Can someone that sails out of Pensacola tell me what the sailing conditions are like in early March? We are planning a family vacation to sail out of Capt. Kirk's place between March 10-16 of next year. With two young kids, I really need to know what the water and air temps are like so we can plan accordingly. Is it wet suit weather during that time of year?



Thanks in advance for the information.



Bob

Inter 18

Definitely wetsuit weather that time of year unless you are from Canada then you think it's Summer . You can get a sunny nice day here and there but don't expect it. I've been down there that time of year and laughed at the locals wearing drysuits.



Mike Hill

H20 #791

Thanks Mike;



My big concern is for my kids who think 60F is darn cold (good thing I didn't get transferred to MN). I don't want to get over there and be the only one willing to go out on the boat.



So, where do I find good used wetsuits (etc.) for kids that are growing very fast and will outgrow the equipment in one-to-two seasons!!



Again, thanks!



bob

March can REALLY varry.... I've had shorty days and full on gear days in March, the nice thing is that it usually windy. I'd try Sams for cheep wet suits. A friend of mine bought one there a couple of years ago and he's still wearing it.

If you can, come on the 9th and you can do the annual "Ice Pick Regatta" and if you stay for the 16th-17th you can do the "Performance Mid-Winters".



ScaredyCat

I bought my kids shorty wetsuits at "Academy", they're all over Texas. Also Sam's occasionally has wetsuits.

By March a lot of the catalogs (Overton's, West Marins, BOAT/US, etc) also start trying to get rid of "winter" inventory,and wetsuit prices can drop.



Good luck, Pensacola is a blast, hope you have a good time with the kiddos.



Another idea is not a wetsuit, but what I call a "splashsuit", kind of like a rainsuit. What really gets me cold on a cat is not the air, and not the water but the air when I'm wet, ie evaporative cooling. So, for warm (air) days, with cool water (ie springtime in the South), sometimes a splashsuit/rainsuit kind of thing works really good for catamaran sailing, since it keeps the evaporative cooling from happening on your skin. My wife & I used this method for a couple seasons, and sometimes I still wear it over my wetsuit on colder days. Kind of like layering.



Jim Casto

NACRA 5.5uni/sloop

Austin, TX

Thanks Jim!



I have ordered a splash smock for myself recently and I have gotten a great deal of help from various sailors on dressing for cool weather sailing. The problem is my wife and kids are Texans and anything below bathwater temperatures is cold to them (wimps!!). The kids are also more into swimming at the beach then sailing right now. Hence, I may end up in Pensacola in late May instead when they get out of school---then they can swim and I can sail.

Where do you sail in Austin, Lake Travis? I would love to sail on one of the chain of lakes in the hill country if I knew where to put in and where a good campsite could be found.



Thanks



Bob Klein

Inter 18

College Station, TX

Bob-

You need to try to make it up to Dallas area and Shreveport for some regattas next year or over to Ponchartain (LA)-

Another option for "kiddo" wetsuits is a dive shop (even locally in FL) who often have used (some of the big cat dealers have used also) or will rent and powerboat shops that specialize in water skiing/boarding-



Kirt (w/ 2 teenagers- been down in the Keys in March and the water was too cold for one of them then down there w/o a suit!)-

You can always buy fleece pretty cheap.. It is very warm even when wet.. It drains well and keeps you warm if worn under a splash outfit. the best part is you can throw it in the washing machine and dryer so it is free of salt water the next day.. It also can be used all year long..

give it a try..

good luck

Sailing in Austin Area :

Lake Travis - about 15mi west of downtown, the best place for cats to put in is "Bob Wentz Windy Point Park", it is a sail-only park, with a huge ramp, that juts into middle of lake, where the best wind is. Windsurfers have used this park forever. The "beach" next to ramp is pretty rugged, bring some hull protection.

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/bob_wentz.htm

No overnight camping, but next door is private park with overnight camping, mostly used by scuba divers (Travis is very deep & clear, great for learning scuba)



Lake Buchanan - a much bigger lake about 70 miles west of Austin, uncrowded and great for cat sailing. On the south shore, there is Black Rock Park with camping, and free ramp next to it in Llano County Park. You can pull your boat up onto beach at Black Rock, but it's kind of hard to launch from there. We usually launch at Llano County, pull boat around to Black Rock. Or else you back trailer up to fence and slide the cat over off the trailer over the obstructions onto the beach.

http://www.lcra.org/lands/blkrock.html

Beach is finer gravel than Travis, but can still scratch hulls.

Thanks again Jim





Bob Klein