Great comment! Far better to highlight ice checking, race committee prep, on-site support and vehicles, and highlight the scorers and other volunteers that make our sport safer.
Well said Dan! Ken Smith
Thank you –
Marcella Grunert
Well, that’s one point of view. Here’s another, contrarian that I am. When kids today take Driver Education in high school they are shown the most grizzly, horrific films of car accidents in the hope it might impress future drivers with the reality of what can happen. They now take this to the extreme by staging elaborate accidents with blood, ambulances, cops, etc. attempting to show consequences of poor decisions. We have people entering our sport, most, presumably with good judgement. Realistically not all. We’d been out sailing on Plymouth a few years ago. I came in to the pit area. A newbie was setting up. I went over and said the pond is a bit iffy in spots but one place to avoid is right over there. He nodded, jumped in his boat and made a beeline straight for that spot and went right in. This put several other at risk in retrieving his boat. So I respectively say to you, you have a right to your opinion. I totally disagree. I saw a guy taken away in an ambulance unconscious having come up under his sail, helmut filled with water. I can recount a dozen incidents that if people new about them it would potentially prevent injuries or worse. So sticking your head in the sand and sugar coating it is just plain dumb.
Doug Raymond
Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club 
At the NEIYA pre-season gathering at the Thompson Speedway, one of the more experienced sailors told the story of going through the ice on Winnipesaukee last winter. As one of the relative ‘newbies’ (DN since 2019) I thought this was helpful and constructive. This experienced sailor took the time to explain how going through the ice had occurred – even to an experienced sailor – and what he did that made a difference. What a great way to learn from a voice of experience! My thanks to him and the NEIYA leadership for doing that. Peter B (DN2864 & W-8)
Not an ice sailor but have followed here for a few years. Suggest that Flying magazine be considered for models of how to balance enthusiasm and safety. There are three columns of interest. I LEARNED ABOUT FLYING FROM THAT- individual pilot stories of lessons from exercising poor judgment. AFTERMATH – analysis of NTSB accident reports. TECHNICALITIES – discourse on principles of design and aerodynamics, power plants, airframes, myth-busting and etc
Each are eminently readable and highly instructive.
How such approaches might be incorporated into this blog format, I can’t say.
Perhaps among you there are respected “specialists” who would contribute occasional or regular pieces
I earned a Private Pilot Single-Engine Land & Sea license many years ago. Reading Flying and AOP Pilot taught me why it was time to quit. But before that decision they helped me be a better, safer Pilot.
Perhaps your club members will see useful parallels. At any rate…
Have fun and thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Since I’m not an iceboater (yet) I’m sure that I don’t appreciate all the issues and attitudes related to your incredible sport. I don’t doubt that images of accidents on social media can have negative consequences, but I think your community could benefit from sharing information about incidents and risks in a responsible way.
Flying and soft water sailing magazines have regular columns about the risks in their sports, with titles like: “I Learned About Flying from That,” “Never Again,” and “Experience Under Sail.” These stories are objective and include both “what we did right” as well as “what we did wrong.” When I learned to fly, I poured over these articles (and still do), and I don’t doubt that they may have helped me avoid many serious mistakes.
From what I’ve seen the iceboating community is very safety-oriented, responsible and supportive of one another. As someone who would love to get into the sport but is concerned about the risks, objective information with lessons learned from real incidents would be very valuable, and I think would present a positive image overall.
Mike Dinning