swimmermom3 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Sailor Dude is in the middle of earning his USA Sailing Small Boat Instructor Level 1 certification. The coach emailed last night and said that wetsuits will be mandatory this weekend. It is currently 20 degrees with heavy snow and freezing fog - a bit unusual for us. What thickness of wetsuit would a sailor want? 3/2? We are in Oregon and usually don't need them, but spring regattas up north from us can be fairly cold. We've never purchased a wetsuit before, so any tips would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAR Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 We've used Gill, because that's what our sailing coach recommended. However, we are in Tampa, Florida so conditions are not similar! G.ood luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Can the coach make some recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Good golly, those are dry suit temperatures! I would definitely ask the coach for a recommendation. I am shivering just thinking about intentionally capsizing a sailboat under those conditions. Brrr! Tell your son we are impressed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 apparently there are different types of wetsuits for different sports. so the wet suit for sailing may be different than what is used for surfing. I don't know much about wet suits, but I went shopping with my oldest and got him a wet suit for kite surfing. it was completely different than the ones used for surfing. apparently the surfing ones have extra padding on the chest and ones for kite surfing have more movement around the arms. I would guess that the ones for sailing would have more movement around the arms?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I don't know about sailing, but when rafting in OR in winter and spring, we use NRS wetsuits - 3 or 4mm in colder weather and hydro skin in the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Here is a link to a West Marine's wetsuit page. DH surfs the Nor Cal coast and uses a 5mm wetsuit + booties. Does your son also wear a float coat? If so, then maybe the wetsuit can be lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks everyone for your help. Dh and Sailor Dude took off early for his class so they could go wetsuit shopping. As they were leaving, the coach called and said that the class was cancelled due to the weather. The guys decided they needed an adventure and drove on into town anyway. :tongue_smilie: They had chains, the roads were empty, and they had the surfboard/snowboard shop to themselves. Anyway, ds is now the proud owner of a used Xcel kids' 4/3 wetsuit. Unbeknownst to my son, he is getting windsurfing lessons for his 16th birthday, so the shop helped steer him to something he could potentially use for both. It's like learning a foreign language. After nine years of club swimming, I understand about comp suits and goggles, but spray tops and wetsuits? Not so much. :D Wildiris, I am not sure what ds will wear with his wetsuit. I assume it will be his spray top and his overalls (or whatever those things are called) along with his PFD. I have got to get a boot dryer too. I don't think any of us can stand another season of stinky sailing boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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