Laser Sailing on the St. George River, Thomaston, Maine
Photographs by Bronwyn Wolfgang

The common wisdom is that the sailing season in Maine is a short one: July or August , whichever month isn’t foggy. There are, however, many wind-driven enthusiasts who would beg to differ with that assessment. Some of these Winter Boat Freaks might even say that the sailing season doesn't begin until after Labor Day--long after.

We hereby begin our irregular series of articles about those who keep sailing on winter waters, both soft and hard.

We started with a look at the Thomaston, Maine- based "Raser Lasing" fleet—a committed group of not-quite-over-the-hill Laser sailors that uses the St. George River as its race course and Chris Biggart’s home, a former sail loft on the shore as its base. The Saint George River is extremely tidal, so access is limited to two hours before and after high water. Some starts have been as early as nine in the morning, but that just gave the sailors a good excuse to recuperate in front of the football game in the afternoon.

They are not to be confused with Olympic hopefuls, but there was a noticeable increase in aggressive behavior after all the sailors in the fleet bought dry suits.

If you know of any other "winter boat freaks", please let us know about them by e-mailing us at: freaks@maineboats.com.