My problem is, having logged in, I can't find or work out how/where to start a new topic! "Help" indicates boxes to click which simply aren't on my screen. I am hesitant to mention the M word, which applies to me. Anyway, can I start a new topic here, and can someone clever put it in the right place? (And tell me how to do it properly in future.)
Clothing for sailing
This partly relates to the previous topic re going overboard and getting aboard again. Do any smallish-boat sailors reading this have any experience of wearing "constant use immersion suits" for sailing? My own interest would be sailing single-handed, especially early in the season, and bearing in mind that I seem to feel the effects of cold quite quickly. I have briefly worn a Fladen suit of this type (there are others on the market) in the context of a much bigger boat (75 ft schooner, actually!). The suit is very comfortable, possibly a bit on the bulky side. One wears ordinary clothes underneath. Lots of strenuous activity would probably make it rather hot to wear. However, the safety it offers is remarkable: a) twice the buoyancy of the buoyancy aid I otherwise wear: b) prolonged protection from hypothermia - the Fladen suit claims two and a half hours protection (their technical blurb defines precisely what this means) in water at 5 degrees C. I think that's very impressive, and it would take "don't-panic-but-I'm-getting-dangerously-cold" out of the situation if one should go overboard and have difficulty getting back. Plus, of course, it gives snug on-board protection from wind-chill, rain etc. Having become aware of what these suits offer, wearing one seems such a good idea (except in high summer and/or tropical climes) that there must be a snag I haven't thought of! (It can't really be cost - around £75 isn't a lot for what's offered in spec terms). Absolutely anything has got to be preferable to a wet suit, one of the most uncomfortable garments (for sailing) devised by man.
Any comments?