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NO DENIM,NO COTTON WHAT SO EVER.ONCE COTTON GETS WET FROM SEA WATER IT NEVER REALLY DRIES COMPLETETLY.THE ONLY TYPE OF GARMENTS TO WEAR IS A POLYESTER/DACRON MIX.WHEN THIS GETS WET IT IS VERY QUICK TO DRY OUT.SORRY FOLKS BUT THAT PRETTY MUCH MEANS NO SOCKS AND NO UNDERWEAR.MOST OF THE TIME IN THE HOT TROPICAL SUN THE ONLY THING I WORE IS FOOT WEAR.AND THATS ALL. POSITIVELY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE.AND FOOTWEAR  IS VERY IMPORTANT 'CUZ WHILST WALKING AROUND ON DECK I  JUST GOTTA BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO CATCH MY.... MY..... "TOE" ON SOMETHING.MAYBE NEXT TIME I WILL BE SURE TO WEAR A HAT.

THe hat for modesty sake of course...  ;D

the hat is to protect skin from the harmful effect of solar u.v. rays.

That's gotta be one large hat!  I like to wear long shorts (down to knees) and some kind of shirt (mostly t-shirts", mainly to keep the sun off those areas of the skins, of course a hat is de rigueur!

Going "al natural" is fine by me for a short time, but the sunburn in the neither regions must hurt!

PAREAU (sp)  French - sounds like ParRayU (with Maine accent).  A big retangle of very thin cotton in vibrant colors.  It dries in 5 minutes.
It weighs nothing, takes up little space, can be used for towel or beach blanket ;).  It can be worn in many styles - dress, shirt, shorts.  The ladies would like to know about this.

I just grab it and cover myself quickly if I have guests or shore patrol ::).    Remember, I sail mostly solo :D.

On a related note, I've read (not tested by me) that sea water dries quicker than fresh...so, the idea is after a rain, you can dry clothes quicker by dunking in sea water.

(Source: Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare by John Toohey).

the opposite is true.when seawater dries it leaves behind a salt residue.salt retains water.this salt residue absorbs moisture from the air.thats why after a sea water shower you need to rinse off in fresh water.

That's what I would have thought, too, without giving it some thought.  I am simply relating that at the time of Bligh's epic voyage, that factoid was considered well known by the world's sailers, but never really recorded.  Since Bligh's crew was soaked by repeated storms, they used that technique to avoid hypothermia and possibly saving their lives.  So, Bligh is given credit for recording it.

Caveat: I am talking about drying clothes my simple air evaporation; no external heat.

That salt absorbs water from the air is termed hygroscopic.  The propensity to draw water from the air will depend on how much water is 'trapped' in the salt crystal lattice at the time of solidification.  Simply air drying (as opposed to heat drying) by evaporation will likely leave a sufficient amount of water in the salt crystal lattice so that more cannot be 'trapped.' (heating drives out this 'excess' water).

In other words, this is simply a thermodynamic equilibrium: the air you are 'drying' the clothes with is the same air, with the same humidity as the air you would be drawing moisture from.  How can the salt become drier than the air you dried it with, in the absence of heat to force it out?

I will ask the next pair of seawater soaked blue jeans why the arenot drying out soon enough.

One of the first things taught in most outdoor 'survival' schools is "Cotton Kills"

  If you 'Google' this phrase you will get plenty of hits, but here is a pretty good one. (http://www.losalamos.org/lasar/lafb/cotton_kills.htm)

  Basically, it is considered better to be naked then to be wearing cotton (once it is wet) as it makes a great evaporative cooling system and draws your body heat away faster then you would loose it if you were wearing nothing at all.

  I still wear Levi's but have pollypro's on under them whenever it is at all cold out.

Quote from: starcrest on December 25, 2005, 11:40:39 PM
I will ask the next pair of seawater soaked blue jeans why the arenot drying out soon enough.

You already said cotton/denim were baaad, anyway. :)

I'm just tellin you what I read.  If you don't believe it (based on your own real world experience), that is fine with me (and I would not disagree with your experience...in other words, I think it is counter intuitive, also).

To emphasize what you already said (I found this site with a cool little chart):

Paddling Magazine (http://www.wavelengthmagazine.com/1996/jj96saltwaterclothes.php)

Does fresh water weigh more than salt water?  How much?

Fresh water weighs 62.4 lbs./cu.ft.
Salt water weighs 64.2 lbs./cu.ft.

