Ice Sailing

Wind-powered racing on frozen lakes in a small skate-mounted sailboat — speeds beyond 100 km/h.

👥1 per team🌤outdoor

What is Ice Sailing?

Ice sailing (or ice yachting) races small sailboats mounted on three steel skate-runners across frozen lakes. Because friction is minimal, well-tuned DN-class boats can hit speeds well above 100 km/h in a fresh breeze. Its heartlands are the American Midwest, the Netherlands and Poland.

Quick facts

Category

Winter Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

outdoor

Country of origin

🇳🇱 Netherlands

Estimated origin

17th-century Netherlands (ice boats on frozen canals)

Olympic

No

Popularity

niche

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-20.verified