Bad Laser days...

M

Martin_Cph

DEN 182275
I just had the worst sailing day ever…..yes I am looking for sympathy

I frostbite here in Denmark during weekends; water 2 deg C, air 0 deg C.,

Rigged and almost ready to go a friendly sailor offers to push me backwards out in the basin…only to end up in between the poles with you boom off and mainsheet everywhere….my rudder wasn’t down and I didn’t make it. Hmmm great start.

Well I made it to sea..only to realize that my new gloves (Mares diving gloves) were shite…at least for sailing (nice and warm for diversJ). There was no rubber or grip inside of the palm: so holding the sheet and the tiller was a nightmare.

Had a nice run but then everything just turned on me….I felt cold, felt “fat” and clumsy in my wetsuit hikers and drysuit…and the damn gloves…dropped the tiller and…Bang in the drink…I only just managed to get up in the boat again. The gloves had no grip on the dagger…like it had been varnished in Teflon or something. I spend excessive power on this maneuver.

Then same thing happened again. Only this time I also did a San Fransico roll and got even more tired….all together I capsized 5 times and was completely busted….so tired.

Hmmmpf!:(
 
Martin,

It sounds like congratulations are in order for making it back alive! Glad you did.
 
Yeah, frostbiting here got cancelled today. Air temperature in the mid 30s, water in the low 40s, wind 15 mph with gusts above 30. Supposed to get six inches of snow tonight. And this is in North Carolina. In March.

Still, the worst day sailing is still 10x better than the best day at work.
 
I got the Rooster winter sailing gloves, but I see Intensity has there own now, they
are probably good cause they got good stuff and great to work with. Of course
I don't know what cold is I am in M.B. South Carolina, Torrid I think we might get some of that weather.
 
Alysum said:
mate you're brave to go out sailing in such freezing conditions!
Click to expand...

Allow me to rephrase that…not brave… but fu..... stupid!

Yes… I have been thinking about this a lot the last 24 hours.

You use a lot of energy to stay warm in the cold waters…it quickly wears you down. Don’t think for a second that you have the same strength and agility as on warmer day only wearing your hikers and a top. I felt like a heavy whale in my drysuit and I was cooling off quickly from feet, hands and head/face. It makes your movements slow and clumsy.

The fact that I couldn’t grip on to the daggerboard, when in the water, really scared me. I couldn’t take my gloves off because of the freezing water…keep them on and I couldn’t use them functionally….shit!

No more frostbiting alone. Next time I will have one the boys in the RIB along for the ride and a new pair of gloves…..sailing gloves I might add.

Safety is KING.
 
Hypothermia is bad news, I didnt realize you were alone during all this...

I personally dont have the taste for frostbiting... Being cold is one of those things I cant see to get my mind off, so a cold day sailing just isn't in my interest.

All the same, the worst day sailing is as good as a good day at work.
 
Seatemps will get better...I found this from a local kayak-website.

http://www.rungstedkajak.dk/sikkerhed/vandtemp.html

I envy those of you who can sail all year round in nice and comfortable temperatures. No need for dry suits and the like….just sailing.

Mom and dad was stationed in Australia for a year, when is was a teen (a few years ago now). I rememebr my time in Narabeen and Narabeen Beach, just north of Sydney, …damn I miss that "aussie-klimate". You guys are so lucky...but be carefull with the sun!
 
There's a few of us in the area that my wife refers to as "dumb-f****s" that sail all winter. We've had some temps similar to what you are talking about, but fortunately now we are now sailing in a more balmy 8 degrees Celsius. I have some 3mm paddling gloves that have a good rubber palm. Fingers still get cold at 2 degrees, but it's bearable and the control is always there. If you don't mind mail order from Canada, you can find them at http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302700461&bmUID=1236029446569 for $16 CAD (about $13 USD)
 
Fleet 413 in Newport RI made the brave (ill advised?) decision to get some sailing in this past Sunday, low 30s air temp, Northerly with low to mid 20 knot windspeeds and a good bit of freezing spray off the bay for good measure. Upwind was a bear but the rides downwind were fantastic once the boat was pointed in the right direction. Everyone got a lot of good practice walking over, the gybe mark was a hairy place to be, and if you went swimming more than two or three times you needed to be pointed at the launch ramp to haul your boat.

It's really important to realize early on when you've had enough swimming, as it saps your energy very quickly. At the end of the last race I dug the bow in hard after the gybe mark, promptly capsized and got tossed in. It was quite a struggle to get the boat righted and running without capsizing a few more times for good measure, and fortunately we were headed to the boat ramp at that point.
 
Glad to hear everything is OK. I finally told myself after a couple bad experiences that I need to know when to call it.

We had our last day of frostbite sailing two Sunday's ago. Air temperature was in the low 30 F water temps were in the low 40 F and the wind was blowing 22 gusting to 35. Seeing as I'm relatively new to laser sailing and at 135 lbs heavy air day's aren't my strength, I decided to not sail.

I was a VERY tough call to make, but thinking more about it I am sure that it was the right thing to do. Before I new any better I would go out no matter what, then I had that one day, like you I'm sure, heavy air, the air/water temps were FREEZING and after about a half dozens rolls I started to really panic. I got so tired and drained that when I finally made it back to the beach, I was truly relieved. These little boats can be quite scary sometime if you don't know what your getting yourself into. Sail safe!
 
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