Ugh.. Got me thinking how are you supposed to look after wetsuits? Aren't you supposed to rinse them in fresh water & dry in the shade after each sail? I take care of mine because years ago I had one go really brittle & had to buy another..
The Radiator wetsuits have a shiny smooth skin lining. It dries very quickly. You can wipe it dry with a towel if you're in a hurry. The smooth skin is kind of cold when you first put it on but it warms up in seconds. It's adequate for a Melbourne winter and it's what I am wearing for sessions now.
My Rip Curl Fireskin is warmer but it's also a lot heavier and in winter it will not dry hanging in the garage. Putting it in the washing machine on a fast spin dry cycle gets it quite dry quickly. Note that you don't put it through a wash cycle. You have to sprad the wettie around the bottom of the tub so it's balanced. Maybe add a wet towel if you have to. I do this with booties as well.
To get rid of that winter bootie smell, pour about half a cup of vinegar into the bootie and top up with water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes then rinse then hang to dry somewhere warm and well ventilated. Cheap white vinegar in a big plastic bottle is best. It is far more effective than disinfectants and bleaches and stuff.
When your better half says 'do you think you'll remember how to sail .....your gear might have gone rusty'
(But I did get the screwdrivers out of sail box yesterday - had to scale rust off & oil)
You have to pscyhe your self up to go sailing because of the icey water and your the only sailor on the lake..
It has to be at least 20 knots to coax you out of your warm comfort, then you put on a woollen vest under your wetsuit and pack a thermos of hot coffee to take with you.
When you put your wetty on before you leave home to sail the local spot and then go home in it to have a shower.
Saturday looks sick Bob! Any places to wave sail in Cairns? Northern beaches dont have waves do they? Not from what I can remember. Any Barrier Reef breaks?
You start doing contortions to avoid falling in icey water and start to dread sailing and trying to gybe a shortboard in gusty conditions..
You dread going out & trying out your new board..
...when windsurfing becomes a contact sport between you and the elements (cold, pitching waves, gusty winds that make a 4.2 both too large and too small, and dark unfriendly wipeouts in the fading light).
I don't, and one reason why is because the bastards lie shamelessly about snowfall.
Last year was supposed to have been the best season ever with over 2m of snow and it was total ****e, with 60cm of crappy man-made ice on piste and nothing off-piste. And I ask you, who really wants to just ski piste ???
Blah blah blah balh blah blah................
Maybe I'm a sicko but I loved the winter sailing the year I was in WA.
Lovely cold fronts bringing tons of warm northerly winds. I had a night duty job, so I went out at NOrth Leighton and Cottesloe and City Beach a ton of times and had a ball.
I actually found it colder once the Doctor started. Bloody freezing wind full of bits of frozen penguin.