Quote from: Sid T on December 26, 2005, 01:04:26 PM
Fresh water weighs 62.4 lbs./cu.ft.
Salt water weighs 64.2 lbs./cu.ft.

Agreed.  The density of salt water is greater than that of fresh water, meaning it weighs more per unit volume.

Density of Ocean Water (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi/earth/Water/density.html)

From the first paragraph (added here just so the units match for the calculation below):

Quote
The density of pure water is 1000 kg/m3. Ocean water is more dense because of the salt in it. Density of ocean water at the sea surface is about 1027 kg/m3.

Also, the heat capacity Cp is different for pure water and ocean water:

Cp-pure = 4184 J/kg-deg
Cp-ocean = 3996 J/kg-deg

The danger of wearing wet clothes is related to the amount of energy sinked from the body into the clothing.  Heat transfer is calculated as q = mCp, where q is heat, m is mass and Cp is heat capacity.

If we assume our clothes have absorbed 1 m^3 water (to keep the math simple for example purposes) and we also assume the thermal conductivity is constant, we can calculate the amount of energy transferred from the body to the wet clothes per Celsius degree of temperature change in the wet clothes.

For pure water:

q * (1 degree) = mCp = (1000 kg)*(4184 J/kg-deg) = 4184000 J

For ocean water:

q * (1 degree) = mCp = (1027 kg)*(3996 J/kg-deg) = 4104892 J.

Clearly, the ocean water will absorb less energy (about 2%) from the body under the given assumption of constant thermal conductivity.  Physiologically, this means the act of the body drying clothes wet with salt water will feel less cold than one drying clothes wet with fresh water.  2% may not sound like much, I suppose, but on the edge of survival, as Bligh's group was, I guess it can make the difference between life and death.

Data References:

Heat Capacity of Ocean Water (http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/csm/models/cpl/cpl4.0/doc9.html)
Heat Capacity of Fresh/Pure Water (http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/h1/heatcapa.asp)

Pareos are the way to go in tropical climes...for both sexes!

Okay mermaid I'll bite...what's a peraro?

Also welcome I used to see you over at Lats&Atts.

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This morning it looked so nice out I thought I'd leave it out.

S/V "Tina Marie" Cal 2-27

Peraro,

     Mermaid corrected my spelling of pereau (that's with a Maine accent) :D.   It is the most wonderful garment I have ever owned.  It is a colorful, almost  sheer rectangular piece of cotton most often worn in the south sea islands.  It can be worn as a dress, shirt, shorts, etc. (for both man or woman).  Nando has one of mine.   It can also be used as a towel and beach blanket and dries in 5 minutes.

     Hi you two.  It's nice to find another "pub".  Welcome aboard.

Sarah,

It sounds so versitle, can it be a beach blanket while it is being worn?  I can see some interesting things happening there. ha ha

----------------------------------------------------

This morning it looked so nice out I thought I'd leave it out.

S/V "Tina Marie" Cal 2-27

That would make a nice belated Christmas present for you and your first mate ;).  Trust me ;)

Sarah,

Good idea, where can I find one. I'm in Los Angeles area, Malibu.

Skipper Dave,

     Easy, just head West ;D.    I don't know where to find them in the States.  One day when you don't feel like sailing, you and your first mate might want to take a trip to the mall :o and shop for some exotic material in a fabric shop.  You two could do that on your way to/from Worst Marine ::) ;)

These Peraro sound interesting, any pics?  in any or all of the above mentioned uses?

Peraro pics? not yet :D.

I keep several t-shirts on my boat all the time as well as some sweat shirts but all my shorts are some kind of technical fabric so they dry quickly - mostly nylon.  For nasty days I have a PVC rain suit but for some reason I've never used it on the boat. If I'm sailing and a shower hits I just close up the boat and dry off later with my handy dandy Absorber Synthetic Chamois. If you dont have one of these they are GREAT - when they are soaked you just ring them out and keep going, they store in a small tube and should be kept damp so they stay pliable.  This beats the heck out of storing a ton of towels or finding a place to dry them. They also come in several colors so its easy to keep up with whos is whos

I agree with Sarah on the Peraro.  I love mine.  I have 3, one from the BVI, one a friend brought me back from Tahiti and one from good ole Wally World.  They are sold just about anywhere that bathing suits are sold.   Looks kinda like a shawl hanging up and in bright colors.  You can even get rings to run the ends through to keep them holding.
I have no idea how to tie them into shorts though.  I will have to work on that one.    ::)

I did a quick ebay search and think they have quite a few listings
PAREAU is the word I searched. And for the DIY crowd, here are patterns
http://www.gotfabric.com/SearchEngineCatalog/hawaiian-pareau-sarong-pattern.htm
web site with pics
http://www.pareoisland.com/

well just to re-iterate....while sailing in the hot tropical sun out on nowheresville,the only thing I ever wear is foot wear....and  when I dont wear that I would walk around very carefully...I would have to be very careful not to catch my......"TOE" on something...........

