ORIGINALLY POSTED ON TEAM ROOSTER SAILING GEAR BLOG
The 2016 sailing season on Lake Ontario has finally kicked off for myself and the Ontario Sailing Team. Anticipation had been building as a mild winter teased us into expecting an early spring, only then to be followed by several weeks of unusually cold and stormy weather. On our first planned training date – Friday April 15th – the conditions on the water were excellent. It was a sunny day with air temperatures reaching 13°C, winds around 10 knots gusting 12 and water temperature near 1°C.
Not only was I looking forward to getting back in the boat, but my new kit from Rooster had arrived a couple weeks ago and this was the first opportunity to try it out. I was particularly looking forward to putting it to the test in spring’s cooler conditions.
As many of you may know, sailing Lasers results in you getting soaked when sailing on a reach or upwind. Of course in cooler spring weather this becomes a problem as without the summer sun to warm you up when you get wet, you get cold and stay cold. I was happy to discover that the Pro Aquafleece top and Supertherm Longjohn were an excellent combination that kept me very warm. Later into the training session, my teammates were getting fatigued because of the cold. My new kit helped me stay warm for longer and allowed me to put my extra energy towards hiking. In fact, those two pieces on top of my usual summer kit kept me warm enough that I chose to wear a visor instead of a beanie which I have worn in past seasons on early spring days.
Sailing in the cold adds another layer to an already challenging sport. Proper preparation to stay warm is very important to maximizing performance. I’m thrilled to be adding Rooster’s comfortable and super warm pieces to my spring gear line up.