I'm curious about the water temperature in Florida. Can you guys sail in the winter? What attire is needed for winter sailing? Spring and fall?

I get the feeling you guys are really spoiled down there. I envy you.

I live on the bay of lake Michigan in northern MI. We can catamaran with shorts from mid July to about early September. Pretty small window for a cat junkie.

I was really tempted to load my cat up and haul down to southern FL in Jan. Where would I go? Can I camp? Are the keys an option? Does a group of cat enthusiast do this in the winter?

I had even thought of putting an ad in Craigs list to meet some hottie that may jump at the chance to sail with me and be helped out with the bills in exchange for putting me up for 4-6 weeks...... No? OK, maybe not so hot then.

Formerly etrader, just changed my user name to spray in the face.

Looking back through my photos, we start in March with 3/2 wetsuits. From June to September just swimsuits. Back to wetsuits till the end of November. This is for the Florida panhandle, Panama city Beach to Pensacola.
We did Steeple Chase in Key Largo this year, middle of December, in 3/2 wetsuits and did not get cold.

We will be sailing at Pensacola Beach April 16th to the 19th.



edited by: skarr1, Apr 07, 2009 - 09:26 PM

some of us sail year round in clearwater (tampa area). some people wear wet suits.. but i never have. i sail a fleece jacket with spray gear on top and a wool cap.

i purchased fleece bottoms this year but never wore them.

the only thing that gets cold (when i have my gear on) is my fingers (when wet) and i now carry several pairs of gloves to have a dry set.

We do camp here... but you can not do it for extended periods of time.. the biggest problem is car/traler parking. you could go to a local boat ramp and get a pass but that would probably cost an out of town-er.

Muskegon Lake, MI .... I start in mid-May and stop first week in Nov. As with andrewscott, I wear fleece or a thin wet suit under spray jacket and pants. Got them from NRS (kayaking clothes). Neoprene boots from Murray's. Neoprene gloves from NRS. North Face fleece skull hat, or neoprene kayaking hat from NRS. I sail Muskegon Lake early and late in the season because the water is warmer. But nothing beats the big lake for true catamaraning thrills.

You mean ya'll don't sail all year round? Man.. sounds like change in latitude is calling.

--
Craig Van Eaton
West Palm Beach
Supercat 20
www.teamcyberspeed.com
www.sailseries.com
--

i live in fort walton beach florida there is a very good area to sail in the bay also if you are thinking of staying long term you might want to think about joing a local yact club

as for the weather here it is mostly warm during the spring/summer/fall months but a wetsuit is a good idea for the winter

winds are usualy around 5-15 mph good large area to sail in
there are many races for the well rounded sailor here
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