How do you get your fix when the snow is flying

[SloopJonB]

Spend a ridiculous amount of time on Sailnet yakking with others in the same position (note I resisted the urge to say "boat" )

[jameswilson29]

I tune in to one of my beautiful, realistic, Youtube videos (no music and no commentary), with the volume cranked up, they are the closest thing to actually sailing (even boring at time):

Beautiful sailing day on the Chesapeake Bay near Point No Point Maryland - YouTube

Beautiful sailing day on the Chesapeake Bay near Point No Point Maryland - YouTube

[sailordave]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned this option:

FROSTBITING!

I sold my Laser a few years ago, but used to sail Nov-Mar on Sundays. Saw more than a few snowflakes, came home w/ ICE on the boat at times and cold to the core every now and then. But it was a blast!

[ImASonOfaSailor]

Yes watch more videos of shots of past summer like we all do !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Pe...NsEcFA&index=9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG6s...NsEcFA&index=5

[jsaronson]

That's a short season. I'm in Annapolis. One more sail this weekend, and I'll be back on the water before April 1. Plan a BVI charter!

[sailortjk1]

We push our limits as much as possible.
Our Marina closes on Nov 1. We launch in Mid April so it is a 6-1/2 Month season. That's not bad for midwest.

After Nov 1, I sail with a buddy on a 21-footer on a small inland lake. He is trailerable and the marina lets him haul out whenever he likes. The biggest issue is ice on the ramps. A little ice on the lake does not hurt but a solid freeze would be bad. Snow on the ground does not stop us.

We are going out on Saturday.

During the holiday season we drive down the JAX to visit Family and I bring along our Sunfish, than we go back in March for one last visit and Sunfish Sail.
Before you know it, It's time to do spring boat work.

And you can also throw in a visit to Annapolis or two and sail on a buddies boat.
There is always a way....

[downeast450]

If it is a "sailing Jones", buy a second, small boat. We leave our Marshal Sandpiper in all winter some years here on Mount Desert Island, Maine. It is warmer on the water some days than it is on the ski slopes. Using the Seal Harbor Christmas tree as a homing signal on those days when the sun goes down before you are done is novel. If you just like being on the water try canoe racing. The first downriver race in Maine is in March. That gives us several weeks of wet fun before we can raise a sail. We paddle all 12 months on the salt water here. being on the ocean all year gives me a much clearer sense of the changing seasons. Wildlife changes. It is very clear by February 1st that winter is "letting go". A New Years Day paddle has been a tradition for a long time. An addiction to the motion of the ocean and the smell of the salt air is a good one to have. Develop it with gusto! Avoid sea smoke! Burr! Wet suits, etc. are required safety gear.

Down

[CalypsoP35]

Along the same lines as Down, I have a small boat that only gets used in the off season when my P35 is out of the water. I have a Saroca (sail/rowboat/canoe) that I leave on the hard next our community dock. On decent winter days I drag it into the water go out for a sail or row or paddle depending on how I feel that day.

[Seaduction]

Try chartering- unless its fiscally not possible.
A former Western Pennsylvanian.

[Jeff_H]

I clear the snow off the deck, get out an axe and cut a slit through the ice and go sailing. Its the only way......

[IMG][/IMG]

Sailing back through the slit that was cut in the morning when we left......eventually pushing ice out of the way with the axe and the spin pole.

[IMG][/IMG]

Getting ready to leave. The engine intake thru-hull was frozen solid so we put intake hose in a bucket on the cabin sole and dipped water over the side to keep it filled until we cleared the edge of the slit in the ice then raised the sails. Didn't bother with the engine coming back in.



All worth it....