Frostbitting

G

Goonie

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Being the summer sailor that I am, I have never sailed in any other months other that July, August. What is frostbitting? Whats involved?

Seth
 
[quote:99ed8b9d68="Goonie"]Being the summer sailor that I am, I have never sailed in any other months other that July, August. What is frostbitting? Whats involved?

Seth[/quote:99ed8b9d68]

Starts the middle of October until the middle of December; then starts up again in March until the beginning of May. Or, Like some of us just sail all year round, and ask people what frostbiting is. Ceder Point YC in Conn. has between 40 and 50 lasers frosbiting per session with laser seminars at various dates throughout......matter of fact they just had one I think.

It involves a Drysuit + gloves + boots + facemask. Or for the more daring customer a farmer Jon and North Face polor fleece.

Is the air cold....yes. Is the water cold...... oh yes..!! Is it fun.......the best time of you life. :D :D
 
Since I have never needed a drysuit, I would not know the answer to this question. If you fall in, is the water able to get in at the ankles and wrist?

Seth
 
I live in the south, so I have never actually used one, but they are sealed at the ancles and rist an neck to prevent leakage unlike the wetsuit which does leak.
 
ummm...k

hah! you live in georgia. what's the weather like there? 70? 75? i'll tell yah that here in district 7 we're expecting snow tonight. i'd perfer to use a mustang survival suit if i were going out soon!
 
Bitter Cold Strikes the South East

Right now we have been having a cold spell. Its 7:08 pm eastern time and it is already only 65 degrees. It is freezing out side. haha
 
I think it is funny when I hear some one say that 75 is hot and 50% humidity is a lot. It is ususally 90 degrees in the summer with 90% or greater humidity. THat is not very pleasant unless you are in the water.
 
Lets go frostbiting down here. It still gets really cold, the water gets about 60 degrees around christmas time.

People are always making fun of southern people
 
[quote:8672ad5397="Goonie"]Since I have never needed a drysuit, I would not know the answer to this question. If you fall in, is the water able to get in at the ankles and wrist?

Seth[/quote:8672ad5397]

Depends on weather you have a nice one or not. Most should not but some do....it also acts as a wet suite trapping the warmth in as well so if water does leak in it will warm up to bady temp quickly. Many have drainage systems. I used to surf all year round when I was a kid.

We didn't use no stinken wet siuts then.....as long as you didn;t have any cuts on your body your drysiut was working great. 8) :D :D :lol:
 
how would a drainage system work? wouldn't that defeat the purpose of being watertight? cus i must say, a drainage system sounds pretty good after the number of nasty stories ive heard about long days of sailing in drysuits... yuck.

kendall
 
Not sure how it works; I've never had one. There are manual release valve options that let you do just that. Anything that has a finite amount of restriction will eventually leak to some degree so the term "drysuite" is really inacurate as it relates to the type of siutes that are seen in the retail shops. A real "drysuite" would have to be sealed with full boots and gloves not one piece add-on's, as well as headpiece, like a deepdiver.

The suites that [u:d66caf79f7]we[/u:d66caf79f7] recognize as "drysuites" are designed to keep the majority of the water / elements out but if submerged for a period of time water will leak in around the extremities, also there is an amount of condensation that occures, hense the need for a drainage.

I guess maybe I'm over analyzing a bit. :) sorry.
 
ummm...k

ok, ok, now i'm starting to realize how rediculas that sounds considering i'm shivering just looking out the window.
 
Here's the scoop on frostbiting...

Most folks wear drysuits. These have latex cuffs at the neck and wrist. Most have booties. With proper fit, no water should get into the suit. There is no "drainage" system I've ever seen (at least, not an intentional one). A wicking layer and an insulation layer are generally needed. The cheapo Gill is just fine, but a breathable one is reportedly MUCH better (Henri-Lloyd gets raves).

Many folks wear various types of wetsuits.

Up until this past weekend, I was wearing my shortie, hiking pants, spray top, and some C-skin/SEA undergarments (think insulated rashies). The air temperatures were low '60s with water in the '50s. This weekend I wore a steamer (4mm?), spray top, and hiking pants. I was VERY comfortable with a high of 42 and water again in the '50s.

Hands, feet, and head are the tough parts to keep warm. A good hat helps most of all. Maintaining circulation to fingers/toes is key to those areas. I wear some NRS hydroskin socks with my Aigles. This works really well. I tried out some new Magic Marine gloves, which are warm and seal with the wetsuit, but need some sanding as the grip areas were quite slippery.

Brian 158689
 
Originally posted by laser158689
Here's the scoop on frostbiting...

Most folks wear drysuits. These have latex cuffs at the neck and wrist. Most have booties. With proper fit, no water should get into the suit. There is no "drainage" system I've ever seen (at least, not an intentional one). A wicking layer and an insulation layer are generally needed. The cheapo Gill is just fine, but a breathable one is reportedly MUCH better (Henri-Lloyd gets raves).

Many folks wear various types of wetsuits.

Up until this past weekend, I was wearing my shortie, hiking pants, spray top, and some C-skin/SEA undergarments (think insulated rashies). The air temperatures were low '60s with water in the '50s. This weekend I wore a steamer (4mm?), spray top, and hiking pants. I was VERY comfortable with a high of 42 and water again in the '50s.

Hands, feet, and head are the tough parts to keep warm. A good hat helps most of all. Maintaining circulation to fingers/toes is key to those areas. I wear some NRS hydroskin socks with my Aigles. This works really well. I tried out some new Magic Marine gloves, which are warm and seal with the wetsuit, but need some sanding as the grip areas were quite slippery.

Brian 158689


Bri,

Excellant response........where do you recommend getting the equipment.?

Thanx
 
I went forstbiting today (in the UK - about 6ºC) in a shorty wetsuit. We are at the same latitude as you guys in Canada.....
 
Except you have the gulf stream or something that keeps you warmer than us...
 
yeah, if the Gulf Stream did not flow so close to England, England would be covered in snow. why else do you think it rains all the time? That would be snow.
 
Exactly. Air temperatures recently have been touching down to freezing but mainly about 5ºC above. I wear a shortie wetsuit over thermal base layer (thermal t-shirt + thermal trousers) with spray top, hiking shorts, thin fleece and bouyancy aid on top. I also wear dinghy boots and gloves. I find that combination allows me to move easily - dry suits in lasers are cumbersome - while keeping me warm.
 
Bouyancy aid? [laughs] HAHA I'm sorry, I know I should not make fun of the way others talk. I'm guessing that means life jacket or PFD?
 
In the EU (Euopean Union) the advertising laws say that such floatation things have to be either "Life Jackets" or "Bouyancy Aids" so in the UK, "PFDs" are known as bouyancy aids.
 
Frostbite Georgia

Hey Bradley, what part of Georgia do you live in? If you're anywhere around Atlanta then Lake Lanier Yacht Club has a frostbite series. Yeah, I know, it will probably never even be cold enough to ever need a drysuit, but we call it frostbite anyway.
 
I am down in South GA. Tomorrow we are calling for a high of 66-70 degrees. Not quite frostbiting weather down here. Haha.
 
are you kidding me-that's crazy

...i live in atlanta and we don't go out unless it is above 36 degrees

last week it was about forty and everybody was complaining about it
 
Hell I'm not scared of the wind chill and the external temp....I afraid of the water temp.....

Hypothermia Sucks. :)
 

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