• The week in pictures
• Recommended reading from the editorial team

Dear readers,

We sailors in this part of the world have one problem in common: winter! The cold and gloomy season robs the maritime leisure community of its great passion. Boating - in whatever form - is usually put on ice during the winter months, in the truest sense of the word. Of course, nobody in the ranks of water sports enthusiasts really likes this, except perhaps those who are just as keen on skiing, tobogganing or snowboarding, and there are quite a few of those. Seen in this light, the seasons may have their appeal. But in my opinion, the winter season, which we dislike so much, is simply far too long in this country. I don't think that can be changed in the short term.

Saturday morning a week ago in Constance: it is the last Saturday before the first Advent, traditionally the date for the Iron Regatta in Constance on Lake Constance, also known as "Die Eiserne" for short. What began in 1975 as a fun regatta for a handful of hardened sailors has now developed into one of the biggest regattas on the Swabian Sea. It may sound strange, but that's the way it is. For years, around 200 boats have regularly come to the start of the Eisernen, more than at many other regatta events in the summer, which do not even come close to such registration numbers. This year there are 127 dinghies, yachts and catamarans taking part - "only" 127. Some of them have travelled a long way, on their own keel from the other end of the lake from Lindau or Bregenz, some bring their boats from even further afield on a trailer and have to set up and crane in with clammy fingers in the driving snow. They are already freezing before they set sail.

It snowed heavily overnight, more so than in recent years. Great timing, now of all times! As every year, the supposedly last heroes of sailing gather in front of the clubhouse of the DSMC (German-Swiss Motorboat Club) for the helmsmen's briefing. They all want to give it one last go, to sail a regatta one last time before the boat disappears into winter storage for the duration of the forced meteorological break. The adventure beckons, the challenge appeals.

The jokers among them wear Santa hats with twinkling stars on them, some have even glued on a white beard. Humour is when you laugh anyway. I myself, clad in dark oilskins and wearing plenty of warm underwear, feel more like a cross between Knecht Ruprecht and the Michelin Man. If my mate hadn't asked me a week earlier if I wanted to sail the Eiserne with him, I'd be sitting casually at home in the warm living room watching the snowflakes dancing outside. "I wish he hadn't asked," were my thoughts at the time.

So we all stand there in front of the Constance clubhouse, still in the thick of the snow, stomping around in the slush, only to realise with disillusionment that the seams of our sailing boots haven't exactly got any better or tighter over the years. Someone stomping next to me in moon boots remarks: "This isn't the Iron Regatta, it's the regatta of the loonies." I briefly consider whether I should agree with him, but then leave his ludicrous comment uncommented on and, being the Swiss that I am, take a neutral stance and remain silent.

Then everything has been said by the race organisers. The wind is there, the snowfall too, that's all that's needed for the Iron Regatta. The general mood on the snow-covered wooden jetties in Constance harbour is relaxed and exuberant. Many sip one last mulled wine from the stall at the nearby Christmas market, then the boats are cleared of snow as best they can and the already slightly frozen mooring lines are cast off. Then it's out onto the Konstanz funnel to the "Eisernen".

What happens there in detail is irrelevant. It's like any regatta: some sail better, others less well, someone wins. It's no different in winter than in summer. So afterwards I sit in the warm clubhouse with my fellow competitors, first with mulled wine and later with beer, while my previously almost frozen limbs slowly get back up to operating temperature. And I quietly ask myself the cardinal question of what drives sailors to race around the course in the middle of winter, freezing miserably every year.

And I can only find one answer to that: Because it's pretty cool after all ...!!!

Michael Good,

YACHT editor

Click to see through

The week in pictures:

Recommended reading from the editorial team:

YACHT webinars

Beginner webinars for everyone. Register now!

On 2 November, we launched our extensive range of interesting online lectures on the most important topics relating to sailing. Let our experts get you in shape for the new season. In a series of webinars, we share practical knowledge and our experience on topics that concern beginners and experts alike

• Click here for all previous "YACHT Week" columns