Front:
Iceboat 1880s
Iceboat 1880s
OUSA
14
:14
COCHESTER
23
1985
14692
NY
Back:
THE ICEBOAT
First Day of Issue: March 23, 1985
First Issue Location: Rochester, New York
Speeding across frozen lakes and rivers at breakneck
speeds, iceboating is the fastest of all winter sports —
with many of today's iceboats capable of exceeding one
hundred miles-per-hour! Early iceboats were crafted of
wooden boxes mounted on skates with a sail, and were
used on the frozen canals of Holland. When they came
across the Atlantic, Dutch settlers brought these winter
sailing craft with them. The first recorded iceboat to sail
in the United States was in 1790 on the Hudson River
near Poughkeepsie, New York. By 1870 several Ice
Yachting Clubs had been formed, and the sport of
iceboating was rapidly becoming more and more popu-
lar. Iceboats were very large and expensive until the
1930s when the Joy brothers of Milwaukee built the first
front-steering ice yacht which had smaller sails and
could be sailed safely in strong winds. Thus the thrilling
sport of iceboating was put within the reach of the
average person. Today, iceboating has become a fast-
paced and exciting winter sport.
No. 85-18
©1985 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Dick Simms.
