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Hi all,
I'm new here, and to sailing in general. Been boating most my life otherwise.
I'm eagerly awaiting spring to launch my first sailboat, a Precision-15, and learn how to sail, as many have done before me. Unfortunately we're getting more snow, with about two feet piled up outside, with temps barely tickling the freezing, or rather I should say, melting point.
So, in my despair for warmer weather, I've resigned myself to a couple more months of it being just 'too darn cold' to sail. What better to do than sit back, and read accounts of Shackelton's Antartic expedition, including his 800 mile trans-Antartic ocean voyage in not much more than my dinghy, to save his life and that of his crew.
Yeah, its too darn cold to sail. Where's my Snuggie?
I just took the ferry home from Manhattan and there was a Guy sailing down the hudson on a run with only his Main up...looked like he was having a nice leisurely sail
Shackleton and his men had a tough time of it I reckon. Imagine watching the ice of the South Pole slowly crush your boat then living there for a very long time before setting off in a dinghy.
I like to think I can handle a bit but that would be a tough row to hoe.
Hi all,
I'm new here, and to sailing in general. Been boating most my life otherwise.
I'm eagerly awaiting spring to launch my first sailboat, a Precision-15, and learn how to sail, as many have done before me. Unfortunately we're getting more snow, with about two feet piled up outside, with temps barely tickling the freezing, or rather I should say, melting point.
So, in my despair for warmer weather, I've resigned myself to a couple more months of it being just 'too darn cold' to sail. What better to do than sit back, and read accounts of Shackelton's Antartic expedition, including his 800 mile trans-Antartic ocean voyage in not much more than my dinghy, to save his life and that of his crew.
Yeah, its too darn cold to sail. Where's my Snuggie?
You will extend you sailing season for years to come, and add safety when sailing in cold water in the spring.
I had a beach cat years ago; when other beach cat sailors told me they wanted more wind, I told them to buy a dry suit. t blows harder in the winter. Sailing can actually be pleasant down to about 32F; below that, if there is any spray, it gets a bit grim on the face. Ski goggles help a lot, as do good Gore-tex ski gloves.
You will extend you sailing season for years to come, and add safety when sailing in cold water in the spring.
I had a beach cat years ago; when other beach cat sailors told me they wanted more wind, I told them to buy a dry suit. t blows harder in the winter. Sailing can actually be pleasant down to about 32F; below that, if there is any spray, it gets a bit grim on the face. Ski goggles help a lot, as do good Gore-tex ski gloves.
As a matter of fact, I was out sailing this weekend. I broke my rule about not heading out unless it was above 40F. It was great out there. Of course you need to dress for it, but at least here we had the Bay largely to ourselves and it was gorgeous. Mostly 10-15 knot breeses although we saw some serious gusts into the mid-20 knot range (not so bad running but a bit of pain upwind given that the denser air really gives this stuff some serious wallop power)
........ Mostly 10-15 knot breeses although we saw some serious gusts into the mid-20 knot range (not so bad running but a bit of pain upwind given that the denser air really gives this stuff some serious wallop power)
This is the only issue with winter sailing. Took a bit to figure out that cold air is abit denser, and need to reef or reduce the job option a bit sooner!
New years day was great here in the puget sound region!
Marty
ps, we brought up a post from last spring because?!?!?!?!
sorry could not resist?:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher
along with there is a BIG race this saturday in puget sound too! probably about 100 boats.......
Yeah, but you have the advantage of having the water to yourself. I snuck out on a 50F degree day, and only saw a few other boats. It was clear, bright and sunny, and the winds were light and variable. It made a great learning environment without having to dodge everyone else. The days are short though, and the sunset can catch you unawares if you aren't paying close attention. It goes from bright to black in a hurry.
PDQ's blog is full of great advice. Had I read it before-hand, I probably would have harnessed up. The part about winter sailing clothing was also enlightening.
Bubble is right, you really get the water to yourself.
I've been sailing more this winter than I did last summer. In the summer everyone likes to go to the beach instead, even though we live on board much of the summer. If you are near Long Island NY, give me a shout and join me for a sail. I have an email invite list that I use to let friends know (slightly) ahead of time.
Anything above 40 is (usually) pretty pleasant. Mid 30's and rain/sleet or just cloudy/high humidity gets pretty old after a couple of weeks.
Learn to love your heater. We wear Gore-Tex foulies and a few layers of wool underneath- works fine and stays warm when damp.
Here, it looks like the ice is breaking up so we should be heading up to our "summer" slip around the 3rd week of March.
Late in the season; November and December are preferable to me.
The water temps at that time of year are often higher than the air temp.
In the early Spring, the water is still so unbearably cold that the cold air blowing over the cold water goes right to your bones.
I have no problem sailing in cold fall conditions, but for some reason, the cold spring conditions get to me.
From last December on a friend's boat.
Of course sailing in these conditions bring on a whole new set of safety issues and concerns. First concern is not to fall in the water ever. Second concern is how not to fall in the water on an icy deck.
Once I sailed my beach cat to Mt Vernon National Park in the winter...
...wearing a wet suit. Tied up to the excursion boat dock (they don't run in the winter). It was cold, some ice on the water. We were VERY careful about capsize.
Several people asked us if we scuba-dived over. Pretty funny.
One year I did Winter Vashon (around the island race in december) on a Soverel 33. We came down to the boat and there was 4" of snow on it . Not only that but it was blowing 30 .
I float between a couple boats, but this time I'll be on Great White.
I'm a total rookie, so I'm happy to have found a few captains that are kind enough to order me around and not make me feel too stupid when I don't know what I'm doing
I'm a total rookie, so I'm happy to have found a few captains that are kind enough to order me around and not make me feel too stupid when I don't know what I'm doing
Hopefully he is not reading this too, but I have one of them that comes on my boat.
IIRC GW is out of Tacoma or Gharbor? south of me.
time for bed, way to late right now. We'll race out of edmond in feb for the lcub stuff. May try to do the last SSS race out of GH......about 6 hrs one way motoring.....not sure the rest of the year. BRBR for sure, STYC fall regatta..........CSS is a possibility or the SYC Islands option....
What I remember from my frostbite days back in Marblehead (salt water):
If you dress really warm (and dry) and keep moving around (which you do in a dinghy, like our Interclubs), you'll stay warm enough. thermoses of hot tea or whatever a big help.
Keep in mind the water's cold, so never ever capsize, unless you have a crash boat right nearby to take you to a race committee float that happens to have a shack thereon with a pot-belly stove--which we did ;-)
Air temp will wreak havoc with your mainsheet below about 15F (and around 25F for fresh water), because it will or course get wet and will start to freeze, especially where it turns around the sheet blocks, if you don't keep trimming and easing. These "square sheets" are slippery and dangerous if you can't ease out in a hurry. And cam cleats won't work as well.
This is why the typical 5-race afternoon wouldn't last beyond about 2-3 hours. Then we'd all repair to a nice warm bar to recover, and hear protests.
Ah yes, frostbiting in ICs, my most fond dinghy sailing days were in ICs on a winter Sunday afternoon - wondering what that bump was during a race in Feb and realizing it was a chunk of ice, then trying to recall how cold Salt Water needs to be before it freezes.
Dress warm and keep moving,
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