Heaven Can Wait

[tdw]

Last weekend I had the pleasure of crewing on a mates VDS34 being delivered up to Lake MacQuarie NSW for this coming weekend's Heaven Can Wait 24 Hour race.

Nice overnight sail up the NSW coast from Sydney. Unfortunately I'm not able to do the race itself but hopefully "Windchaser" will go well in the slow boat division. Chaser is part of the team from the Balmain Sailing Club and they took out the team's trophy last year, maybe even the year before. I'll be going back up following weekend to bring her back to Sydney.

Its a good cause, the money going partly to Volunteer Marine Rescue and the balance , indeed all but $5000.00, going to the Cancer Council.

Have a look at the website. Donations are more than welcome.

Heaven Can Wait 24-hour Yacht Race 2010

[SoftJazz]

Have you ever met the guy who started that? I think he had cancer pretty bad at one point. He's on "that other site", but I don't hold it against him. He seems to be level-headed & has given a lot of good advice over there. I printed out one of his posts about learning to sail without using telltales.

[Hartley18]

I'm glad you at least got to do the delivery, A - even if it isn't on Raven this time around.

It's an event I'd love to do sometime.. along with many others!

[tdw]

Originally Posted by Hartley18

I'm glad you at least got to do the delivery, A - even if it isn't on Raven this time around.

It's an event I'd love to do sometime.. along with many others!

Well......if we are around this time next year and you are up to flying to Sydney.......

Delivery trip was great. I just love being offshore, plain and simple. Not a lot of wind, motor sailed a lot of the way and it was freaking cold. The Dolphins and the shooting star made up for that. Dolphins in the middle of the night are pretty damn cool while that meteor was out of this world. I have never seen one so low to the surface or as close. I kid you not, there was a distinct smell of burning after it had passed and it was quite audible. I'm guessing it must have come down only a mile or so from where we were at the time.

Cold was interesting. Because all our sailing is coastal my wet weather pants are not heavy duty. Mistake. Reality is that it is keeping the wind out, more so than the water which in most conditions is important. I'll be upgrading before the return trip. Boots are another issue. I have a pair that are quite tall. Great for walking through the water but in reality bit higher than ankle boots would make more sense. Dunbarry's would be good but oh my the price of those things.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by tdw

Cold was interesting. Because all our sailing is coastal my wet weather pants are not heavy duty. Mistake. Reality is that it is keeping the wind out, more so than the water which in most conditions is important. I'll be upgrading before the return trip. Boots are another issue. I have a pair that are quite tall. Great for walking through the water but in reality bit higher than ankle boots would make more sense. Dunbarry's would be good but oh my the price of those things.

I'd not thought about the cold! All my gear was bought dirt-cheap at a Ronstan sale a year or so ago and would definitely not make the grade (I wouldn't recommend it to anyone either).

My brother used to wear wet-boots for his offshore racing which he said worked okay, but I don't know that I'd want to be wearing wet-boots for an extended period.

I find the price of ALL offshore gear shocking. If you have to pay over $1,000 nowadays just for a jacket, maybe I just plain can't afford to go offshore anymore... and I don't think the old oilskins are the ticket - just the smell of them made me want to throw up.

Does anybody make anything affordable anymore? I don't think so..

[tdw]

Neither had I, not from a wet weather gear perspective anyway but good offshore gear is as wind resistant as it is moisture.

My jacket is Ronstan and is coastal not offshore. I wore a sleeveless lined jacket underneath that with a long sleeved polo. My upper body was fine.

I wore just a pair of pants on first watch but by 2000 knew that was not going to be good enough for 2400 - 0400 so added a pair of long johns. Even then the wind ripped right through me. Simply put the pants were not heavy duty enough to be wind resistant.

As for the boots, I had worn a pair of canvas shoes but they got wet and by the time I could get a change of shoes and socks my feet were freezing. I never really got them warm again.

Given that a $500.00 pair of Dubarry's is out of the question I'm going to try a pair of Bourke Southerley Seaboots. They are supposedly much more wind resistant than the standard Burke Seaboot. Also not as long so easier to get off in an emergency. I bought some possum fur socks in NZ earlier this year. My guess is that these with the new boots should see me through.

