to this the sailing machine can go faster than the wind. And secondly, when moving, it is not the true wind that acts on the sail, but the so-called pennant wind, which is the sum of the true wind and the course wind (it is formed due to the fact that the buer is moving). In some directions (halfwind, close-hauled) the apparent wind can be noticeably stronger than the true one, in accordance with this, the speed of the vessel also increases. It is in the sailing sport that this effect of "running into the wind" is especially noticeable. With an increase in the speed of the sailing machine, the apparent wind increases, and the apparatus is additionally accelerated. On the water, the resistance to the movement of the vessel is much higher, so the yacht can hardly go twice as fast as the true wind on the water. At the same time, on land, the speed of the buoy can be three to five times higher than the speed of the true wind!

This feature makes sailing an incredibly adrenaline experience: only truly brave people take part in land yacht races. Dedication and incredible perseverance are required to win - experience is said to be especially important in this sport. Therefore, in sailing regattas, young athletes often lose to veterans.

Buera in the army

However, the buera is not just fun for the brave. In history, they were used both for transporting people and for military purposes. The military had been eyeing the iceboats for a long time, at one time in the Soviet army they wanted to use them for reconnaissance and communications, but most officers were skeptical about this idea: “How can you use machines that depend on the wind in reconnaissance?” However, when during the war with Finland in the winter of 1939-1940 a buer reconnaissance detachment was formed in the USSR, the result was impressive.

The white-sailed buer was practically invisible from the air. In addition, in comparison with motor technology, it was relatively silent. Therefore, for the task of quickly and covertly approaching the enemy, throwing out saboteurs and hiding, the buer was ideal. The most striking episodes of that winter were the moments when the iceboats ran into Finnish airsled patrols. That winter, a good wind blew, and armored snowmobiles armed with machine guns were unable to catch up with Russian boaters.

Soviet iceboats were also used during the blockade of Leningrad. At first, ice yachts were used to detect enemy observation posts, and later a special sailing detachment worked on Ladoga, on the Road of Life. First, the iceboats launched in front of the main equipment laid the route, and then sick women and children were taken out of Leningrad along it.

Ice racing

Nevertheless, racing is still the main element of this vehicle. They say that they began to race on these sailing machines as soon as they were invented. However, such competitions were officially held only from the second half of the 19th century. At first they began to be regularly organized in the USA, then in Russia - in the St. Petersburg River Yacht Club. However, enthusiasts began to build sports boats earlier. For example, the Americans built their first speedboat in 1790. In Russia, the first "civilian" buer was made in 1819 in St. Petersburg, at the Admiralty shipyard. However, there is evidence that they met with iceboats in Russia even earlier - under Peter I. They say that the emperor liked to drive on a iceboat on an ice platform in front of the Winter Palace.

The first truly racing boat in Russia was built in 1876, and a decade later, more than ten land yachts could be counted in St. Petersburg. Therefore, in the 1880s, the first sailing regattas began to be held in the Gulf of Finland. In particular, the largest iceboat in the country, Elka, 15 m long, with a sail area of ​​190 m², took part in them. Only the American Icicle, built in 1869 for John Roosevelt (Franklin Roosevelt's uncle), could compete in size with this ship - it had a length of 21 m and a sail area of ​​99 m². And this device became famous for the fact that in 1871, to the delight of its owner, it overtook the Chicago Express steam locomotive on the haul between two towns. At that time in America, skirmishes between boats and steam locomotives were at the peak of popularity. A notable feature was that five or six people were placed in the sports equipment. Later, the giants were replaced by single and double devices, and as a result, mainly models for singles remained in big-time sports.

A competition announced by the Detroit News made a big contribution to this business. The journalists of this publication in 1937 suggested that readers develop a sports boat. A mandatory requirement for the apparatus was its ability to fit disassembled on the top trunk of a car. This in the future predetermined the wide international popularity of the project of the winner of the competition - the DN type buoy. Its design turned out to be extremely successful and has proven itself in practice.

The DN class apparatus has a wooden hull with a cockpit in which the pilot lies. On the ice, he stands on three steel skates - one in front, spring-loaded, and two in the back, fixed along the edges of the spring-beam. The "engine" of the cart is a triangular sail with an area of ​​​​about 6 m², mounted on a mast with a boom. The sailing machine is controlled by turning the front skate and sail, and this must be done almost simultaneously and along the way, carefully monitor the road surface and the situation. It takes many hours of training to bring control skills to automaticity. It is curious that there are no brakes on the buoy - the stop is carried out by turning the sail directly into the wind. The maximum speed in good winds, smooth surfaces and a light pilot can exceed 100 km/h.

