Winter cold weather limits

[Paul H]

Will I be stupid going windsurfing in 5 celcius temperatures????
Whats the limit to winter windsurfing? I've got my O'Niell Evo 4/3
single lined neoprene wetsuit with underlying Niel Pryde ProtexSystem
vest with combined hood and 5mm boots and open palmed gloves. What
are people limits?

Paz

[Alan]

Sounds like you're going to be, pardon the pun, well suited for 5 degrees.
That's what I use at those temps; however, sunshine and water temps enter
into the equation too. If it's that cold and cloudy I usually skip it.

Alan

--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org

"Paul H" <paul....@tracegroup.com> wrote in message
news:3a1e680f.04010...@posting.google.com...

[Badger]

There was a similar thread sometime ago, which had some good tips too.

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=aua71q%24ik9%241%40venus.btinternet.com&rnum=12&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dgroup:rec.windsurfing%2Bauthor:badger%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26selm%3Daua71q%2524ik9%25241%2540venus.btinternet.com%26rnum%3D12

Badger

"Paul H" <paul....@tracegroup.com> wrote in message
news:3a1e680f.04010...@posting.google.com...

[Craig (gsogh) Goudie]

Ice

-Craig

Paul H wrote:

--
Craig (Go Short or Go Home!) Goudie
Sailing the high desert lakes of Utah on my:
RRD 298, Starboard 272 and Cross M 8'2" with
Sailworks/Naish Sails and Rec Composites Fins
Sailing the Gorge on my: 9'1" RRD Freeride,
8'3" Logosz Squish, 8'0" Hitech IBM with
Sailworks/Northwave Sails and Curtis Fins

[Ray Kuntz]

Paz,
There are no "people limits" you can sail till the water turns to ice
and then sail on that, as long as you maintain a tropical
microenvironment next to your skin. Though it can get lonely when you're
the only fool out there.
Ray, Hunting in 10deg F weather with -20deg F windchills and lovin it.

[Mike F]

I quit when the water hits about 45 degrees F because that's where my hands
quit working, and I need my hands working if anything needs fixing.
Everything else is comfortable much colder . . . in a complete dry suit.

Mike \m/

"Paul H" <paul....@tracegroup.com> wrote in message
news:3a1e680f.04010...@posting.google.com...

[David S.]

Mike is mostly right about 45 degree water temp although air temp can
play a roll as well if its really warm. For instance, 2 springs ago in
April in Madison Wis the water was ice a day earlier but that day it
had just melted so it was cold. The air though was 70 and it was
blowing 45 so about 30 of us could not pass thet up.
Believe it or not I didn't even wear gloves that day. If I had to
submerse my hands in it too long I just held them in the air for a few
seconds and they were warm again. I had some with me though just in
case.

"Mike F" <yeah....@dream.on.com> wrote in message news:<vvckl1h...@corp.supernews.com>...

[Mike F]

Then there's the other side of the coin. Our heated lake in New Mexico let
me sail barehanded and barefooted in sub-freezing air temps because the
water temp ranged from 70ish to 80+. I miss that, and the heated lake near
the Gorge is off limits to public use.

Mike \m/

"David S." <d.s...@att.net> wrote in message
news:c702d095.04010...@posting.google.com...

[Wolfgang Soergel]

Depends a bit on the further conditions. But for sheltered waters
(inland lakes are enclosed bay), winds in a managable range and normal
weather (i.e. no rainstorm) 5C air and water still liquid (temp doesn;t
really matter) is about the limit to comfort with the gear you
descrribe. On a sunny day 2 or 3 C may be OK, on other days, 6 or 7C may
feel cold. Liiting factor are mostly the hands.
When not used to sailing cold temps, make sure not to go out alone and
do short turns first. Warm up as soon as you feel cold or took prolonged
swims. But try out swimming at least once, to know whether your suit
isn't leaking and you actually can swim if it matters.
--
Wolfgang

[MTVNewsGuy]

I recently had very good experience sailing in 42 degrees air temperature (the
water was about 45) in a shallow bay...average depth 4 feet. I found that as
long as I could avoid getting my head dunked, that the cold was quite
manageable. I wore a 5.3 wetsuit, 2mm hood, high booties, and glacier gloves.

When I did take a headfirst spill, it was COLD on my face!<<

>>

Michael

[Ben Kaufman]

Isn't Leaking? It's a wetsuit.

No way would I do it without a drysuit.

Ben

[Steven Slaby]

>>Paul H wrote:
>>>
>>> Will I be stupid going windsurfing in 5 celcius temperatures????
>>> Whats the limit to winter windsurfing? I've got my O'Niell Evo 4/3
>>> single lined neoprene wetsuit with underlying Niel Pryde ProtexSystem
>>> vest with combined hood and 5mm boots and open palmed gloves. What
>>> are people limits?
>>

My personal "rule" is air fairly close to 0, although for the right
conditions I have gone out in -2 air. The water is not much of an issue, if
you have a very good drysuit. With a wetsuit/steamer I would be a little
concerned if the water temp was lower than 4-5 degrees.

