Brrrrrrr…..

Well, what am I supposed to do now? All was going well this week. And then the f*ckin’ Ed stole my post yesterday when he put up that picture of the Laser frostbiter (see below) nosing through the slush. That’s my local Laser association, for god’s sake. And the Ed? He lives in San Diego, and probably thinks it’s frostbiting if he has to put long pants on. Bastard.

Well, you know I’m too lazy to think up an entirely new post. And just one pic and a link does not do the true wetassedness of sailing that wintry day justice. So let me just say that these folks are, umm, crazy, I mean hardcore. They are out there every Sunday, racing beneath the landing pattern at Reagan National Airport (I’ve heard it’s key to know whether the jet engine vortex will be a righty or a lefty when it hits the water…). And nothing stops them. So they develop some interesting knowledge about the art of turning a Laser into an ice, or, slush-breaker. For example, here’s winner Bob Bear’s (he now goes by the moniker “Slush Cutter”) very useful keys to sailing in frozen water:

1. *_Pinching is death_*. Sail at least 10 to 15 degrees lower than you normally would when working to windward.

2. *_Tack as little as possible_*. When cutting through slush you rarely have sufficient momentum. It rarely pays to tack on lifts and headers. Find a patch of clear water or at least thinner slush to make the few tacks that you must.

3. *_Use any clear water you find_. *Here and there I found small channels of clear water through the slush. Use them as much as possible. Also, try to use any pathway that you or the competition have previously cut through the slush.

4. *_Current is your friend_*. Even if the current is running against you, it clears or at least thins out the slush layer.

5. *_Watch out for thick slush floes_*. Particularly if you are racing "by the rules" sailing into a thick slush floe will knock you out of the race if you cannot rock and pump your way through.

Slush sailing. I love it. And since the Ed already posted a picture of this particular frigid outing, here are some other classic frostbite pics…

“I can’t believe no one else is out today…”	“Sh*t. I’m still getting ice down my neck…”
“Oh-oh. Bob Bear didn’t say anything about how to deal with this…”

And, finally now that you are really shivering, check out this video of one very determined winter windsurfer .

Have A Wetass Weekend,

Tim Zimmermann