Arjan, I found out that with good clothing (see above) and not too much wind (15-20 knots), I can sail even just under zero Celcius.

Problem remains the hands. So I mount everything up with my normal allday winter handgloves; which keep my hands warm till the last moment I start sailing.
Then I switch to my neopreen finger-clawed surf handgloves. They will keep my hands warm, atleast on broad reaches.

Closehauled, they will hold only max. 10 minutes before cold is coming in (more (sail)wind on the gloves).

When I stop sailing I always keep my hands out of the wind. When demounting my rigg again, I dry first my hands and then switch to my normal wintergloves again.

So, the trick is: not letting them to become cold.

With windsurfing though you can be rougher because you use your handmuscles more (giving heat).Then you can try the following:

Let them become cold, as cold as you can endure, start heating them up (with your breath etc.). This will be painfull too.
But then you have the chance that here after they (miraculously) will keep themselves warm the rest of the time you surf!


Dressing with so many layers as I use, has ofcourse the danger of overheating when mounting your cat and rigg.
So when you start to sweat, pull something off temporarily.

When I'm windsurfing in wintertime, the standaard question from spectators is: "Don't you have it cold sir".
My answer can be sometimes: "No, on the contrary,I'm sweating. Jee, I have to go in the water".
When I do this next, people think that I have a dig at them!

But they don't know about overheating in sporting.