Do you sail in winter?

I gave it up about 10 years ago. I used to be stupid enough to go out in 50 knot southerlies on Botany Bay in July. I remember I'd lose feeling in one finger per run, so by the third run I was down to my last finger holding the boom and had to head in.

(Banana benders need not respond, I'm already jealous after just spending a week on the reef and don't need to be reminded.)

Back in the 80's - 90's I used to love winter westerly gales on Lake Macquarie. I had 10 years off. Came back and went out and muffed the first gybe . I ended up sitting in icey water for ages waiting on a gust.. Brr 12degrees + windchill and water 11 degrees.. That's when I got soft..
These days I sail lighter winds in deeper water ( 10-15kts ) on a board I can uphaul.
The problem with deeper water is it can be gusty with a wide range of wind and big holes. I have to use a big board so I can uphaul but if it gets 20kts plus it's tiring bashing in the chop. I'm using a 111ltre instead of a 90 or 80ltre that I'd usually use.
In stronger wind I sail shallow water so I don't have to lie in icey water for 10mins waiting for a gust to waterstart ..

Yes. Only at Wallerawang in the Central West, atm. All three launching areas are on the western side of Lake Wallace... so have done the swim of shame into strong winter winds from the west.
Other inland lakes further out - Carcoar Dam, Chifley Dam (Bathurst drinking water) also have public launch points on western side only, so I won't bother windsurfing (but have kayaked at those places in mid-winter, finishing well after dark - feet ache badly, even in wetsuit booties just lifting kayak out of the water).

Generally it's time constraints, knock of work at 1600 or later, dark by 1730
Which only leaves weekends for the planets to allign.

Then there's motivation of sailing 30+ down to zip in 5 mins and back again. Either blown of the water or waiting around to be.

In all honesty most of winter sailing is crap, you do get the occasional day where everything works, the storm sailing wave crew seem to be the best at it, personally I've had to many long swims when the wind drops out.

That said, I'm twitchin for my next sail, the foil has been a Godsend on those 10 knot days and it's nice to snag a good day on the slapper.

Half way through winter, Woo hoo

Don't be soft, quite a bunch of us Mexicans sailing last Sunday, Max temp 12 deg, water temp 13.5. Now is when you get the big Westerlies or NW, makes you feel alive!

Come and visit Tasmania this time of year. It will make you appreciate how WARM NSW is in winter!

of course ...winter is the best ,strongest wind suit up and get out there ...

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js68 said..
Come and visit Tasmania this time of year. It will make you appreciate how WARM NSW is in winter!

Haha, yep, was thinking of you guys after visiting a couple of years ago and seeing how chilly the water was in December.

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mr love said..
Don't be soft, quite a bunch of us Mexicans sailing last Sunday, Max temp 12 deg, water temp 13.5. Now is when you get the big Westerlies or NW, makes you feel alive!

They are soft, aren't they Mr Love. Sub-10 degree air temp in 30 kts sure drops the wind chill reading.

Apart from booties, I reckon the most useful piece of kit for winter sailing is a hood. Especially if like me you don't have any remaining natural insulation on your scone. 2-3mm of neoprene makes a huge difference, to the point that you can get too hot.

of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

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JonesySail said..
of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

Maybe next year..

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MikeyS said..

mr love said..
Don't be soft, quite a bunch of us Mexicans sailing last Sunday, Max temp 12 deg, water temp 13.5. Now is when you get the big Westerlies or NW, makes you feel alive!

They are soft, aren't they Mr Love. Sub-10 degree air temp in 30 kts sure drops the wind chill reading.

Apart from booties, I reckon the most useful piece of kit for winter sailing is a hood. Especially if like me you don't have any remaining natural insulation on your scone. 2-3mm of neoprene makes a huge difference, to the point that you can get too hot.

Sunday wasn't a good day to leave my booties at home...barefoot was hardcore.

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JonesySail said..
of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

cheaper to go OS

Always sail in winter, but lately it's been SUPSurfing. Haven't even broken out the booties yet

I do sail in vic winter , however I did knock back a sail to rebuild a deck

Anyone been to Aitutaki ? OMG !
It has to be the most beautiful place on earth !
I actually think they dye the water .
I could happily die there .

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MikeyS said..

mr love said..
Don't be soft, quite a bunch of us Mexicans sailing last Sunday, Max temp 12 deg, water temp 13.5. Now is when you get the big Westerlies or NW, makes you feel alive!

They are soft, aren't they Mr Love. Sub-10 degree air temp in 30 kts sure drops the wind chill reading.

Apart from booties, I reckon the most useful piece of kit for winter sailing is a hood. Especially if like me you don't have any remaining natural insulation on your scone. 2-3mm of neoprene makes a huge difference, to the point that you can get too hot.

+1.
Add a windcheater top over the wetsuit and you'll be looking forward to falling in.

I got a 3-2 steamer this year. Nice and cosy

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choco said..

JonesySail said..
of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

cheaper to go OS

How's that? Keen to know where I can get a winter tropical windy week away for less? this week , cost me about $1k accom and air , and with the variety of shore based activity's on offer day and night.
F&B there is everything from Back packer budget to 5 star , same also for Accom , yes the island is exy but 90% of crew stay in Cairns, so if there is a cheaper better winter destination I'm all ears, :)
ideally id like to stay longer for some of the other activities available also, it's such a winter paradise !

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choco said..

