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Hard water sailors glide into Colchester

Lew Davison and his son take an annual sailing trip north every winter. With single-digit temperatures, some wind and of course the ice. "How many people want to be out here today, not many so you've got to be a little crazy" Lew Davison said.

The Davisons are 'hard water sailors', they race these wooden boats on steel blades in the coldest areas of the country. "I've been doing it since I was fourteen, so forty-five years" Lew Davison said. Like father, like son, they both love the cold and claim to be a little crazy. Every sailor has a set ice picks around their neck, they're called bear claws, in the event of falling through the ice you're supposed to use the spikes to pull yourself out. Chris Davison says, "its kind of a feeling of being out of control while having a little control at the same time, like having a tiger by the tail at least with these boats."

Don't let their laughter fool you, it's not always smooth sailing -- in fact it's a lot of maintenance. "Continuing maintenance, hundreds sometimes thousands of miles traveling and most of all very supportive wives," Chris Davison said.

Getting a good run requires somewhat of a perfect storm. "If there's too much snow we can't sail on it, if the ice conditions are perfect and there's too much wind we can't sail if there's not enough wind we can't sail so the stars have to align to allow for it" Chris Davison said. Lew Davison says, "Its a nice bonding experience, half of the fun is getting here so we enjoy the traveling, its a lot of fun and its a great thing to do as a father and son, believe me.

With smiles on their faces this father and son duo battles what most would consider debilitating weather conditions -- at least they know they'll be in same boat.