Cold companions: Sailing on the ice

Myrle Croasdale isn't a doctor or an iceboater but she writes about them. This is the story of her father and brother who share a passion for iceboating and for medicine.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. April 1, 2002.

The Doctor is Out
A look at physician lives outside the exam room. In the office, time is a precious commodity for today's busy physicians. Away from work, many doctors find unique activities and hobbies to help them unwind and to enrich their lives.

The winter sky is on the verge of dusk, trailing pink and gold among the tree tops. From the middle of the frozen lake, the ice begins to boom and shriek as it shifts with the change in temperature. In the distance, what looks like a cluster of white wings begins to break apart and skim along the shoreline. The iceboaters are getting in their last ride of the day.

"One of my favorite memories is from high school," said Christopher Croasdale, MD, an ophthalmologist and avid iceboater. "I came home at the end of the day. We had perfectly smooth, black ice across the entire lake. People were sailing like butterflies. There's just the noise of the wind, and you're lying down a few inches above the ice, gliding. It's pretty exhilarating. It's an addictive thrill."

Chris got his iceboating addiction from his father, who taught all of his children to sail at a young age. But that's not the only thing he inherited. Raymond Croasdale, MD, is also an ophthalmologist.

This year the two have competed together in two regattas.

"The greatest joy for both of us is that we get to share our two major interests -- our profession and one of our favorite hobbies," Chris said. "After all these years of medical training and moving around, it's great that I've been able to come back to the Midwest and that I get to sail with Dad. The other guys from the Gull Lake fleet, I think they look on us with envy. Most of them don't have kids that took up iceboating."

Iceboating requires a lot of effort. The car has to be loaded up with the boats and sailing gear, then there's the drive to the race site, followed by unloading the boats and setting them up out on the ice. Repeat in reverse order after an afternoon of sailing, and it's quite a commitment of time and energy. Doing it together makes it easier, they said. [...]