Here are some pics from this seasons last session of the year before the
river froze over:

http://nicchap.com/~slaby/p47web/

The guy with the pink sail had on a steamer and after about 45 minutes he
was starting to shiver uncontrollably and I strongly suggested he pack it
in and warm himself up in his car as soon as possible.

The other pics are of me with a goretex drysuit. I was warm and toasty
when I finished except for a couple of toes that were cold (forgot the
fleece socks for my boots).

As others have suggested its more important to judge the conditions you go
out in (onshore the best) and whether you have enough clothes to be
able to swim back to shore if something were to break.

Steve.
--
----------------------------------------------
Ottawa Windsurfing http://ottawawindsurfing.ca

[Dan Weiss]

I used to sail New England into the low 20s F, as long as the sun was
shining. The salt water would freeze on the sail and for the first
few times I couldn't figure out why I was going so slow, until I
learned to kick off the ice.

At that time I wore a Ronny Rollover drysuit with a sweatshirt under
the thin neoprene top. Not modern, but warm enough. Hands are always
a problem, and dish gloves do nothing helpful at that temp.

I just got a new Bare drysuit complete with 3mm internal vest and a
removable fleece liner. Much warmer (5mm legs) than the old Ronny. I
am using Dakine Neomits that have a very thin rubber-coated palm -the
same material snowboarding half-pipe mits use. These are the best
hand coverings I've ever used for the cold. The closed palm really
helps, and the seems are glued and blindstiched, so they are
essentially a dry glove. I got both at The-House.com, who's employees
know a thing or two about winter sailing.

My only issue seems to be the challenge of staying warm when rigging.
The FW gear takes too long for comfort, and I look forward to getting
on small gear again soon.

-Dan

an...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Steven Slaby) wrote in message news:<btk37b$7bv$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca>...

[Mike F]

Extra-large snowmobile or similar farmer/mechanic suit -- Wall (Wahl?) &
Carhardt are two brands -- so you can jump into it harness and all.

Or Gore-Tex dry suit; they're much warmer on shore than neoprene.

Mike \m/

"Dan Weiss" <dwu...@bellsouth.net> wrote ...

> I used to sail New England into the low 20s F,
>

[Dan Weiss]

Thanks Mike. I have seen a lot of my friends wear these things during
the winter, but they also worked outside. I thought it was merely
that. I'll check it out; it will go with my cammo neoprene hat.

-Dan

"Mike F" <yeah....@dream.on.com> wrote in message news:<vvrpfsj...@corp.supernews.com>...

[Mike F]

While I've got you on the hook, I'll elaborate:
I buy the quilted bib overall rather than a full suit because I already own
a pile of coats and because a full one-piece suit gets AWFULLY warm. The bib
style is thus more versatile. Leg zippers make it a cinch to put it on over
footwear.

Mike \m/

"Dan Weiss" <dwu...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:2be0f7f8.04010...@posting.google.com...

[Steven Slaby]

Dan,

> My only issue seems to be the challenge of staying warm when rigging.
> The FW gear takes too long for comfort, and I look forward to getting
> on small gear again soon.

Have you tried putting on the suit at home before you leave ? When its
really cold I put on my drysuit at home and head out to the launch (10-15
minute drive) and rig up already fully dressed so I don't get cold while
rigging. At the end of the session I don't change until I get home again.

[Dan Weiss]

Hey Steve: Yes, that's the way I normally do it on the most cold
days. The act of riggin and tuning an FW sail can take a bit longer
than simply tossing in a 400 skinny wave mast. I bet I can rig an
entire 4.5 in the time it takes for me to merely downhaul my 11.0 (due
mostly to the big luff curve and use of the crank). That extra time
sitting in the cold sand often would leave me cold, and that's no way
to start a January session!

I'd think that having a van would solve this, so I could change
inside, although my old van came had no heat and came with holes in
the floor, so it didn't even block all the wind! A Carhart bib seems
cheap by comparision.

We'll see how it goes this weekend.

-Dan

an...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Steven Slaby) wrote in message news:<btmubu$i5s$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca>...

[Mike F]

Oh, yeah . . . I've taken a few gallons of hot tap water to the shore in a
cooler (in a zip-lock plastic bag so it won't slosh out), then unzipped the
bag and warmed up my hands and feet in the hot cooler. Many people claim
their hands and feet stay warm once warmed. (Mine don't stay warm, so when
it's that cold I'd rather catch up on the tasks I ignored the other 9 months
of each year.)

Mike \m/

"Dan Weiss" <dwu...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

news:2be0f7f8.0401...@posting.google.com...