Snow on the beaches, its not unheard of of in Tasmania, I remember back in 1989 when I was living in Hobart......zzzzzzzz..(insert sounds of old bastard having afternoon nap)

that looked soooooooooooo cold out there

Al, met Lars Peterson from Denmark up at Marrawah last year and asked him if he sailed through the winter. They could sail most of the year with temperatures well below zero and sailing in the snow wasn't a problem however when the water froze the issue was submerged ice so when that occurred they pulled out. He said joking, the ice you hit and sent you into a catapult wasn't the problem, it was the second piece of ice that hurts. Those bastards are tough

14 degrees used to be the yardstick, I wouldn’t head to the coast on any day that wasn’t forecast to reach at least fourteen degrees. That would mean missing a few summer days in Hobart I guess.

The last few years I just go regardless, if I have the spare time though I don’t like sailing in the rain or sleet and it's preferable if the sun comes out at least once during the sail or when I am de-rigging.

My impression is that winter isn’t as cold as it used to be, and I have had done some wavesailing in mid July when it hasn’t seemed cold at all.

There is no doubt that the Euro’s are much more willing to sail in super cold conditions than most Aussies.

The really tough thing about winter sailing is the unpredictability of the forecast and the speed at which conditions can change. There is a little bit of extra adrenaline when you rig and head out by your self in the cold conditions and I am a always a little more cautious though my ideas of what is crazy have been reset by seeing photos of John sailing BOL solo in the middle of winter.