By Judith Krimski
Photos by David Gordon courtesy of Courageous Sailing
It's a Wednesday night in the middle of January. After a mild beginning to winter, we've had our first bit of snow and the blustery temps—much to my chagrin—are finally settling in. I'm sitting at a local dinner spot with a couple of girlfriends in the midst of the "weekend plans" conversation. Tina is selling her cactus look-a-like pots at an art fair. Amy's doing yoga and shopping online for post holiday bargains. They ask me, "What are you doing this weekend?" I pause, anticipating their confused reactions…"I'm going frostbiting." Incredulous looks cross their faces. "Frostbiting? What the hell is frostbiting?" I smile. It's sailboat racing on Boston Harbor.
I guess you could say I'm one of Boston’s version of "The 300". The Spartans of sailing. The warriors of winter. Plying the frigid inlets of Boston Harbor in Rhodes 19s, J24s, Inter-clubs and Lasers in winter. While our attire is nothing like the sparse six-pack baring accoutrements of the aforementioned Greeks, we count among our ranks the cream of the crop of New England sailors including; all-american college racers, coaches and former Olympic laser sailors. The talent is deep, especially in the Rhodes 19 fleet housed at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, MA.
For the past 12 years Courageous has hosted its Saturday frostbiting and exceptional sailors just keep on coming. Great competition aside—what makes this well-worn fleet of 24 Rhodes 19s so attractive that diehard racers come year after year? I asked Matt Marston, fleet captain, now in his seventh season. “Good competition, easy sailing, boats are all the same and on the dock. The fleet is getting better so if you don’t get better you’re effectively getting worse.” Another regular competitor quips, “The Rhodes are sort of like racing minivans, not the fastest and a little clunky. You just try to get them around the course.” Besides easy to rig boats that are fun to sail in all conditions, the recipe for great racing includes shifty winds and heavy current that challenge even the best sailors, short course racing in which teams have to work every second to win the day, and finally some of the best race management around.
For race committe veteran Rosemarie Lyons the unpredictable winter conditions, among other factors, play into whether it’s a good or tough day. “It’s really shifty, especially when it’s coming out of the NW.” declares Rosemarie. “You have a good fleet so you want to make sure you have a good course. It’s cold out so you need to keep racing going. With winds sometimes shifting dramatically it’s frustrating for RC and the sailors. But in general, we’ve gotten really good at picking the best spot and making sure everyone is happy.”
As the harbor empties out for the winter and the sightseeing boats and pleasure vessels go into hibernation, Courageous pulls all their Rhodes out of the water— not for winter storage—to gear them up for frostbiting. Bottoms are sanded and painted, lines are checked and rigs tuned. For Courageous, a non-profit community sailing center known for its summer youth sailing programs, winter sailing has become part of the life-blood of this thriving harborside fixture. “Frostbiting is always an exciting time of year for Courageous,” says Executive Director, Dave Dilorenzo. “It’s a time to see faces we don’t see in the summer, many of the whom have been participating in frostbiting since we started the series.”
There’s no denying that winter sailing on the harbor can be a cold experience but that is overidden by the fun of sharing the day with comrades who are willing to weather the often harsh conditions. Many of the boats are filled by teams of sailors who alternate sailing each Saturday. Mark Lindsey, owner of MJM yachts and a mentor to many sailors in the fleet started just this way. “In the fall of 2006 I joined a group of sailors from my hometown of Gloucester who drove down to Courageous Sailing every Saturday to race in Rhodes 19's. More than a decade before that I had rebuilt a number of Rhodes 19's into race winners with fast new rudders, keels, deck hardware and internal structure. Suddenly I was confronted with a boat that couldn't be altered in any way. The winning was purely up to sailing skill. We had eight people on our team so we rotated teams each week and skipper and crew positions each race. Since most of my 505 experience was the crew in my own boat, I knew how to win races as a crew, and my first highly coveted race win at Courageous was doing sail trim and tactics for Eben Moulton. We were both thrilled!”
On a typical Saturday morning, dockside is all hustle and bustle as teams arrive, get geared up and head down to the dock to rig and perform a ritual bottom scrubbing, and just as likely—shoveling snow out of the boat’s cockpit using the perfect tool, a dustpan and hand broom for getting in those hard-to-reach corners. Ben Richardson, 2011 World Laser Master Champion sums it up, “Frostbiting is an interesting beast. On the coldest of days you try to spend as little time as possible being around prior to launching and racing, so it's really important to have consistent crew who know the entire drill.”
Leaving the cacophony of the pier to set sail, one immediately notices the peacefulness inherent in a winter harbor. A bright sun glints off the grey and silver winter sea while the city stands as a sparkling sentinel in the crisp cold air. The only sounds are sails luffing and water slipping along the hull of the boat. If you're lucky you might spy a local harbor seal frolicking nearby. Besides the occasional tugboat or fuel tanker, Boston Harbor is pretty much the exclusive winter playground of the two frostbiting fleets; the Boston Sailing Center taking up the outer harbor and Courageous the inner harbor.
Rhodes racing starts promptly at 12:00 noon with 24 boats on the line. Courses are short windward/leeward legs. On good days races will last no more than 20 minutes. The key to being successful in this highly competitive fleet? Sail the boat like a dinghy and learn the conditions. Because of the juxtaposition of Boston’s skyline to harbor, wind bends at angles up to 45 degrees from its original direction. Fortunately you can read most of the puffs on the water so be sure to take along a crewmate who’s good at calling lifts and headers. Current is also a major factor. With both the Charles and the Mystic Rivers converging, current typically runs out of the harbor, even on a flood tide. Newbies to the fleet invariably end up stuck on the windward mark because they don’t judge the current properly. It’s a right of passage in this competitive fleet.
So if you’re sitting around the house come February. Football is over and the NBA just isn’t cutting it, think about taking a trip to Courageous Sailing Center. Ben Richardson puts the experience into perspective, “Quite often it is pretty nice out— and if you're dressed properly, 30 degrees and sunny can be pretty damn nice—so it’s really just a pleasure to be out there. There is no question there's a measure of comraderie that develops from knowing that you and fifty other sailors just spent the afternoon out there in the winter no matter what the conditions were.”
Frostbiting anyone!
If we have a boat available (mind there is a long waiting list) join us for some frostbiting and if the racing doesn’t pull you in the beauty of the harbor will. “Over the years we've had a lot of adventures,” say Mark Lindsey, “from frozen icy sheets to a masthead in the water when the jib didn't come out of the cleat while tacking in a 25+ knot blast. I still love sailing in light air when the snowflakes show you the wind direction as they fall silently into the gray water.”
Despite predictions of global warming, frostbiting remains a cold proposition so dress warmly. Bring an extra pair of gloves and a wooly hat. We’ll provide the foot warmers. A weekend on the water in the winter is not only a rewarding and challenging activity it makes for great water cooler or Twitter material.
About the Author:
Judith Krimski is a graphic designer, freelance writer and blogger of all things sailboat racing. When she’s not plying the waters of Boston Harbor she enjoys racing her laser all over New England. Judith currently holds the Head Coach position for the Milton Academy sailing team and is an instructor and sailing coach at Courageous Sailing. Judith is in her 7 year of frostbiting as crew for skipper Chris Palmieri from Marblehead, MA.
To read more about Rhodes 19 sailing on Boston Harbor go to http://centerofeffort01.blogspot.com/
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