winter sailing

PabloPicasso

PabloPicasso

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I have almost 100% decided to keep my boat afloat this winter. I sail, mainly, with my wife and my two young children. Can anyone who has sailed from this time of year onwards shed any light on how to ensure the kids enjoy the sailing too?
 
Gameboy? lots of batteries, Going somewhere they can run through the trees collecting conkers, followed by lunch or dinner in a pub with a roaring fire, hot water bottles and mugs of hot chocolate onboard. Dont forget the water is a good place to view the firework displays coming up.

Places like Yarmouth have Christmas fairs, carol singing, toffee apples and mulled wine for the adults.

I love my winter sailing.
 
Not sure where you sail, but our simple rules for enjoyable winter sailing are
- NEVER preplan a fixed voyage too far ahead - this risks trying to go too far or the wrong direction in cold and windy weather
- we watch the weather forecasts, leave final decision till Friday night and go sailing the sunny and gentle wind weekends (we rarely use the reefs in winter - loads of sunny light wind days if you have patience)
- consider day sailing to get he best from the weather
- even consider B&B in extremis - we had a great weekend away in pure blue skies, but forecast minus 8c overnight, so stayed overnight ashore for £40
- get the right "tech" gear - eg i find Gill base layer t-shirts, Berghaus windstopper fleece and the lined Craghopper trousers keep very warm. As sailing in calm dry weather very rarely used oilskins even in February

I take a bit further and change to old sails and strip out some of the interior cushions for the worst of winter (not for the days we are sailing, but the days when we are not at the boat due to adverse weather).

But go for it. We have had some of the best sailing from October to March, with sunshine and very quiet. Tend to anchor less overnight though because of the very long dark nights.
 
Out of 'season' we've found the condensation aboard to be a noticeable problem- perhaps adequate insulation and heating will deal with that.

We've had the yacht afloat through the winter once but found we were only doing little day sails, so the plan from now on is to lift out and to just use the Wayfarer over the winter. Nothing better than a crisp blue sky, a chilly F2, the whole sea to yourself, and of course a flask of Oxo.
 
Sounds obvious, but WARM TECHNICAL CLOTHES! I sail all year round and love it in the winter, but used to have a problem with freezing face in below freezing temps. Last year I bought a ski mask and it made a huge difference. Gloves are very important also -- I use snowmobile gloves.

I have central heating, but of insufficient capacity to keep cabin temps much above 10 if the temperature outside is below freezing. Down sleeping bags are great for that!

When the temperature is near or below freezing, the air is noticeably heavier, and it is just magic to sail in a 10 - 12 knot breeze, which might have hardly gotten your boat going in the summer. The water seems more viscous; makes it calmer somehow. Magical!

Don't go overboard!
 
PabloPicasso said:
I have almost 100% decided to keep my boat afloat this winter. I sail, mainly, with my wife and my two young children. Can anyone who has sailed from this time of year onwards shed any light on how to ensure the kids enjoy the sailing too?
Click to expand...

You will struggle. I sail every winter but racing only - its too cold and gets dark too early to do any serious cruising in the UK. But a 3 hour race is a different matter and the wind is often better with fewer gales than in summer. An 8 hour cruise - no way.

For me the key is clothing. I use a two piece immersion suit since the foam buoyancy keeps me warm. Wooly beany, and gloves. My only problem is footwear in part because I refuse to pay silly money for leather boots.

Your other problem with cruising will be to give the crew enough physical activity to keep them warm. Its easy to keep my racing crew sweating away.:D
 
Winter sailing.

Am totally bemused by the "essentials" advice posted by our learned Forumites - central heating, kiddies technical clothing, rules for passage making, B&B accommodation etc etc..... tosh mefinks:)!!!
A nation of wimp children may be growing up to be even wimpier adults.....!
None of that was necessary (or affordable) for my small crew.
If the kids enjoy life onboard your little ship then the season is irrelevant. Cold is actually not usually a problem with kids, they are remarkably robust and you may well fiind them far more hardy than your senior partner! Don't get them cold and wet for too long - does anyone like that combination - and they can have just as much fun winter or summer.
Treat your ship as a seaside caravan - you will most probably be time limited and only able to go to the boat on certain days due to work/school etc so you have to go with the weather you get - if it is rubbish weather then use the boat as a base from which to take them off on local nature expeditions - the foreshore, beach pools, harbours for crabbing and exploring, clifftop walks etc provide real enjoyment for all ages and then you might fancy Sealife Centres, Butterfly Farms, Sports Centres or whatever is in the built environement. Feed em well and get them snuggled in to your little ship at dusk where you might have the Gameboy, Netbook, I Pad etc or dare I say it -some books- heaven forbid! (That is after you have shown them some planets, shooting stars, constellations etc if it is a clear winter's night.) And when the precious winter sun does appear - make the most of it - fantastic sunrises/sunsets, icy foggy mornings in beautiful rivers or anchorages, abundant wildlfife, steady sailing breezes - less crowds when you do want to go into marinas - kids can appreciate these just as much as adults. So I hugely recommend sailing throughout the year - and once your kids grow up you will all look back and cherish the seatime spent together - irrespective of the season.

Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5
 
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