There’s no question: when you gaze out of the window to pouring rain, cobalt grey skies and feel the chill wrap around your body the thought of heading outdoors, let alone taking a dip, isn’t exactly inspiring. Finding motivation for a spot of winter surfing, windsurfing, stand up paddle boarding or other is pretty hard during the off season. For sure, windows of better weather do present themselves in winter but they can few and far between.
Having the right waterwear helps. Wetsuits are one thing but so are all the accessories and additional layers to help keep you even warmer. As an example NCW’s hooded thermal rashvest is a real winner for wearing beneath your standard 5/3mm. Gloves and booties are also must haves but good quality ones at that. (We can point you in the right direction if you need a hand…).
Once you have your gear sorted it’s then about picking and choosing not only your times for a dip wisely but also the location. Some days your local mightn’t be the right spot. Perhaps it’s a tad exposed. This is when a different venue with more shelter may be appropriate. Of course, there are a million and one other combos of conditions and put ins that make that location better than the next. Knowing what works when and how is key.
Waiting is an essential skill for any water person and sometimes you just need to sit it out for the right day to emerge. Sacking off bad weather sessions can help with motivation the next time round. Unfortunately, if it’s a particularly grotty winter then you may just need to make call and get gone.
There’re no two ways about it: winter motivation for watersports is tough. As much as all your preparedness with gear and such you simply need to ‘want it’. If you don’t then nobody’s going to judge if you choose to take a break until spring.
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