In recent years we have witnessed a serious revival of offshore yachting, but there are voices that say that we have a coastline that is not very practiced in summer, nautical leisure being non-existent in winter. Is it?
In this context of nautical quasi-inactivity in the cold season, I meet on the pontoon, in Tomis Port, with people whose appetite for sailing, including in winter, makes me think.
A lot of questions come to mind. I don’t hesitate to put them. At the time when I write down the impressions gathered, people are at sea and the calendar winter is here.
Maybe it’s something worth trying. So, Ion Popescu, through his approach, “Sailevents”, shows us that the Black Sea offers sailing conditions in the off-season.
The boats are only on the trestle for three weeks, in the spring, for the maintenance operations of the living work. Ion Popescu, a sailing enthusiast, a sailor by training, shared with me his vision of the beauty of the Romanian seaside in winter, and we started discussions following a statement found on the Facebook page “Sail” (@SailEvents.ro), which presents the activity with images and details.
“With us, the Black Sea sailing season has four seasons” is the manifesto of a commercial activity, initiated from the Port of Tomis at the beginning of this year. A beautiful and unique message for sailing enthusiasts and not only. Do you sail on the Black Sea, all year round?
… as much as the weather allows. Beyond the statement in the mentioned message, we went out by boat for winters in a row and it was not wanted to be a commercial activity at all. Many voices, especially those who sell sailing, say that “winter sailing in our country at the sea is not for sale”. People are not coming. Indeed, there is inertia and reluctance. There is a reflex of seasonal agreement activity among sailing lovers as well. Summer sailing, winter skiing. Or possibly cruising somewhere, in warm areas.
That’s what exists. But there is also a precedent created by our “off-season” sea trips, consistently, over the last five years. Probably inadequate communicated to those potentially interested in the activity, insufficiently appreciated by those in this community.
What doesn’t exist? We lack a seafaring tradition and culture . That something passed down from generation to generation, not marketing polish. Last weekend, Sunday, November 19th, cloud in the sky, otherwise sailing conditions like you rarely find in summer. I went sailing almost alone. There were no people willing to go out to sea, as in previous weekends. Certainly in a weather like that, the North Sea and the Baltic were crammed with boats. So we still have to work on habits.
You come from the merchant navy in terms of professional training and experience. An opinion on nautical leisure in Romania, from this perspective?
It’s a topic for another article. In a nutshell: interest is growing and there is some diversity. I hope that we will fit into this diversity with sailing, on the Black Sea, throughout the entire calendar year.
What are the best times for sailing in the Black Sea?
The months of November, December, even January, in some years, are good months of sailing. In February, March and April we go out less often, but we go out even then. These months also coincide with the maintenance period.
Going out to sea in the off-season is related to the climatic behavior in the coastal area, dictated by the thermal inertia of the seawater. The autumns are long, September is almost a summer month, but October, in the first decade, is quite turbulent, with a succession of storms and intense atmospheric activity. It announces the more pronounced cooling of the land.
At the same time, it brings with it a reversal of the thermal wind, which we call the “winter breeze”. The land is cold, the sea keeps its temperature higher. The winter breeze, or the persistence of the westerly winds between November and January, with speeds that rarely exceed 25 Kn in the coastal area, but most of the time constant winds in the 15-20 Kn area, produce the calming of the sea to flat calm, or at most a wave of 0.5m, without blasphemy.
Keep in mind, however, that winters are not like each other.
The first “off-season” outings were made between October 2012 and April 2013. The winters that followed brought milder weather and we were at sea almost weekend after weekend. Last winter, 2016-2017, was a little colder, with almost a month of sub-zero temperatures.
I went out even then, and there were beautiful experiences. But we remember February 2012, with the terrible winter storm, which destroyed the Tomis Tourist Port in a proportion of over 50% and caused significant material damage to the boats.
The sea reaches its minimum temperature during February.
By contrast, in summer, the West winds are rare phenomena in our country on the coast, they are associated either with land breezes, which blow during the night, or specific to summer storms, extremely violent, therefore undesirable. The typical summer winds in our country, during the day, are from the Southern, Eastern or Northern sectors, winds accompanied by waves and swells, not very comfortable.
Why would you suggest a sailor to try winter sailing?
The share of those interested in sailing in the Black Sea clearly leans in favor of regatta sailing practitioners. Yachting has gained a lot of ground in recent years, but the phenomenon is limited to the months of May to September, namely a number of weekends during these months.
We can perceive regattas as daysailing. We also practice daysailing in the months outside the regatta circuit, only the “packaging” is different. But to those who love the experience of fast sailing, unhindered by the sea condition, I say that we also use a sail inventory superior to that found in a regatta inventory, an optimization imposed by the rating.
As long as we can combat thermal discomfort through proper equipment, sailing on a performance cruiser with constant wind, from the coast, without much shifting and without producing waves, offers a beautiful feeling. The boat glides smoothly and steadily, you hardly feel it under you.
