For most season-respecting New Englanders, those all-weather sailors you see out on Bristol Harbor every Saturday must seem like a unique bunch. As you might expect, a lot of them are accomplished and competitive sailors in the summer season. But some "frostbiters," as they're called, actually prefer winter sailing.

They're in the right place for it. From November through March, the Bristol Yacht Club hosts the Penguin fleet, among the oldest frostbiting fleets in the nation and named for the boats they traditionally sailed—Penguins—which were crafted from plywood by the S-boat aficionados that dominated the fleet in the 1950's and 1960's. Or perhaps the boats got their name from the fleet…nobody seems to remember. But either way, these days, the fleet is dominated by Lasers.

One recent and relatively mild Saturday found the Penguins out in force, with 16 of the more than 20 registered boats in attendance, and light but consistent winds.

Peter Wisotzkey, program director for the East Bay Sailing Foundation, and Will Pierce, who has run the Penguin's race committee for the last 7 years (and has served in some capacity since the late 1980's), cast off from the BYC dock and motored to the frostbiting hut, a ramshackle structure that appears to have been targeted at one time or another by every seagull on Narragansett Bay. Once upon a time a space heater provided some warmth, but a mishap sent it down to the bottom of the harbor years ago.

"Someone's gotta do the dirty work," says Wisotzkey, gingerly tying up to the splattered platform. Asked if he wished he were out in a Laser, Wisotzkey (wearing more warm protective gear than many of the competitors) laughed. "I'm not crazy."

To be fair, Pierce and Wisotzkey are more likely to be impacted by the cold. Setting marks and blasting off the start sequence are sedentary jobs, while Laster sailing is pretty athletic. According to Fleet Captain Curt Mahlstead, it's actually more comfortable when it's windy. "By the time you go in—if you go in—you're ready to cool down a bit," he says.

Still, they won't go out if it's too cold. How cold does it have to be to be too cold? "We have a 20/20 rule," says Wisotzkey. "We won't go out if it's under 20 degrees or blowing more than 20 knots." In other words, they're usually out there.

"Sure, it’s a bit crazy to be on the water in January and February," says Karen Binder, who would take 2nd in the fleet on this day. "But, I love it. Frostbiting makes me feel alive because it requires total focus. One small slip and you are swimming."

Another thing is notably different about this winter fleet versus the typical  summer fleet. While not rampant, rule-bending seems to be tolerated, with sailors squeezing each other out at marks and clinging to the platform of the hut to avoid starting over the line; there was even an under-the-radar collision or two. Despite the warm season's laid-back, Margaritaville image, these are all behaviors that routinely send summer sailors into apoplexy, shattering the serenity of a sunny afternoon on the bay with screams of "protest", "make room", and "do your turns."

Binder credits this cold-weather culture of cooperation to the nice camaraderie within the group. "We are all competitors," she says, "but we help each other out when boats are capsizing.”

Wisotzkey has noticed the frostbiters' looser interpretation of the rules, though he is more inclined to chalk it up to basic physiology. "I think suffering together makes them bond," he says.

Want to join? Contact Curt Mahlstedt at cmahlstedt@fullchannel.net

. Joining the Penguins is free for your first day; $75 for the season after that; and always free if you're under 18.