Naked Sailing - Truth or Wishful Thinking ?

[anjou]

having just seen Beachgirls wonderful avatar, it reminds me of a question that arose after a conversation I had last week with a british guy who wants me to sail the Med with him on board his Snowgoose.

Dont ask how the subject came up but he mentioned that many of the people (couples) he previously met sailing the med are often naked whilst at sea.

Is this more BS or true? We are always being told to cover up and protect skin, and I doubt anyone wishes to become like a melonomic prune.

[David M]

We had a similar thread not too long ago about sailing naked.

I'm sure he would not be asking the same of some old dude. I would suspect he is saying "lets get naked" more than he is saying "that's how we are all the time". It sounds more than a little suspicious.

I'm sure you have seen before and after pictures of people who have spent all their lives in the sun with little or no skin protection. Sure, a little exposure might be fine depending on how much melanin your skin has but I would not be out there hours at a time.

[anjou]

Noooooo
He wasnt suggesting or asking that I might replicate, just mentioned it in passing.

Dont worry, I can usually spot an agenda, but I dont think it was meant like that.

[nautical62]

I can't speak to sailing nude full time in the med, but I think many cruisers are much more relaxed and less modest than much of society. Personally, on an open plan boat, I'm not going to get dressed under the sheets, put in all the hatch boards to take a shower off the transom at night, etc.

I've certainly read passage making accounts such as Tania Aebi that mentioned seeing little need for clothing in fair weather.

[Wrenna]

I have been sailing the Med for quite a few years now. Never seen anybody sailing naked, too dangerous. Not only the sun. If you fall overboard naked in a shoal of jellyfish, you are dead.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by anjou

but I dont think it was meant like that.

Yea, right.

[anjou]

Haha
Just as I thought, another cunning plan to distance woman from clothing.

Foiled once again by my lightening guile and intuitive reasoning.

Tough luck Mike, you have to get up real early to catch me out, even when its not April fools.

[roverhi]

Sailing naked isn't all that comfortable. Non skid and skin aren't an ideal combination. Some people are just exhibitionists and will put up with the discomfort for the thrill. Think some Europeans are very into showing it all, topless women and men in Speedos on the beach. Strangely, in Tahiti, topless women were looked down on by the locals, only European women forgot part of their bathing suits.

Aloha
Peter O.

[anjou]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Sailing naked isn't all that comfortable. Non skid and skin aren't an ideal combination. Some people are just exhibitionists and will put up with the discomfort for the thrill. Think some Europeans are very into showing it all, topless women and men in Speedos on the beach. Strangely, in Tahiti, topless women were looked down on by the locals, only European women forgot part of their bathing suits.

Aloha
Peter O.

Awww, and there I was, thinking its all grass skirts and coconut shell bras.

[Randy]

Anjou
I'm sure you'd do a grass skirt justice!

[SkiprJohn]

My acquaintance Tom ran aground here in Hawaii after sailing from Tahiti. He said he very seldom wore clothes and realized he was naked when he was about to abandon his boat. I personally can't do it anymore due to skin cancer but used to off shore for a few hours at a time in Hawaii when we had a clothing optional crew.
Even in the tropics when the weather gets rough and there is quite a bit of wind, naked is not comfortable and can lead to hypothermia and extreme chafing if you are handling lines, sails and crawling along the deck.
JohnL

[Ex-Calif]

I sail with just shorts a lot and don't have a desire to go the full Monty. Not a prude but there are lots of things to get "hung up" on whle sailing a boat and I'd like to leave this world with all the parts I came into it with.

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by anjou

Noooooo
He wasnt suggesting or asking that I might replicate, just mentioned it in passing.

"Just mentioned it in passing..." That's how we ALL approach it... Next he'll mention that another woman might like to crew too!

[Curmudgeon]

With my luck I'd get my balls caught in a winch. I'll stick to a pair of shorts unless I'm sunbathing at anchor.

[S&S]

The furthest south I've gone is Chicago, and the furthest north, Labrador. It just never came up....