What hat do you wear for sailing?

bobgarrett said:
I have a real problem with hats for sailing, both in summer and winter.

Baseball caps make a leap for freedom when I look up at the sail trim and the wind gets under their peak. Having a cord on them means they don't go overboard but then hang down my back where I cannot reach them to put back on without letting go of the wheel. And they don't shade the ears.
Floppy hats I am told make me look like the village (Ocean Village?) idiot?
Tilly style hats look better (I am told) but unless they have a chin strap or cord have the same problem as baseball caps. And the chin strap brings back the village idiot accusation.
Breton caps behave like baseball caps.
Beanie hats slide up my head (shiny top!) and leap off.
Wooly/fleece hats are too hot in summer.

So what do others wear and suggest?
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I wear a legionnaires type of cap with shock cord chin strap. I must not catch too much sun, so I wear one like this that cover my ears and neck and use zinc oxide paste of front of face:

http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/adjustable-anti-mosquito-legionnaire-cap-p14075.aspx?cl=Beige

My cap was much cheaper than the example above however.
 
My sailing hat is black canvas and about 12 feet by 16 feet, supported above my head with stainless steel bars - you might know it as a bimini. I do have an elderly Gill baseball cap that I wear when off the boat around the marina, but never sailing.
 
Summer:
Either ball cap or brimmed hat. Between gimme's and finds, I haven't bought a ball cap... ever. And I've lost aplenty.

Winter:
Rainy and not too much wind--Goretex Seattle Sombreo by OR. The ultimate rain hat.
Rainy and lotsa wind--Neoprene beanie. Keeps the hair (what little there is) dry, nothing can blow in, and it can't blow off. Ocean Rodeo. Perfect visibility. Often a hood over it, often not. I'm probably wearing a dry suit, so the neck does not matter.
Cold. Thin balacava with fleece cap over it. Ski googles really help too. No hood.
 
Sailingsaves said:
I wear a legionnaires type of cap with shock cord chin strap. I must not catch too much sun, so I wear one like this that cover my ears and neck and use zinc oxide paste of front of face:

http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/adjustable-anti-mosquito-legionnaire-cap-p14075.aspx?cl=Beige

My cap was much cheaper than the example above however.
Click to expand...

I am relieved to know such things exist in this day and age. As kids we wore legionnaire style hats in summer (cheap thin white cotton ones), but I've never seen anyone wearing one since, except in old films featuring characters in the French Foreign Legion.

I think I'll buy one of those for old time's sake, to add to the varied collection of hats I take sailing (and for most other pursuits).
 
bobgarrett said:
I have a real problem with hats for sailing, both in summer and winter.

Baseball caps make a leap for freedom when I look up at the sail trim and the wind gets under their peak. Having a cord on them means they don't go overboard but then hang down my back where I cannot reach them to put back on without letting go of the wheel. And they don't shade the ears.
Floppy hats I am told make me look like the village (Ocean Village?) idiot?
Tilly style hats look better (I am told) but unless they have a chin strap or cord have the same problem as baseball caps. And the chin strap brings back the village idiot accusation.
Breton caps behave like baseball caps.
Beanie hats slide up my head (shiny top!) and leap off.
Wooly/fleece hats are too hot in summer.

So what do others wear and suggest?
Click to expand...

Shorts, t-shirt, baseball cap and sun glasses.that's it
 
Gwylan said:
Musto 'baseball' style with a built in line and clip that attaches to the collar of my jacket or fleece. Lose about 1 per season - but the outlet is near.
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Likewise. Got three in fact, one half decent one, one that's been worn for sanding, painting, varnishing etc. and one that's waterproof
 
Musto baseball cap with little strap thingy to fasten to shirt in summer. Beanie in winter. Never lost one yet.

Who cares what you look like. I can honestly say that issue never enters my thoughts.
 
