SUB ZERO: MARC PARÉ

Marc Paré talks us through his latest session in Cold Hawaii and how he deals with sailing is Denmark in the midst of winter!

“In early February, I went to Sweden to the Simmer Style HQ, to pick up some prototypes and work on some R&D projects. On the way back I decided to take the ferry across to Denmark with all the gear and give my girlfriend a visit.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get much wind, but the surf was pumping, so we had some great days on the water paddle surfing. On the day with the biggest swell, after an epic surf session, the wind started picking up.

Despite being freezing cold (0ºC), I decided to head out on my 5.3m prototype, 90l Flywave and of course suite up with my O’Shea wetsuit. The wind was really offshore and with the pack of surfers sitting right in the middle of the line up it made it quite tricky to catch the best waves. Nevertheless, I caught a couple really fun waves and as conditions like that are rare in Denmark, it was definitely worth going out.

During the session I kept on trying to keep my hands warm, which was mission impossible. Plus, every time I managed to get my blood flowing back to the fingertips, it felt like someone was cutting them off! I guess it’s just part of winter sailing…

If the conditions are good, I will sail. That day it was zero degrees. But there was swell and wind. My fingers were dying but warmth wise in the body I was fine. The wetsuits we have now are plenty good enough to keep warm when it is freezing so I have no excuse not to sail if it is on. It is not my body that is cold. It is more the hands and feet that suffer.

Normally I have two or three wetsuits ready for a cold day like this. I was surfing in the morning and then I went home, had a hot shower and got changed so I was warm again. I then had another wetsuit ready for later in the day. Some days I change right at the spot but I have been realizing it is sometimes better to get into your wetsuit at home. When it gets that cold, all the locals in Denmark get changed before they go to the beach with the wetsuit on. In the morning when I went surfing my hands were freezing while I was getting my gloves on. I normally have two sets of gloves, boots and a couple of hoods so they are not wet or frozen from the previous session.

In summer time, sometimes I will leave a wetsuit in the back of the van but during winter, you have to be meticulous and always put your suite in a dry room. I always leave the wetsuit boots, gloves and hood in our bathroom to dry out.

The new O’Shea suits are super nice actually. They are really stretchy and really easy to put on, which is important for me. Some wetsuits are tricky for people just to get them on. The O’Shea suits with the front zip are really easy to get on. They use this limestone neoprene, which is very stretchy. So far, they have been keeping me super warm in Denmark, so I am happy with them!”

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