What to wear on the water during different seasons

When the seasons changes so do the outfit we want to wear. Wearing the proper clothing is essential for a good sailing experience, no matter how the weather turns out. Read our best tips for the best suited clothing for your maritime experience all year round.

The three-layer principle

Outdoor people, sailors og others whom often stays outside follows the three-layer principle as a way of wearing the most comfortable and reasonable clothing on the water (and on land). It’s a good idea to dress wise end effective when being outside, especially when temperatures drops.

When putting together your clothing based on the three-layer principle here’s some good advice on what specifically to wear.

Put on a thin layer of clothing closest to the body, but not too tight.The clothes functions a sweat absorbing layer. Wool is often a great material for that purpose. Wool sometimes tend to be a bitch itchy on the skin. If you instead choose a more synthetic fabric you’ll need wash it more often than wool since the material will smell more.

The clothes in the middle has one important job - to isolate. Wool and synthetic material as fleece is a obvious choice. Wool has the great ability to isolate eventhough it’s wet. It get’s a bit heavy though. Fleece has the opposite effect: dry’s fast, is light, but dosen’t isolate very well when it’s wet.

The outer layer need to protect you (and the two other layers) against water and wind in order for you to keep the warmth. Rain clothes is a obvious choice for this layer. For recreatinal sailing it’s essential with this layer and if the outer jacket is breathable it’s even better.

The best part of the three-layer principle is that you quite easily can undress a layer at a time. And put it back on again. During all seasons of the year the weather can be quite changeable. When it’s cloudy and windy all three layers works perfectly. If you on the other hand are sailing in a calm place with no clouds and just sunny weather it’s very easy to strip of the outer layer.

Clothing on the water for spring

When spring is slowly approaching it’s a goodbye to the colder temperatures and a welcome to lighter and warmer days. To many spring brings along a much needed energi boost and a bigger need to stay outside and hopefully also to spend some time on the water. The spring months extends from March, April and May. But have no fear, as long as you’re well prepared with the right clothing, there’s plenty of possibilities to get some amazing memories on the water during spring with a lot of different sightings to experience.

During the transition from winter to summer a lot is happening when it comes to the weather. Which means it can be a bit difficult to make the right decision about what to wear. In the spring the air is often quite warm, while the water is still very cold. Prior to going sailing it’s very important to be aware of that. Often the water temperature is no more than 8-10 degrees. Usually the air feels colder when you’re on the water compared to being on land where tall buildings are keeping the warmth and protection you from the wind. When being on the water during spring it’s a good idea to dress warmer that you would assume while being on land.

And as always when sailing it’s clever to bring a bag with changing clothes. You never know if you’ll end up needing more or different clothes than what you wore in the first place. In that way you’re sure that changing weather won’t ruin your day.

What to wear during summer time

When the sun shines from a cloudless sky on a hot summer day most of us will probably think of dressing as lightly as possible. And even though it’s very tempting, the wiser suggestion is to also bring a bag of extra clothes. In that way you can easily change your clothes according to the weather. This does not only regard a bit of summer rain. It’s also worth thinking of different clothing when there’s nothing but sunny weather. It’s not alway possible to “hide” from the sun, especially not when being on the open water. To make sure you won’t be hit by sunstroke, remember a sun hat, a shirt with long sleeves, sunglasses and sunscreen.

Even though summer time often means more stable weather it can change in a blink of an eye. As a sailor it’s very important that you’re able to adapt accordingly. As a starting point it’s wise to bring a thin and light long sleeved shirt or jacket which is a great way to protect yourself against the sun. Due to the sun's reflection from the water it’s even harder to hide from the sun rays. Also be aware that the sun's UV rays shine through clouds. Kræftens bekæmpelse has made a free UV-app that you can download right here.

Even though the water is warm, the sun is shining and you feel like jumping right into the tempting water it’s not allowed to do so from a GoBoat. It’s way too dangerous for yourself and for others in the harbor. You’ll find a list with swimming areas and harbor baths right here.

One area on the body that’s often overlooked in the summer heat is your feet. When the temperature is high most people tend to wear sandals. It’s not necessarily a bad idea to wear as long as you remember to put sunscreen on your feet.

We recommend that you stay hydrated. This has nothing to do with clothing, but just a kind reminder.

Autumn clothing for a trip on the water

Autumn can be both wet, cold and windy or warm and sunny. Temperatures can be changeable and therefore it can be difficult to decide what to wear. The saftest is to be fully covered from top to bottom - and to bring extra clothing. Both something for rainy weather and lighter clothing for the warmer days. One day the sun can be shining from a bright sky and it feels more like late summer. And on other days it can be pouring rain and heavy wind. Because of the very confusing shift in weather, the three layer principle is your best friend during autumn.

According to the calendar year autumn runs through September, October and November. When we’re approaching October and the leaves start to turn brown and yellow and fall off the trees, that’s when you know that autumn has arrived.

Nature gets a totally different expression with all the beautiful colors which brings great joy to many. Even when you are in the center of the city there’s still plenty of possibilities to experience the colorful trees from the water. Along the canals it's filled with trees and bushes. However, the beautiful nature can be deceiving and make us dress lighter than we really should when we go outside.
According to DMI the average temperature during autumn is a bit over 9°C. If you’re going sailing during that time of year remember to keep your hands, head and feet warm and shielded from rain and wind.

Best clothing on the water during winter

The Danish winter can be freezing cold but also pretty warm compared to what season it is. During winter time you need to dress the warmest when you go out sailing. The three layer principle is very essential this season. Another decision to make is how long you want to stay on the water. During summer most people tend to stay many hours on the water. When winter is here it’s often 1 hour or 2 at most. Being on board on a smaller boat, like a GoBoat, doesn't give you that much space to move around on. Even so it’s quite important that you try to always be in movement as much as possible. Avoid being cooled down, it can be hard to get the body heated again.

Heat loss at different temperatures

Head, hands and feet

There’s no doubt that some parts of the body need to be prioritized when you’re on the water. First of all we got the head. It’s very important to always keep your head warm because we lose a lot of heat from our heads. It can easily be fixed with a beanie. Next comes hands and feet. Warm gloves and lined boots are a must when it’s cold outside. In addition a blanket to bring on board is worth the weight to carry.

You must always have access to life vests in the boat. It’s a legal requirement that there must be enough life vests for all the people on board. During winter it’s more dangerous not to have a life vest nearby. The freezing cold water can be quite dangerous if an accident happens and someone falls in the water. Before sailing make sure you know exactly where the life vests are placed, or even better, just wear them all the time.

Something warm to drink often helps to adjust the body temperature to some degree. It’s not enough but it helps. And it’s always a cozy to enjoy something warm like coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Safety regardless the season

A great advice regardless if you’re going on the water when it’s summer or winter it’s essential to bring sunscreen. It’s not only during summer that the sun shines bright. Some days during winter the sun can be sneaky and you’ll need to protect yourself from its rays. In addition, it’s always essential to come prepared, meaning that you bring different clothes for changing.

Remember that no matter what time of year you go sailing, safety is the most important thing. This means that you must always remember the most important piece of clothing: the life jacket.