JonesySail said..
of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

cheaper to go OS

If all this catches on over here .... You'll just have to catch a train, or toughen up like Kato and sail at your local.

www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/flygskam-anti-flying-flight-shaming-sweden-greta-thornberg-environment-air-travel-train-brag-a8945196.html

www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332394-500-planning-to-carbon-offset-your-flight-you-should-read-this-first/

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elmo said..
Generally it's time constraints, knock of work at 1600 or later, dark by 1730
Which only leaves weekends for the planets to allign.

Then there's motivation of sailing 30+ down to zip in 5 mins and back again. Either blown of the water or waiting around to be.

In all honesty most of winter sailing is crap, you do get the occasional day where everything works, the storm sailing wave crew seem to be the best at it, personally I've had to many long swims when the wind drops out.

That said, I'm twitchin for my next sail, the foil has been a Godsend on those 10 knot days and it's nice to snag a good day on the slapper.

Half way through winter, Woo hoo

Yep. Me too. Generally finish work too late for after work sailing. Every oppurtunity i can on weekends though

I highly recommend it .
If you have light wind gear there are a lot of very nice days to enjoy in winter. If it's too windy for Botany you can try flat water speed sailing in Budgewoi or Primbee: need weed fins, but you can sail with freeride gear and wave sails for starting.

Yes of course, nothing booties and a good wetsuit can't solve.

The Windsurfers at Gosford sailing Club sail almost every Saturday of the year. Come join us anytime.

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Imax1 said..
Anyone been to Aitutaki ? OMG !
It has to be the most beautiful place on earth !
I actually think they dye the water .
I could happily die there .

One of my mates went there last year kiteboarding and loved it.
Its another flight.
We were in Raro last year for partners 50th in March and only light winds.
Tried to hire windsurf gear at Muri Lagoon to teach my teenage daughter but all gear broken.
Great paddle boarding and awesome snorkelling

Back before kids, Winter is hard core especially wave sailing in Taranaki with all the snow feed rivers.
I had to cut my arms to above elbow to avoid forearm pump so would were thermals under wetsuit.
Didn't like the feel of booties wave riding so your feet would feel likes slabs of meet walking across rocks.

Not so hardcore these days but if its sunny and consistent wind I will still get out for blast

In the Uk, some of the best days are during the winter months, solid clean winds not to be missed. These days, 4 to 6 degrees (plus wind chill) is as cold as I will go. Hail stone is not unusual. 5mm or 6mm fleece lined wetsuits, new hood, palm-less mitts, thick boots and a flask of coffee in the car are all mandatory. You feel a bit like the Michelin man with all the heavy duty stuff on, but it keeps you warm as long as you keep moving, and not stand around talking.

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choco said..
cheaper to go OS

+1
Cheap and way better

I started out in the North Sea off Aberdeen, Scotland. WA winters are not cold by comparison. But as mentioned above, the wind sucks in the winter here in WA especially as we are so spoilt in the summer. So I windsurf a bit but my attention generally switches to biking in the winter.

Hi Harrow, I generally get two sessions per month May - Aug in and around the South Coast NSW. Last August however was amazing with a number of moderate NE breezes that aligned nicely with weekends.

Winter northerlies in Melbourne are a thing of joy. Usually accompanied with some kind of sunshine and 20-30 knots. Can get up to 50 knots. Gusty but fun.

Gannets and dolphins often feed on schools of bait fish on the stronger days. It can be mayhem with the gannets diving down and the dolphins jumping up.

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515 said..

Imax1 said..
Anyone been to Aitutaki ? OMG !
It has to be the most beautiful place on earth !
I actually think they dye the water .
I could happily die there .

One of my mates went there last year kiteboarding and loved it.
Its another flight.
We were in Raro last year for partners 50th in March and only light winds.
Tried to hire windsurf gear at Muri Lagoon to teach my teenage daughter but all gear broken.
Great paddle boarding and awesome snorkelling

Back before kids, Winter is hard core especially wave sailing in Taranaki with all the snow feed rivers.
I had to cut my arms to above elbow to avoid forearm pump so would were thermals under wetsuit.
Didn't like the feel of booties wave riding so your feet would feel likes slabs of meet walking across rocks.

Not so hardcore these days but if its sunny and consistent wind I will still get out for blast

I've sailed a lot at muri lagoon ..took my own gear ..but worth it ..the locals use all captain Tama s gear and wreck it
,after talking to the locals they said May is the wildest month ,so the last 2 time i went in May i was not disappointed
sailed all the way down to fruits of Rarotonga and 20-25 knot everyday no wetsuit ,but I looked at Aitutaki ,but the plane would not take gear at that time ..
but yes IMax it is a amazing lagoon ..and worth dieing there for ..
this is me today ,iPhone shot ,our water was 19 ,so i guess that puts me in the soft cock zone ..i love july ...it blows all the time ..but cool ..

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Ian K said..

choco said..

JonesySail said..
of course, it's called travel and you don't even have to leave this country!

cheaper to go OS

If all this catches on over here .... You'll just have to catch a train, or toughen up like Kato and sail at your local.

www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/flygskam-anti-flying-flight-shaming-sweden-greta-thornberg-environment-air-travel-train-brag-a8945196.html

www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332394-500-planning-to-carbon-offset-your-flight-you-should-read-this-first/

Our train infrastructure is rubbish! For all the talk about people needing to use it more, its not built very well.

I hope its more efficient when run for freight, but I suspect our rail links between cities are only used by those that have some need to travel by train, or they have discounted tickets and want to use it as part of the experience.

Catching a train from Sydney to Melbourne would take ages, and you may get shuffled onto buses for part of the trip.

I don't think its going to catch on over here. We don't have enough desinations that are reachable via train or convenient.