Would it be a good idea for someone’s first sailing trip on the water to be in the “offseason”?
People come with us to sea in the “off-season”, either as an extension of their summer sailing activity, or to the “agreement boat driver” or “sailboat maneuvering” courses that we support. But we had people on our first winter outing at sea, including children. Yes, it is ideal to go out here for the first time by sailboat when the West is blowing and there is no wave. The cooler air, the lack of waves, eliminates the anxiety of “seasickness”, an ideal condition for a beginner to enjoy sailing.
Is any boat suitable for winter sailing?
It can be any boat with a sufficiently high freeboard, a deeper cockpit, provided with a sprayhood. The furling sail is a good option, although it is preferable to have a mainsail stored in a lazybag, with two lines of tertarola. Cabin heating is a very practical option, which we obviously use to the fullest.
What additional preparations are required? Can you describe the necessary equipment a little bit?
Apart from the personal and group safety equipment found in the boat’s inventory, imagine yourself on a mountain walk in winter. This is the equipment to wear on the boat. The ski clothes are very good. Equipment from the body to the outside: cotton, wool, raincoat. At the extremities, hat or balaclava, hood, ski gloves, winter shoes, warm and waterproof. Nothing special. There is also offshore equipment, but it is in the wardrobe of those who frequently go out to sea, in different conditions. Otherwise, on the boat: loaded gas cylinder, stove, kettle, drinking water, tea.
Can we also talk about comfort, or just the satisfaction of having done something unique but with something gritted from the teeth, cold, maybe seasickness, etc.?
I’ll come back to the comparison above, also related to comfort. Wintersailing is a slightly more static activity than skiing, but this is where some virtues of the sailboat’s conception come into play. We go out to sea with “team sailboats”, sailboats with “hand” maneuvers, which engage the work of a larger crew, put you in motion, and the cold becomes something subsidiary.
“Satisfaction” is a personal thing. Quite a few members of our off-season crews come on board for the sake of “ticking” something special. There is the simple desire to sail and not to be constrained by the alternation of summer and winter.
Sailing, in winter has its dose of novelty, but it’s like a walk in the mountains or a slope activity. Cold here, cold there. With all the thermal discomfort caused by the wind in different humidity conditions, on the sea the temperature in winter is up to 5-6* C higher than on land. In fact, we are talking about daysailing and our sea trips rarely exceed 6 hours.
Tell us a little about sailing done just for the pleasure of sailing, without the setting of a regatta, without a cruising destination.
There are two stories. One “dressed” in purposes and meaning, both personal and group: unique, personal satisfaction, confidence building, school, on-board practice, teambuilding, coastal and offshore navigation, etc.
The other completely emptied of the above: the simple joy of going out to sea, of the wind carrying the boat, in the company of friends, sometimes also dolphins, even the healthy fatigue you feel at the end of a day of sailing. Certainly, both of them, at the end of such a day, become seafaring stories.
To a glass of rum I suppose. Explain winter sailing: why sailors prefer rum?
Rum? It is associated with the tradition of maritime empires. It’s not our tradition. Romanian and Roma have in common only the first three and the last two letters. That the Romanian is more of a sailor if he drinks rum is a form without substance. We use rum only to flavor tea.
How would a wintersailing day go?
Fast forward it would be like this: the presence of departure, training, equipping / checking equipment, preparation and departure maneuver, setting sails, turns, tackles, jokes, lowering the sails, mooring maneuver, unequipping, pub, escape who can…
What should those who want to participate in your wintersailing crews do? Especially those who live further away from Constanta?
On the “stay tuned” principle. To switch their interest to the activity, which is a weekend one. To jump in the car and come to Constanta. The A2 is much freer than the A3, up to a slope in the Prahova Valley. Traffic congestion can be followed by queues at the ski slopes, which does not leave you much time to enjoy a beautiful weekend day. Otherwise, both in our country and in skiing, mulled wine, socializing. We spend “quality time” on the boat in winter, even when the weather does not allow us to leave the port.
There are many seafaring stories, small seamanship works, we also find out a little about boats and navigation. A kind of “sailor sitting”. In addition, there are plenty of places open in winter, either in the port or in the old part of the city.
I mentioned these things because people tend to plan ahead. Or the forecast interval that can announce a good sailing day is 36 to 48 hours. I give notices to the crews even on Saturday morning, 2-3 hours before the presence of going out to sea. I invoked the “stay tuned” principle, because any outing is “weather permitting”. We do not do acts of bravado.
It’s a saying that has been circulating among brave sailors for some time now: “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”.
It’s good to look at it cautiously. Compared to the time when we worked on board ships and going to sea was “imposed”, either good or bad conditions, in the nautical leisure activity, we speak of “leisure”. I can add a continuation of the above saying, applicable to nautical leisure, which is related to a correctly evaluated weather forecast and good planning of the sea trip. It sounds like this: “… but a skilled sailor never sails out in the rough”.
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