Skipper Dave,If ya real clever and can sew,You can sew carn't you?,just go out and buy the appropriate material,sew up the edges and wella,A present hand made for the one I love most,allways wins out over store bought.Plus it will be cheaper.Mudnut.

When I went down to Antigua last spring, I didn't know what a pareo was either. I had some leftover fabric, batik, which I hemmed and fringed, and it worked perfectly. I got 2 for free.

Most fabric is 45 inches wide on the bolt. Get a piece a little longer, about 2 yards.

Look at the short sides. By pulling out about an inch of the weft (the crosswise threads that run between the selvedge) you can create a bit of fringe that will prevent the fabric from fraying. A straight or zigzag stitch at the base of this raveling will help secure it, but it in general, the fabric will resist wholesale fraying by just raveling about an inch.

Hem the long sides, (just rollover twice, 1/4 inch both times and sew a straight line). This edge should be what is called the selvedge, meaning it has no loose threads. If you are really sewing challenged, you can do without hemming. If you are really fussy, cut off the selvedge and hem. Selvedges tend to be less flexible than the woven fabric, so depending on the weight of the material, they can be an advantage or disadvantage. Totally up to you whether to remove and hem, or let them be.

If you have friends who sew, you can usually find some suitable fabric in their stash. Quilters are notorious for having odds and ends around. The more colorful and garish, the more likely the fabric is to have found its way to the bottom of their heap. And the better for you.

Here is a pic of me in my green pareo in Antigua.

I had 2, a green and a blue, both batik fabrics that I hadn't found any use for. Mostly we used the blue one as a cockpit curtain. Let the breeze in, kept the bugs out, and provided some privacy while at the marina.

-elizabeth

Quote from: Captain Smollett on December 25, 2005, 11:32:19 PM
Since Bligh's crew was soaked by repeated storms, they used that technique to avoid hypothermia and possibly saving their lives.

Hi Cap'n,
It is considered folk knowledge in the cold harbors of Maine, that fishermen's hands stay warmer in wool, when it is wet with salt water, than with most other new-fangled gear for wet work in the cold. I have some great mitten patterns from traditional knitters in Maine and Newfoundland for just such garments. It has been said that a fisherman wearing salt-water soaked felted knitted wool mittens, will withdraw his hands from the mitten, and they will be rosy red with warmth and steaming from the heat. Sounds romantic no?

When I was a child though, my mom made mittens of wool of a similar style and density. I don't know that she soaked them in salt water, but knowing my mom, it is probable. The mittens were never washed all winter, were just laid on the burner in our walkout basement to dry. They would be stiff when put on, but would soften as they got wet in the snow melting on our toasty hands. We were wet but not cold.

Perhaps this is the phenomenon that kept hypothermia at bay for Captain Bligh and his crew.

If anyone knits and sails in cold climes, I would recommend securing a copy of Robin Hansen's book, Fox and Geese and Fences: A Collection of Traditional Maine Mittens

It is out of print, but I see used copies at Amazon. New copies are often found in your local knitting shop as well, buried in the shelves of patterns that accumulate in these treasure troves.

-elizabeth

Elizabeth,

  I wanted to show the 1st Mate what you were talking about.... do you have a larger version of the photo you posted?

  Thanks.  ;D



On Edit;   The Rockdoctor posted This link (http://www.pareoisland.com/pareo_tying.html) which kinda shows it... but the way you have it tied looks different.

I don't have any bigger pics of myself in a pareo, but I found these on the net.
http://site.blackpearldesigns.net/how2.htm
http://site.blackpearldesigns.net/pareo-tying-oaoa.htm

This is the basic one-piece coverup I use. Of course I'm not as well endowed!!

-elizabeth

THanks Elizabeth,
;D

  Rose picked up some really nice fabric the other day.  Between your links and Rockdoctor's we should figure out some way to tie it that she likes.