A few weeks ago, I caught wind (haha) of Boston Sailing Center’s Frostbite Racing program, aptly named because it takes place November through March. Believe it or not, the idea of sailing 24-foot racing boats on Boston Harbor in sub-zero winter temps is my kind of fun. Of course, I haven’t been on a boat since I was a freshman in college a thousand years ago, so it was nice to have skipper Jon Dexter in studio last week to tell me what to expect and to help me prepare. Listen.
This past Saturday, I made my way down to Lewis Wharf in Boston to join the crew. It’s nice when your first frostbiting experience is on a 50° March day with a fair amount of sun. It’s also nice when you have a crew of sailors who shows you the ropes (haha again) and puts you to work right away. They rigged the boat while I scrubbed the hull, and in no time we were under way.
Thanks to BSC for passing along this footage of some pre-race maneuvering. See if you can spot me on Warp Drive, the boat with the dark hull.
The four hours on the water flew by. We won more races than we lost, had a blast doing it, and I learned perhaps the most important lesson a new sailor can learn: when you’re on deck handling the pit, keep your damn head down when the skipper is tacking.
Here, look at some pics.
[nggallery id=102]
I’ll post some more video later this week. In the meantime, click here to find out more about Frostbiting and sailing in general at Boston Sailing Center.
