Frostbiters embrace difficult winter

It has been a historically atypical 2025-26 Southern California winter. After experiencing an early and wet start that essentially eliminated the state’s drought conditions, the new year has been very warm.

Conversely, the northeast has been pummeled with bitter cold and snow, but that does not slow down the intrepid frostbite sailing community. Here’s an excerpt from a WindCheck report by Chris Szepessay about Long Island Sound activity:

Ask frostbiters, “Why?” and you’ll get a huge variety of answers like “Because,” “It’s not that bad, if you’re dressed for it” and/or sometimes an unintelligible reply because their teeth are chattering too hard. They’ll also say they enjoy the camaraderie, the challenge of quick races, short race intervals, and knowing they only have to tough it out for a couple hours.

How do you know if a day of frostbite sailing was a great day? Well, if you aren’t sure if you should eat a bowl of soup after racing, or just pour it into your sailing boots to warm up…Truth be told, it’s also for bragging rights at the water cooler or posting pictures on social media of yourself sailing in a snowstorm or an ice-filled harbor. Is it soup yet?