Man, 81, dies while ice sailing on frozen Pontiac Lake
An 81-year-old Independence Township man died after crashing his sleek, 27-foot iceboat on frozen Pontiac Lake.
It appears that Dan Campbell was moving fast across the ice in his one-person craft and may have hit his head with enough force to kill him, despite wearing a protective helmet and face shield. The incident is under investigation, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said.
A medical examination, set for Monday, is expected to determine exactly how Campbell died.
The sheriff's office said Campbell was on the easternmost part of the lake in White Lake Township just before noon Sunday when his iceboat crashed, about 100 yards from shore, and investigators were looking for answers to what might have led to the crash.
Other iceboaters were on the lake, but authorities said Monday they did not know whether Campbell was with them or iceboating solo.
Michigan, which is well-known for its ice sailing because there are so many frozen lakes with unobstructed wind, has several ice yacht clubs, including the Detroit Ice Yacht Club, West Michigan Ice Yacht Club, and Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club.
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What is ice boating?
Iceboats, or ice yachts, as they are sometimes called, are long, thin recreational or competitive sailing craft on metal runners — like ice skate blades — so it can glide across a frozen lake. It is powered with a sail and can be steered as it soars across a lake at speeds of 60 mph or more.
In an article on the fast-paced sport, one reporter described it as "no motor, no keel, no inhibitions."
Ice sailing and racing in America likely started during the winter on the Hudson River in New York, according to news reports, but it quickly became popular in other places, too.
Detroit iceboat design
One of the most popular, and largest classes of iceboats, is the DN, which, interestingly enough, was named after the Detroit News. In 1937, the rival newspaper sponsored a design contest for an affordable, home-buildable iceboat, and the initials stuck.
The sheriff's office did not identify what kind of iceboat Campbell was in. But it noted that someone reported the crash, and the White Lake Township police and fire departments and the sheriff's Search and Rescue Team were a part of his rescue.
Campbell was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fatal iceboating crash on Michigan's Pontiac Lake under investigation
