Canyon Ferry Lake - world famous iceboating venue

Located near Helena, Montana, USA, the lakecovers 35,181 surface acres and 76 shoreline miles. Due to its size and location, Canyon Ferry Lake has become internationally famous for its iceboating conditions — little snow, and continual strong breezes.

Ice is a very different surface from land, and ice yachts are currently significantly slower than land yachts for reasons that are not yet fully understood. The Greenbird team’s target is the 84 mph officially recorded speed and it would be amazing to top 100 mph. But part of the record attempt is also a discovery mission to see what’s physically possible, and at the end of the season the team should be able to conclude which is the faster surface.

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The ice sailing season

Benefiting from snow protection provided by the mountains, this area often remains snow free for a large portion of the winter, which is crucial for ice sailing.

The ice sailing season at Canyon Ferry Lake runs from around Christmas through to March, however once it snows on the ice, the surface rapidly deteriorates often ending the season's sailing.

The Greenbird before a practise run in Nevada, February 2008.

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