Photography by Scott Williamson
It’s cold outside. Most people are hunkered around the fireplace on Sunday afternoons reading the papers or watching a football game. Some adventurous souls might take a brisk walk to get some fresh air. For a few hundred hardy sailors racing on the Severn River when the weather is frigid, frostbite racing is the preferred activity. The Annapolis Yacht Club, like many sailing organizations around the country, hosts frostbite racing every Sunday throughout the winter months.
The theory is that frigid winds sharpen the senses. The reward is a sense of accomplishment. During the winter months harbors are open and free of anchored or moored vessels. Disturbing power boat wakes are rare. Sailors enjoy this time of year because they have the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay to themselves.
As mentioned, frostbite sailing is popular for the racing zealot while bundled up passersby look sideways at the people on the water. They likely wonder, why do they go out there? Annapolis is a sailing town with three noted yacht clubs along with the U.S. Naval Academy providing competitive events year around. A fleet of ILCA dinghies, (formerly known as Lasers), are on the water regardless of the weather forecast. These sailors, of all ages, are the hardiest of the hardy.
Race committees make safety a high priority for frostbite sailors. The biggest danger is falling into the freezing water. Every sailor is required to wear a lifejacket. The Annapolis Yacht Club also requires every boat to race with three or more crew members. Adding to the list of safety protocol, sailors are required to stay in the cockpit and not venture on to the foredeck. Officials on patrol craft keep a close eye on every boat. Wearing the proper clothing makes frostbiting tolerable. If you keep your feet, hands, and head warm and dry, frostbite sailing is comfortable. I like to wear disposable heating pads in my boots and gloves. Once you are on the water and working to steer, trim the sails, or grind the winches, the physical activity keeps the sailors warm.
Photography by Scott Williamson
Hypothermia is a serious issue. People do not survive for long in frigid water. If someone goes over the side, it is essential to pull them out immediately.
The water looks different in the winter because the sun is low in the sky and shadows from the shore mask the shades of the ripples on the water. The trees are bare of leaves allowing wind to blow across the racecourse unimpeded by the trees. I find it easier to read the wind on the water without confused waves crossing the racecourse created from speedy power boats.
Normally, sailors spend most of the day on the water but in the winter, the Annapolis Yacht Club conducts one race that takes about 45 minutes, and then every competitor returns to shore for lunch and hot drinks before heading back out for a second race. I’m amazed how quickly sailors recover from the cold. The break is a good time for socializing, discussing strategy, and catching up on football scores. Soon the fleet heads back out to the racecourse. I think the sailors are more competitive during the second race because the leaders get back to shore early and can be the first to haul their boats out of the water and put them away for the week.
Photography by Scott Williamson
Other than getting fresh air, frostbite racing keeps sailors sharp for the upcoming summer season. A few years ago, the ILCA (Laser) fleet was in the middle of a race when a cold front approached the fleet from the northwest. There were fifty boats on the water as the wind suddenly built to well over 40 knots (miles per hour). Most of the fleet capsized. Among the competitors was a three-star admiral Dixon Smith. He reports that the chase boats got all the competitors out of the water within two minutes. Smith said everyone had lifejackets and wore dry suits. Most importantly, he added that every sailor accounted for each other. The fleet of boats made it back to the Severn Sailing Association dock. About 30 minutes later the front had passed and the zealous dinghy sailors headed back out for another round of races.
I keep my 32-foot day sailor, Whirlwind, in commission all winter to go for a sail anytime the weather is reasonable. My comfort zone is when the temperature is above 40 degrees and the wind 18 knots or less. A few years ago, Naval Academy graduate, and now United Airlines pilot Dan Kirschner and I sailed Whirlwind from Spa Creek to Oxford, Maryland. When we arrived at the boat at 0630 there was odd white stuff on the deck. It took me a minute to realize it was snow from the night before. A brisk 12–17 knot wind blew from the south, and we sailed to windward from Tolly Point all the way to the south end of Tillman Island. Finally, we set a spinnaker and picked up speed to 9 knots and arrived at a boatyard in Oxford seven hours after sailing through the Spa Creek bridge. It felt like a special accomplishment. During our sail, we encountered exactly three other sailboats and a handful of power craft. I’m willing to bet they also enjoyed the solitude, which is defined by Websters as, “The state of being alone.”
Photography by Scott Williamson
A frostbite fleet on Long Island Sound proudly displays a flag with a polar bear facing with his backside toward the wind. I like the humor of the New York fleet. Occasionally, snow flurries will fall on the boats during a race. This creates a surreal atmosphere. It gets eerily quiet, and the deck is slippery as the snowflakes dance about. The sun goes down early in the winter, but the races conclude well before dark. As they return from racing, every sailor seems to be smiling and looks refreshed for the upcoming busy week. Maybe they are happy because they have achieved something few would dare.
