100 degree rule

[johnl]

Okay I'm sure most of us have heard of the 100 degree rule (air and water temp must equal 100 or more), but where do you draw the line with the water temp?? I mean if the water was 34 degrees and the air 70 I doubt most would get in the water. So what water temp makes you get in the water??? (44 sounds too cold to me

[dllee]

Depends on wetsuit, drysuit, booties, hood, gloves, time of expected session, conditions, when's the last time you sailed, how desperate you are, and what safety conditions exist.
In late Dec, 1989, one of the coldest winters ever in NYC, I sailed for 20 minutes with a borrowed OneillHeat4/3, 3mm booties, 5 mm diving hood, at the sound in LongIsland, opposite a really nice harbor town that happenned to have a surf shop and a windsurf shop in one.
Water temps around 43, air around 21, 103 liter Screamer, GaastraRacefoil 4.4, winds 19-27mph.
I picked the stuff off the sound and ran to the ocean to do one run, but cops came and kicked us out.

[isobars]

My water temp threshold for bare feet and hands is about 46. At that temp my hands stay fairly pain-free as long as the air temp is about 50 or better. I could probably get by with Wednesday's temps out east -- air near 70 and water about 42 -- until that early PM wind shutdown, a common event this time of the year. The ragged wind plots I saw for Wed and Thur out east didn't look appealing to me at all this side of 80/60 air and water temps. All too often that means a swim for me if caught in the wrong place or wrong wind direction, and I'd rather quit windsurfing than face the pain of thawing hands again. 50/50 is balmy, as is 70/30 water/air.

Sat, for example, looks windy, water in the low 40s, air peaking in the low 50s, showery all day, and probably squally. I ain't that desperate. Every year that I get tempted to catch these first spring blasts, I end up kicking myself in the ass to remind myself to wait a little longer next year, until it's actually FUN and worth the drive. If I lived minutes from a spot with minimal risk of swimming, and could stay out of the water, I'd push it a little earlier.

I'd rather be on a dirt bike or on the snow at 20 below than on the water in the 40s.

Mike \m/

[johnl]

Thanks Mike,

I was considering getting out there, but 44 seems a bit cold to me (even with a new drysuit to try out). I won't be back till the end of May so I figure it will be warm by then.

Bummer, I was hoping to get in the water before I left in 1 1/2 weeks....

Today was awesome 70 degrees and partly sunny in Da Hood. No wind, but nice day for a bicycle ride....

[hilton08]

40 degrees is my limit on water temperature with a 5/3 wetsuit and polypro underneath. At that temperature, booties are a must and I usually sail conservatively to minimize getting wet. I can usually cheat a bit on the 100 degree rule and comfortably handle air temps down to about 55 with a hood and no gloves as long as the sun is out.

Thursday was quite nice at Roosevelt with air temps in the 60's .
Wind varied from 4.2 to 4.7 with passing clouds.
Water is warm enough to not be shockingly cold when you fall in, but I wouldn't want to break down and have to swim in.

[andymc4610]

[isobars]

[johnl]

[johnl]

[isobars]

Crap. Not only do the days start getting shorter in three weeks, but the river temperature is already dropping. Was that it? Was that the 2011 season? Damn ... I blinked.

Mike \m/