Largs Sail Training Association

Many cadets and newcomers to sailing think that the sailing must end as the Summer does, and the temperatures begin to drop, but when you know a few tricks of the trade, you can sail all year round without losing fingers and toes to frostbite.

When sailing in cooler weather, there are two aspects to keeping warm. Cold hands and feet will quickly take your mind off sailing and demoralise you, meaning next time all you will be able to think about is the cold. Then there’s your core temperature which takes a bit longer to fall but once it’s down will lead to the same feelings.

Keeping warm needs a bit of careful planning, particularly if you need to get wet to launch or if you might capsize. Fingers and toes are best protected by gloves and wet boots with socks inside. The gloves can be almost any type, they don’t need to be waterproof and the top sailors tend to wear rubber palmed mesh gloves in preference to waterproof gloves, trading off a bit of warmth for control. Liners are also available if you need better insulation. Neoprene socks are available but ordinary socks seem to be at least as good, and if you still have cold feet, add another pair of socks, but not too many as this can restrict circulation making your feet colder rather than warmer.

Keeping your core warm is also essential to enjoying cold weather sailing, as keeping the body up to temperature makes it easier to keep the extremities warm. The secret to keeping the core warm is layers, and particularly layers that don’t hold much water. This means synthetics are better than cotton or wool. A wetsuit can also be useful, as can a drysuit. Drysuits keep you warmest and wetsuits provide better mobility at lower cost.

Thin synthetic fleeces are a great addition to your sailing gear. Specialised layers such as race skins and hot tops can improve mobility and comfort and are preferred by the top sailors. The loss of warmth is made up for by the fact that racers tend to be working harder. Add a spray top to keep the wind off and a synthetic or waterproof hat and warmth just becomes a matter of adding layers as the temperature drops.

Race squad sailors tend to dress a bit like this

Race skins over a synthetic top, hiking shorts over that with maybe a fleece or two and a spray top and buoyancy aid over the top. With wet boots with socks inside to keep the feet warm and mesh hi grip gloves on the hands. Add a stylish hat to top it off and they happily and warmly sail through the depths of winter.

If you still need help choosing kit, we have two excellent resources in Largs Chandlers who have a great deal of experience and can help you with the balance of cost and performance, and of course our coaches and race team cadets who are always happy to give a bit of advice.

The LSTA runs training all year – get your kit right and go out and enjoy it.