Too cold to sail?

[mikeybgoode]

thats why god created u-haul. just got back from a beautiful day sail here in socal, sorry.. un no im not .. ehhem yes sorry

[pdqaltair]

Originally Posted by dnf777

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.

I posted a piece about winter sailing:
Sail Delmarva: Search results for winter sailing bubbler

[Jeff_H]

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)

Jeff

[adamsaquatics]

Originally Posted by pdqaltair

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.

I posted a piece about winter sailing:
Sail Delmarva: Search results for winter sailing bubbler

Winter sailing = Hard core

[BubbleheadMd]

Adam-

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.

[cormeum]

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.

[sailortjk1]

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.

[sailingdog]

Hey Tim—

Is that Sway’s little dinghy??

[sailortjk1]

Sway who?
LOL, yes it was.

[hellosailor]

Best part of saiing in wicked cold wx?

NO JET SKIS!

You won't hear a one of them from December to April.