Originally Posted by Hartley18

I'd not thought about the cold! All my gear was bought dirt-cheap at a Ronstan sale a year or so ago and would definitely not make the grade (I wouldn't recommend it to anyone either).

My brother used to wear wet-boots for his offshore racing which he said worked okay, but I don't know that I'd want to be wearing wet-boots for an extended period.

I find the price of ALL offshore gear shocking. If you have to pay over $1,000 nowadays just for a jacket, maybe I just plain can't afford to go offshore anymore... and I don't think the old oilskins are the ticket - just the smell of them made me want to throw up.

Does anybody make anything affordable anymore? I don't think so..

[casioqv]

Originally Posted by Hartley18

I find the price of ALL offshore gear shocking.

There's nothing special about "offshore" or even marine gear, other than the price AFAIK. The same type of extremely waterproof/windproof clothing is also marketed to motorcyclists, and backpackers at much lower prices.

For outer layers I use Helley Hansen VOSS jackets and pants which are extremely durable, 100% waterproof/windproof, and typically cost about $30 each! They're made from welded polyurethane, which is extremely tough, and stretchy.

For middle (insulating) layers, I use army surplus felted wool clothing, which retains insulating ability if soaked, and costs $5-10 per garment. It's low grade (thick fiber) itchy wool, so it lasts forever but requires a softer layer against your skin.

For inner layers (against skin) I use IBEX super soft merino wool, which is expensive but lasts forever and works great for non-sailing clothes also. Cheap polypropylene army surplus "extreme cold underwear" could be used as well.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by casioqv

There's nothing special about "offshore" or even marine gear, other than the price AFAIK. The same type of extremely waterproof/windproof clothing is also marketed to motorcyclists, and backpackers at much lower prices.

For outer layers I use Helley Hansen VOSS jackets and pants which are extremely durable, 100% waterproof/windproof, and typically cost about $30 each! They're made from welded polyurethane, which is extremely tough, and stretchy.

For middle (insulating) layers, I use army surplus felted wool clothing, which retains insulating ability if soaked, and costs $5-10 per garment.

For inner layers (against skin) I use IBEX super soft merino wool, which is expensive but lasts forever and works great for non-sailing clothes also. Cheap polypropylene army surplus "extreme cold underwear" could be used as well.

I think I need to change where I shop! Thanks for the tips..

[sailingdog]

I would point out that non-marine purpose foul weather gear often is missing things like double cuffs on the sleeves, retro-reflective patches on the hood, torso and arms, and other such features. These are necessary in terrestrial foul weather gear, but are in marine use gear.

Some things, like boots and gloves, don't really matter much, but the foul weather jacket for offshore use is really better when having to stand long watches in crappy weather.

[St Anna]

Originally Posted by tdw

Well......if we are around this time next year and you are up to flying to Sydney.......

Delivery trip was great. I just love being offshore, plain and simple. Not a lot of wind, motor sailed a lot of the way and it was freaking cold. The Dolphins and the shooting star made up for that. Dolphins in the middle of the night are pretty damn cool while that meteor was out of this world. I have never seen one so low to the surface or as close. I kid you not, there was a distinct smell of burning after it had passed and it was quite audible. I'm guessing it must have come down only a mile or so from where we were at the time.

Cold was interesting. Because all our sailing is coastal my wet weather pants are not heavy duty. Mistake. Reality is that it is keeping the wind out, more so than the water which in most conditions is important. I'll be upgrading before the return trip. Boots are another issue. I have a pair that are quite tall. Great for walking through the water but in reality bit higher than ankle boots would make more sense. Dunbarry's would be good but oh my the price of those things.

Wonderful stuff T

We used to feel that dolphins bring you luck.

I have also experienced a meteorite that must have been close and the air has that crisp smell and a rumble which is similar to arty rounds overhead.

As for wet weather gear - you gotta keep warm and dry. I have outgrown a jumper I had. It was raw wool and 5 sizes too big, washed in hot water to shrink it back to size. It is [firehose] water resistant, breathable and completely wind resistant and wearable under a lighter jacket. You can take off the wet, lighter outside spray jacket to go down below. It is always easier to take on and off a light weight spray jacket.

When you are a little stressed (going over a bar), the breathable pants make you sweat!!!

Alternatively, head north.

cheers