EXCELLENT hat

That looks like a brilliantly designed hat and at a reasonable cost (for those that need to keep out of the sun lest more bits have to be chopped off / cut out owing to the UV A and UV B)

William_H said:
My main concern is UV sun protection. I detest plastering with sun screen so wear one of these.
https://www.cancercouncilshop.org.au/shop_hats/shop_hats_adults1/kalahari-frill-neck-hat
Looks like a real bandit but with added velcro at the front to pull it under my chin, sun glasses, long trousers and shirt I am pretty much covered up. I just don't sail if it is cold or wet olewill
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Re: EXCELLENT hat

There's a fellow at the club who just had a big chunk of his lower lip removed for cancer. That will scare the crap out of you. He always wore a baseball cap. Now he wears a Tilly style with extra wide brim. Keep in mind the purpose of a hat: to stop you from getting cancer. I look at people with baseball caps and think they are protecting their eyes and nothing more. What we really need is a Rum or a Beer company to come out with a Tilly style hat. That would catch on really quickly.
 
Re: EXCELLENT hat

I don't think a hat alone can be relied on for UV protection, though it helps a lot. I don't use much UV stuff other than a lip salve, but those more exposed and younger should certainly.

I held off from buying a Tilley because my wife always laughed at me when I tried one on, but this year I bought a good substitute from Millets. I also have a Musto cap, a woolly hat, and for maximum comfort in the heat, a cheapo floppy sun hat which my wife hates and I persist in calling my smart hat.
 
Re: EXCELLENT hat

Foolish Muse said:
There's a fellow at the club who just had a big chunk of his lower lip removed for cancer. That will scare the crap out of you. He always wore a baseball cap. Now he wears a Tilly style with extra wide brim. Keep in mind the purpose of a hat: to stop you from getting cancer. I look at people with baseball caps and think they are protecting their eyes and nothing more. What we really need is a Rum or a Beer company to come out with a Tilly style hat. That would catch on really quickly.
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It's highly unlikely that a lower lip cancer would have the least connection with wearing a particular brand or style of hat, please stop making things up to justify your personal fashion choices.

In answer to the question, I have a Tilly hat (and have had for more than a decade), but more often wear a baseball style cap in summer, as I find the brim of the Tilly can obstruct vision and a Lowe Alpine in winter. I dislike hoods so tend to avoid their use except in extremis.
 
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Re: EXCELLENT hat

Elecglitch said:
It's highly unlikely that a lower lip cancer would have the least connection with wearing a particular brand or style of hat, please stop making things up to justify your personal fashion choices.

In answer to the question, I have a Tilly hat (and have had for more than a decade), but more often wear a baseball style cap in summer, as I find the brim of the Tilly can obstruct vision and a Lowe Alpine in winter. I dislike hoods so tend to avoid their use except in extremis.
Click to expand...
I think you are mistaken in thinking that a suitable hat won't help prevent cancer of the lip, though, as I said, it will not be enough in itself. I myself have a number of solar keratoses over my scalp, face and ears, and although I don't expect them to turn malignant, when multiplied over large numbers of sailors, preventing them from occurring is an important factor in the choice of headgear. In my youth, I did a lot of sailing and skiing with rather little cover, and if young people are covering up sensibly while pandering to their desire to be in fashion, I am all in favour.
 
In summer rain I get strange looks, Others are in foul weather gear, I wear swimming trunks. Why get clothes wet.
 
It all depends whether I am posing-then its the Island Packet baseball cap or the Sint Maarten Yacht Club sun hat.

If I need to keep dry its a breathable beanie under the hood, or just the hood.

Now we have a sailing boat with a huge pilothouse it is all a bit irelevant really-except for the posing...........................
 
Tilly (blue). Must be 20+ years old by now. Should have sent it back for replacement before now but couldn't bear to be parted so it has been (rather badly) repaired several times. I hope it will see me out.
 
Maybe I haven't found the right model or style Tilley hat. I like them and wear one on land but every one I've tried doesn't work on a boat because the brim is too floppy. Look into the wind and the brim either blows up so the sun is in your eyes or it blows down over your eyes and you can't see.

I wear whatever hat I can find that has a wide, stiff brim and will hold up in a breeze.
 
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