'You will venture into the fringes of the wildness with the minimum of simple gear, to live with it on its own terms. You will know that one of the sure ways to contentment in this life is a small boat, a fair wind, and a new coast to explore'
For PicoMicroYacht I don't even need a fair wind to make this a reality, although it can be pushing it to find the fringes of the wildness on the south of England.
Roger Barnes also has advice about what to wear. His preference is for a woollen base layer, with a wool sweater and cotton oversmock. He then does not bother with modern fabric sailing jackets but goes for polyester fishing gear, which are completely waterproof and dry very quickly.
I have been using a merino wool base layer. The advantage this is that it is light and warm. But if you sweat, it does not 'pin' a damp and cold material to you. It soaks up moisture and releases it outwards. I have a blue wool crew cut traditional sweater. I also wear blue cotton Craghopper trousers, these having very useful pockets for sailing, including a strategic zipped up one for keys.
I have to admit, with a blue peak cap, I may look a little like Herge's Tintin character, Captain Haddock.
Last year for the Irish row, I bought a light padded long length fishing jacket, which is very comfortable and warm, the length ensuring the back is covered when I compress forward at the start of a rowing stroke. This jacket breaths well and does not seen to restrict movement too much. It also has an plethora of pockets.
When I set off from Greenwich Yacht Club, one concerned sailor told me that I might get hypothermia due to the cold air temperature. It turned out that with all that gear on I was toasty warm and had to take the jacket off. I covered my exposed feet with the jacket and, together with gloves, everything was comfortable.
A fishing jacket strewn across my feet to keep them warm
Here Captain Haddock goes rowing. He is quite clumsy but a courageous character.
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