Mylor, where I spent last winter, have asked me to make a small music video in praise of winter sailing and stick their link on the end
they gave me an £800 discount on last winter on their pontoons so it only seems fair enough
as you know I love winter sailing
Hanging mists, empty mooring fields, that feeling that eveything has been laid on just for you
any others aspects of winter sailing to add chaps?
Great photos Dylan and a cracking estuary the Fal, I enjoyed last winters posts from there especially those fishermen still using just sail to bring in the catch was mussels can’t quite remember! though Monday we hired a boat and explored the Helford River and that was rather nice too.
I sail a Tanzer 22 on a small lake in the Midwest US. I keep my boat in the water all winter. Sometimes it freezes solid, like 2013 and 2014, and sometimes I get to sail all year, like 2015. But in addition to the pleasure of a sail on Christmas or New Year’s Day if it happens to warm up briefly, I almost always have the lake to myself. Sometimes I go out when it is too cold for kitesurfing and blowing a gale and sail with double-reefed main and a tiny jib, and have a great time. But best of all is in the spring, when the ice starts breaking up and I sail through the edges of it. It sounds like I am sailing through chandeliers.
The pictures tell the story. One thousand words and all that. In this age we are ceaselessly bombarded with images that I tend to become a bit “underwhelmed” and indifferent. But just look at some of those images. Absolutely beautiful
Lovely. We keep the boat in all year too up here in Outer Hebrides . Been out on Christmas Day a few times – often a lovely day to sail.
Blowin a minor hoolie now though :-(
Winter sailing is when you know that you are the only one out there and indeed “that feeling that eveything has been laid on just for you” — a very special sensation indeed.
For many years I kept my bigger boats on our mooring through the winter for economic reasons – but sailed often if the sun was shining ;) It became a bit of a tradition to sail at full tilt through the local harbors, passing in front of the many yacht clubs on the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Such fun!
FWIW… the third picture in your lineup has a truly beautiful sky, but to me, the ‘essence’ emanating from the modern/service vessels seems to grate a bit.
Cheers, and thanks for the continiing stream of lovely, inspirational photos.
Tom
i once demolished a greenhouse with a rotovator, but that didn’t sound nearly as poetic
Winter sailing down by the Clyde on LilyM?
Or taking the KatieL to the Broads for the Winter? Maybe some canal exploring closer to home?
Do you have any concerns about osmosis keeping a grp boat in the water all the time? Now I belong to Cardiff Yacht Club I could keep Harlequin in the water all year if I wanted. probably not this winter as I want to replace the shrouds and backstay, do some minor alterations to the sink in the heads and put in a second battery. All of which is easier in the compound at Newport.
Also, how much time do you think you lose to bad weather in Scotland. The reason I ask is that I sailed from Bristol Channel to Hamble to Cherbourg, Sark and north Brittany this June/July with wonderful weather although not much wind. Next June/July I’m wondering about going north to Clyde or west to Dingle but the weather rather puts me off.
J
Well,. that’s scary! And funny!
A guy from England is saying the weather someplace else sucks.
I believe you, but it does make me fear Scotland.
So if I were to venture north next June, where would be the best/cheapest places to leave the boat for a fortnight/3 weeks at a time and have access to public transport to get home.
The pattern I’ve established this summer was three 12 day voyages giving 2 days for travelling to and fro the boat and 10 sailing on average 45 Nm a day although this has varied from 10 Nm to >100Nm. My wife’s “headland cake” a wonderful idea I nicked from you just lasts for one such trip as long as it is rationed to the most significant headland of the day. I then have between one week and 3 at home between voyages, dependent on home commitments/weather. Worked really well this summer.
I was thinking then one voyage to get to the Firth of Clyde via Wales and Isle of Man. Leave boat go home. Second voyage further west through Crinan, if I’ve crew for the canal. Leave boat and go home. Third voyage to Northern Ireland leave boat near Belfast. Fly home and then return for home run to Cardiff.
What do you think?
J
I have given notice to the Marina that I am pulling my boat out of the water in October. Last night I went for a sail after work and it was brilliant. So now I am debating on keeping her in the water for the whole year. Winter sailing in Puget Sound I just don’t know if I can force myself to go if it is raining.
peace, space, huge flocks of birds, wonderful low sunlight, a sense of adventure, a warm cosy pub at the end of the day. Cold hands wrapped round a mug of hot soup at lunchtime… We keep a Gull dinghy on the Norfolk Broads and have a bit of a tradition of sailing on Christmas day. 2014 was pure magic. There’s a very amateur video here if anyone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmS4DfzTGl4. 2015 rained hard which was not so good, but I think even the variable weather is part of the attraction. The feeling of having “cheated” a sail in a weather window, is great. Really looking forward to the video – keep up the great work. Could we get you in the honours list for “services to frustrated office workers who would rather be sailing”?