Flying ice floes

Among the current candidates for breaking speed records, the name of Richard Jenkins is inextricably associated with iceboats. Since the end of the last century, this Englishman has been dreaming of breaking world speed records for speedboats on land and on ice, and is steadily moving towards his cherished goal. It all started with the fact that a twenty-year-old student found himself in the workshop of his friend, where they were building a high-speed wheeled boat. The guy immediately became interested in the construction of this apparatus. Then he created another wheeled buer, on which he once accelerated to 193 km / h - that is, 5 km / h faster than the current speed record. The latter was installed in Nevada in May 1999 by Bob Schumacher, who accelerated to 187.7 km / h on the Iron Duck sailboat (“Iron Duck”). Since Jenkins had no witnesses, his record, of course, was not counted. But Richard did not stop trying: at first he tried to break the record on the Windjet Mk IV, but the wind force allowed him to accelerate only to 150 km / h, and not so long ago, with another English enthusiast, Dale Vince, he built an even more impressive "land ship" Greenbird ( "Green Bird"). But, unfortunately for the designer, in Western Australia, where he brought the car to conquer the record, the wind did not acquire the proper speed and Richard again had to return to his homeland with nothing.

Since piloting a boat is similar to sailing a yacht, there are many yachtsmen among the boaters. So they manage even in our cold country to sail all year round

But Richard is not discouraged: winter is ahead, which means that you can conquer the speed record on ice, which is only 135 km / h. However, this matter does not seem so easy to the Englishman. Firstly, good ice is much easier to find in America - Richard will fly there early next year with his iceboat. And secondly, a strong wind is not enough to conquer this record, it is important that the ice on the lake stays in a certain rare state for it. And finally, driving on ice is the most dangerous thing!

But one moment really pleases Jenkins. Previously, he thought that he would have to break the mythical record of John Buckstaff (230 km / h!), And now it became clear that conquering the milestone of 135 km / h would already be an achievement. However, Richard does not rule out that someday the ice record may indeed become higher than the “earthly” one: the slip resistance on ice is less than the rolling resistance ...

There is also a mast with a sail. And such a buer moves on ice at a speed of more than a hundred kilometers per hour.

Modeled after a fishing boat on skids

The word "buer" is of Dutch origin; according to the Dictionary of Foreign Words, it is "a cabin or platform on skates or wheels, which moves with the help of a sail by the force of the wind on ice or on land with a flat terrain."

It is generally accepted that the iceboat appeared in Holland as early as the 18th century, and it was first made by Dutch fishermen who attached skids to their boats in order to quickly get across the ice to the place where they could fish in winter. In other countries with severe winters, fishermen also made similar structures for the same purpose.

Modern buer

Today the boat looks very different than it did back then. The most common design in the world is the DN type buoy. It is considered one of the best in terms of driving performance and ease of use, says an honorary member of the Austrian Boating Union Herbert Herman.

DN is the abbreviation for the Detroit News. This American publication announced in 1937 a competition for the best design of a sports boat. According to one of the conditions, the disassembled buer had to fit ... in the trunk of a car. The prize went to three designers, whose model was later named DN in honor of the Detroit News newspaper.

Vehicle without brakes

What does a modern buer look like? Firstly, it is single-seat, unlike the first floating structures, the crew of which was supposed to be five or six people. The racer lies inside a wooden case with a special recess feet first. One of the three skates that the unit is equipped with is attached to the nose of the hull, the other two are attached to the ends of an elastic transverse bar that acts as a spring. In front of the so-called cabin, a 5-meter mast is attached to the hull. The area of ​​a triangular sail is about six square meters. The front skate is responsible for the direction, which is regulated by a special handle; this handle is called "taxiing". The sail is controlled by tension-loosening the rope (sheet) and throwing a special crossbar (boom) from side to side when the wind direction changes.

We once measured the speed of the float on the Neusiedler See. So, the result was - 157 kilometers per hour. Just imagine how high the speed is and how dangerous this sport is, because there is no brake on the buoy. And the yacht sometimes just flies at a distance of up to 10 centimeters from the surface of the ice.

There are more and more boomers

The speed of the buer depends on various factors: firstly, on weather conditions; secondly, from the apparatus itself, its weight and how the skates are sharpened. And, of course, the skill of the boater plays an important role.

Bouer races are widespread in many countries, and boater unions exist today in 18 countries of the world. And not only in the Scandinavian countries, where there are all conditions for practicing this sport, but also in the USA, Russia, Germany, Poland, Great Britain and even in Italy. In addition to domestic championships, once a year the world championship in boating is held - in Europe and America in turn.

A sport that not everyone can afford

There are not so many young people among the boaters. For example, Herbert Hörmann is 64 years old and, in his own words, has been looking forward to the onset of winter every time for thirty years in order to experience unforgettable sensations again.

