This thread may be nothing for the "spoiled" California- and Florida catsailors. (For me, it seems heaven overthere)
We, in Holland, are harassed these whole winter with a Eastern icecold Russian wind which never seems to stop. Right now at this moment of typing, there is a roaring wind between 8 and 9 Bft; already for three days around my house (I live at the top of a dune). It's howling 24h inside the house and gives a windchill of -15 degrees C in an outside temp. of minus 3.
So cannot sail today.
Nevertheless, I've done my share of sailing this winter when the wind dropped to around 20 knots. I wear a summer wetsuit of 2mm, covered with a 5 mm heatshield wetsuit and finally finished with a full drysuit. Oh yeah, and topped with a windbreaker jack.
The last layer I have to put on outside the house, because otherwise I get a heat-stowing.
Main problem though, is still the cold-protection of my hands. I'm still waiting after 35 years on the perfect solution for that. Tried everything, ended up with a very large box full of handgloves bought in the years.
Found this on internet:
Too bad that this is a shed-invention which again will not work in my practice.
Any experiences??????
Last edited by northsea junkie; 03/24/1306:55 AM.
ronald RAIDER-15 (homebuilt)
hey boy, what did you do over there, alone far out at sea?.. "huh....., that's the only place where I'm happy, sir.
-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258518 03/24/1310:08 AM03/24/1310:08 AM
Ah Ronald! My wife and I are currently discussing turning on the air conditioner, 75 degrees F. but a little muggy.
We do get violent thunderstorms with dangerous lightening and extreme wind gusts (enough to blow you over backward if you aren't careful) and of course the occassional hurricane.
But here, "experiences" are of the self inflicted type.
Cheers!
Pete Pollard Blade 702
'When you have a lot of things to do, it's best to get your nap out of the way first.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: pgp]
#258520 03/24/1310:22 AM03/24/1310:22 AM
I know exactly what you mean! The whole winter we've been working on our boat and wating for temperatures above 5C (my absolute minimum) with a nice wind. Yesterday we're at the beach and it was realy horrible. 8 bft with 0C made it extremely cold, so also no work on the boat at the beach.
By the way if this winter continious, our Inter 18 will be converted in an Infusion before the summer! This way we keep on improving the boat instead of sailing...(I belive the cat is more than ready for sailing)
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258522 03/24/1301:18 PM03/24/1301:18 PM
Snow still on the front lawn, floe ice in the launch area,but we are seeing plus Celsius temps and everything is starting to melt real quick.Lots of snow on the local ski hill,
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: fredsmith]
#258524 03/24/1301:40 PM03/24/1301:40 PM
I can attest to this winter in the EU. We landed in Amsterdam to freezing temps and below zero wind included temps as we worked on the trailer to head to Palma. We left and it started snowing in Antwerp. I mean, not litle speckle snow, explode on the highway drops that swirled on the pavement ahead of us. All the Dutchies were complaining about the weather (like that's something new) Now, here in Barcelona it's still a little chilly. Hopefully, the little island will be manageable tomorrow as we prep up for a couple weeks of sailing down here.
Really, I worked on the trailer, went inside to warm up, then worked on the trailer again for a few times.
I'm definitely not complaining, just agreeing with the prior statement. (I didn't watch the video).
Last edited by DUH; 03/24/1301:41 PM.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: Arjan13]
#258525 03/24/1301:50 PM03/24/1301:50 PM
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.
ronald RAIDER-15 (homebuilt)
hey boy, what did you do over there, alone far out at sea?.. "huh....., that's the only place where I'm happy, sir.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: pgp]
#258526 03/24/1302:03 PM03/24/1302:03 PM
Neoprene gloves with some chemical heating pads will keep your hands warm as long as they stay dry. Same with the feet.
The rest goes inside the drysuit. Wearing neoprene under the drysuit is counterproductive in my experience. Long wool underwear, fiber furs and then the drysuit.
The real issue is avoiding frostbite in the face. A man tends to look funny with no nose.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258529 03/24/1306:36 PM03/24/1306:36 PM
I can drive my 7500# pickup on the lakes around here. 0˚C? It was -7˚F/-22˚C yesterday morning. Throw a 30mph wind on there and your balls freeze to the car seat when you sit down.
Quit yer crying.
I'm boatless.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258531 03/24/1307:28 PM03/24/1307:28 PM
Rolf, many years ago I nearly lost a windsurffriend during a storm in wintertime who was wearing a drysuit with fiber/wool undersuit.
He teared his drysuit while we were surfing from the mainland to the first island in the north (Texel). He was more then an hour in very cold water before being washed ashore.
Suffering from Hypothermia he was taken to a hospital and we were fined by the police. It all came to prosecution with an appearance for a court of law. At that time I was working for a surfmagazine and I had a plea by stating that the sea plays his own judge with regard to risky behavior. Fortunately the judge was impressed by my surf-status and my story.
We were convicted but with "no punishment infliction" (a seldom escape).
Since that day I never wear a drysuit with no wetsuit under it.
Karl, you are quite right with my boring about sailing in wintertime. I know that winters in the northern half of the V.S. can be much more severe then Dutch ones.
My first excuse is that I'm used to do windsurfing in wintertime for 35 years. And my other excuse is that the clock is ticking for a 67 year old sailor. I have no time anymore for staying indoor a few months and reading books.
How many years (winters) can I still sail a beachcat at sea on my way???????????
Finally may I (half) quote Henri Bergson with his Elan Vital:
" That what interests me is not the man itself, but the flame which consumes him. The crimson line which pierces and passes through him"
Last edited by northsea junkie; 03/25/1305:35 AM.
ronald RAIDER-15 (homebuilt)
hey boy, what did you do over there, alone far out at sea?.. "huh....., that's the only place where I'm happy, sir.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258536 03/25/1307:44 AM03/25/1307:44 AM
First, getting fined for that windsurfing experience is a horrendous ethical legal practice in my experience. How many will never report a dangerous situation out of fear of being convicted and sent to jail or getting a fine.
Secondly, there is a thing called horses for courses. If you plan an experience like what you describe a wetsuit is perhaps the best. If you plan to sail along land in non-survival conditions on a cat, like I most often do, the wools and fibers goes on under the drysuit.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: waterbug_wpb]
#258544 03/25/1302:38 PM03/25/1302:38 PM
Right now I'm cursing the weather gods for not being hot enough to warm up the pool. Seriously its the coldest its been in late March since we've moved to Central Florida.
Its only 70'F outside with a cold breeze.
Re: This winter in europe never seems to end....
[Re: northsea junkie]
#258546 03/25/1303:17 PM03/25/1303:17 PM