Winter of 2022/23 was spent in St Katharine Docks in London, and even though we were safely tied up in a well-protected marina we still regularly watched the weather. We were surprised by how mild the winter conditions seemed to be – there was plenty of rain and of course colder temperatures, but there were also a lot of days that looked like they’d be nice for sailing.
So the weather from winter 22/23 informed our plans for sailing in Ireland and along the south coast of the UK during winter 23/24. And as fate would have it, winter 22/23 was a very mild one while winter 23/24 has been particularly strong.
Back in 2015, the Met Office (the UK’s version of the US NOAA) started assigning names to strong winter storms as a way to try to get the population to pay attention when a particularly strong storm threatens life and property. These storms typically feature winds gusting above 50kts, which generate very high and steep waves, so even large boats seek shelter from them.
During the winter of 22/23 (when we were monitoring the weather), there were only two named storms, both late in the year. During the winter of 23/24 (when we were actually sailing and exposed to the weather), there have been 11 named storms – all of those occurred during a 4 month span, which equates to a serious bit of weather every couple of weeks. That’s amost twice as many strong weather events as in a typical winter.
So that’s been the backdrop for Oso’s winter sailing experience on the UK and Irish coast. While we’ve had some spirited sails, we’ve also spent a lot of time waiting for weather good enough to make it to the next port. And when the weather is favorable for moving, the very short winter days have meant a lot of sailing after dark.
On the plus side, we’ve had very little trouble finding places to tie up. When we arrive at a new place, the locals are usually surprised to see a pair of Americans on the dock. Maybe it’s just that everyone in the UK knows better!
