Blue Jay, International 14 and Lightning. They were designed to be economical and easy to build. The intention was to enable the growth of fleets wherever the boats could be sailed. Fleet building makes for ideal rainy day or winter community- building projects. Even now the DN class makes sure it remains easy and cheap to access plans and build information. These days anyone interested in iceboat- ing can purchase a complete, top-quality DN, with competitive equipment from one of a small number of boatbuilders in North America and Europe. Invest $US15,000 in a hull, plank, mast, rigging, blocks, clothing, three sets of runners and a couple of sails and you are then ready to tune into the DN hotlines, which provide the most up-to-date information on local sailing conditions. Ice boating addicts from ‘exotic’ countries where there are no local DN fleets can still find technicians through a strong class network who will service runners, make repairs, transport equipment and even pick you up at an air- port en route to the next DN rendezvous. But it is one thing to rock up to a builder’s shop, buy a boat and have some- one manage your assets. It’s quite another to calculate how to acquire the raw materi- als, tools, knowledge, assistance and time to build one, and then another, and yet another… and everyone knows there is a tremendous amount of knowledge to be
34 SEAHORSE
gained by making those mistakes. Jablonski has his favourite suppliers, yet he is still always building and testing new things. By building, testing and perfecting most of the DN equipment that he has owned for the past 40 years and by being surrounded by a strong group of DN sailors who are also committed to invest- ing in and preparing their own equipment, and making the most of every opportunity the weather gives them, Jablonski has built up an extraordinary database.
Individually, DN fuselage, runner plank, mast, boom, runners, runner bases, sail, rigging and fitting specifications are deceptively simple. Taken together, ‘it takes a lot of time to hit the corners and find out what works best,’ says Jablonski. Complicate this with short seasons… wind, ice and changing temperature during the day, and you need a lot of testing expe- rience, a substantial inventory, and an ana- lytical bent to make a proper analysis and assemble the ideal combination of equip- ment. And that’s before you even put your cleats on and push off your DN for a race… Jablonski attests, ‘I have witnessed many sailors making wrong analyses, going in a wrong direction, similar to water sailing, AC projects, and so on. I am “lucky” that usually I can see it better.’ Jablonski prefers a multi-day regatta with a range of wind and ice conditions. In most situations he finds it takes him less
time to get the proper set-up. He admits, ‘There are always other sailors who sail very fast or maybe faster than me in certain conditions.
‘If they sail smart, they can definitely win the day. But a multi-day regatta keeps the game open for a long time. I think that at the important championship regattas as well, I am able to stay cool, keep the overview and make fewer mistakes than my main competitors, especially if we go into a deciding last race.’
It’s all in the preparation
The greatest contributor to Jablonski’s suc- cess is preparation. ‘I put a lot of effort into the preparation, which in my mind is the most important part.’ It accounts for ‘99 per cent or even 100 per cent’ of his suc- cess, he says. ‘It gives me confidence that I have done all that is possible to be ready to win. Racing is like a cherry on the cake.’ Jablonski started his preparations for the 2016 ice yachting season shortly after the 2015 European Championship ended in March (he won). ‘It takes time to build a new mast, planks or runners. Looking for speed is a never-ending story for me, so I am quite busy experimenting.’
And next season many of those parts are going to be a little different from the ones he has recently been using. He is no longer building all of his new parts, includ- ing the mast himself. So now, for example,
STEFANO GATTINI/DPPI
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