Two factors are important for the sailing sport - ice and wind. And young people do not have the patience to wait for the right moment, the right weather. So they just go skiing or snowboarding.

Lack of patience is perhaps not the only reason why young people choose to ski or skate. The fact is that boat racing is a sport for wealthy people. After all, the cost of a buer alone is no less than five thousand euros ...

All about a winter car that can outrun the wind

Buer: skates
under sail

All about the winter car
able to outrun the wind

We continue to talk about the unusual activities of the winter season and ways to achieve incredible speeds and the sensations that go with them without using the engine. Today, the next step is a buer - a light sailing boat on skates for sliding on ice. This car may be of interest for several reasons. Firstly, as it turned out, the iceboat is the oldest type of winter transport in the world. Secondly, this ice yacht is able to overtake not only its water counterparts, but also the wind itself. How? You will learn about this below.

At some point, the northern fishermen adapted their vessels to the ice fields, supplying them with skates.

It is impossible to establish the date of birth of the first ice floe, just at some point the northern fishermen were convinced that winter is a constant phenomenon, and adapted their ships to the ice fields, supplying them with skates. Previously, the word buer (Dutch "boeier") denoted ships with oblique sails for cargo (less often - passenger) coastal transportation.

Hendrik Avercamp. Winter landscape with ice skating, 1609. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Royal races

The iceboat came to Russia from the countries of Northern Europe, in particular, the Netherlands. The first domestic ice ships began to be built under Peter I. According to one very plausible legend, the tsar himself cut through on an ice yacht right in front of the Winter Palace, and even his daughter Elizabeth Petrovna had her own iceboat. By the nineteenth century, in the Northern capital, local yacht clubs held regattas of up to a hundred sailboats.

Design

Modern racing boats are a cruciform design with one mast and three skates: two on the sides and one helmsman.

Some of the first buers were nothing more than ordinary sailboats mounted on special skids. Later, the design was greatly simplified, making it lower and lighter, which made it possible to increase the aerodynamic qualities and increase the speed of the car. Modern racing boats are a cruciform design with one mast and three skates: two on the sides and one helmsman - in front or behind. The car body is made of wood, plastic or carbon fiber. The design of the sails can be both soft and rigid, while changing the shape and area of ​​the sail.

Control

Like it or not, a buer is a sailboat, and regardless of the surface on which it rushes, be it water, ice or land, the principle of control and the design of the sail and steering are similar. The pilot steers by turning the front skate and pulling or loosening the sail. The most interesting thing is that the buer does not have brakes as such, and slowing down and stopping completely is also carried out with the help of a sail.

faster than the wind

The ice yacht received the title of the fastest sailing vessel not by chance. Unlike wheeled and water yachts, the buer is capable of reaching speeds five times the speed of the wind! The fact is that when moving, the sail of the sailboat is affected not only by the true wind (the one that we feel in a stationary position), but the sum of the true and directional wind (which is formed when the ship moves). To this double force, called the pennant wind, it remains only to add the tiny resistance of steel skates against the ice, which sailboats walking on water cannot boast of.

Ice racing

With speeds in excess of 100 km/h, it would be strange not to turn sailing on ice into a competition. Most often, yacht clubs located on large closed reservoirs, or sea bays covered with ice, such as, for example, off the coast of St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, become centers for the preparation and holding of circuit races. The traditional venues for the World Championships are the ice fields off the coast of the Baltic. There is a possibility that the ice of the mighty Baikal will act as a springboard for world competitions in 2016.

Participation in hostilities

During the war years, boats were used for reconnaissance operations.

During the years of the Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars, fast and inconspicuous iceboats with a crew of several people were used for reconnaissance operations in the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. Also, ice yachts were provided with invaluable assistance in maintaining the Road of Life leading to besieged Leningrad.

Speed ​​records

With a hurricane wind of 116 km / h, the pilot dispersed his boat "Debutante" to a speed of 230 km / h

Like the history of the first iceboat, the speed record on an ice yacht remains covered with a dense veil of secrecy, rumors and disputes. According to one version, the fastest person to sail on the ice is American John Buckstaff, who set his record in 1938 on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. With a hurricane wind of 116 km / h, the pilot dispersed his boat "Debutante" to a speed of 230 km / h. Modern proven records on ice have not yet exceeded 140 km / h, but none of the pilots doubts that this bar will be raised.

Well, to everyone who is seriously fired up with the idea of ​​​​chasing the wind on the ice, we recall that almost all boaters are warmly dressed yachtsmen who did not want to leave the reservoir. Therefore, regardless of the season, look for the nearest yacht club and learn the basics of sailing.