Saw this video of Balz Müller (link below), and wondering how they sail in these conditions! Do any of y'all sail when it's this cold? If yes, where and what do you wear on your hands?



... couldn't figure out how to insert the video so just added the link.

Coleman Lieb wrote:

I put the direct YouTube link in your post. It auto-embeds.

I sail in "cold" worse than that....but not in water. My winter sailing is on parking lots, hard packed snow, or ice.
My claim to sail in cold that is worse is based on a guess that the Swiss video referring to "0" degrees is talking Centigrade instead of Fahrenheit, which is 32 F degrees warmer than what we Midwesterners are talking about when we say "0" degrees.

My routine at a winter sailing site is 1. rig the sail wearing a pair of "gloves", 2. attach the sail to the board (whatever variety it is for the surface), 3. restart the vehicle & run the heater full blast with my "mittens" near the windshield heat vent getting extra warm while I put on the elbow pads & knee pads & helmet & neck scarf, 4. put on the now warm "mittens" (definitely not the gloves that had gotten cold while I was doing the rigging), then turn off the vehicle & go sailing. After about 20-30-40 minutes of sailing I go back to the vehicle and run it about 10 minutes or as long as it takes to get warm again. When parking lot sailing (standing on longboard skateboards or mountain boards or sitting on a sit-down trike) it is easy to sail back to the vehicle. When the sailing is on an ice board with blades or on a ski board on hard packed snow there might be a short walk from the sailing site to the vehicle. The surfaces I'm sailing on are by definition "hard" so I'm quite serious about being careful & wearing good safety gear. The gustier the winds the more likely I am to avoid winter stand-up sailing & choose to a a sit-down trike on a parking lot. Parking lot sailing (standing or sitting) has some unique attractions: lots that are big enough to sail (at least 100 ft by 200 ft) are probably closer to you than sailable water or ice or hard packed snow; the ones that are big enough to sail on are usually lighted at night; many of the best ones have predictable schedules because they are for schools, churches, or office buildings; & they make it easy for an interested onlooker to stop, talk to you, & be recruited to the sport by you.

Coleman Lieb wrote:

Here's a thread by Ady. He's a cold weather monster.

"Suiting up for the occasion"...
windsurfillinois.com/index.php/forum/win...roducts?limitstart=0

if we can extend our season by a month or two, it's worth it. In 2020, I sailed every month of the year: twice in January and twice in December, which was a first. Wetsuits are better now than ever, but it's really important to have good quality gear that keeps you warm. I just sprung for THE warmest wetsuit: Patagonia R5 Yulex, so I'm hoping that gives me confidence to go out when the air temperature is lower, which is usually my deciding factor. BTW, I'm gonna sail tomorrow (1/20/21) even though my new wetsuit hasn't arrived yet. My NP Rise 4/3 should be ok, with temps in the mid-50's and a place to sail that's an easy swim in if you don't go to far out. You need to be so equiped, that if you break down, you won't get hypothermia if it takes you 30 min to swim it in.

Came across this video today. Pretty cool boards
www.usatoday.com/videos/news/weather/202...ltic-sea/6883922002/