mdonnelly
Member
Havent been out sailing in nearly 2 weeks
We were big boat racing last Sunday. Stunning day, sunshine and wind followed by Guinness outside the yacht club. Who'd have thought it was December?
http://s853.photobucket.com/albums/ab96/fraser369/Black Adder/
Planning to be out sailing my "new" 420 next Thursday, before frostbite series starts on the 15th
First year of sailing all year round.
Tend not to use the 'big' boat much over the winter, but that's when the Wayfarer comes into its own.
Mind you, I'm sure that the sense of what constitutes 'favourable conditions' changes as the winter wears on. By the end of February we are climbing the walls and will happily go and bail snow out of the dinghy to go for a freezing drift on a day with no wind...
I'm afraid this seems to make very little sense to me! It's exactly now that a roof over my head, a hob to make tea and webasto heating are so valuable... drifting down river in an open wayfarer is very attractive in mid-June - I'm afraid the attraction is lost on me in mid-January!
Yes I suppose it is a bit counter-intuitive. But it boils down to what you use the boat for. With the big boat, we hardly ever go out for less than an overnight. At in winter there is too little daylight, and too much condensation, to make that an attractive proposition. The Wayfarer, on the other hand, is great for stealing a couple of hours balsting around on those rare winter days. It's a more intense experience perhaps? A couple of hours in the big boat is barely enough time to turn the engine off...
I look on it as a seasonal thing - winter is the time for sitting back thinking how best to improve xyz on the boat and working on that to make your boat that bit better for next year. Its not sailing but keeps me sane....
Hi Eboat126, is that you Liz? Used to do a lot of dinghy sailing/racing including Unicorn cat racing - great fun but I think my old bones are not as agile as they used to be! Mind you, when I was racing there were only wetsuits which were very uncomfortable, no drysuits.