Big and Foul

Today my lovely wife discovered a good foul weather sailing jacket for me. It has a waterproof lined breathable shell and a thick removable fleece liner. They can be worn together or separately. The jacket is a bright slime lime color with lots of reflective tape. It has a couple of big snap closed pockets and a good sized radio pocket.

What the heck are we doing buying foul weather gear in sunny Florida?

We plan on sailing down the ICW late in the fall. There's a good chance we'll be sailing in nasty weather. Being warm and comfortable is a huge thing. You are much less fatigued, can think clearer, burn less energy, and it's easier to stay positive. These are all good things when sailing.

Yeah, but why buy it now?

First of all, it's not really a $ailing jacket. Anything made for the marine market is crazy expensive. One way to reduce the pain is to shop in the same places that commercial fisherman buy their gear. Another way is buy good outdoor gear made for other sports. My jacket looks like the sort of thing any number of blue collar workers would wear.

The best reason to buy now is that it was marked down about 50%. We paid $55 at Rural King. (I've no connection to the store.)

Is is the ideal sailing jacket? No, but it's better than a lot of jackets sold to the boaty crowd. Is it good enough? Yep, and that's what really matters.

You know what this means? By the time fall rolls around, we should be ready to go.

-Sixbears