I wrote and re-wrote this post looking ways to not to bring you down. It’s certainly not my intent. I want to give you a good answer to your question. But in the end I have to give you the correct answer and not necessarily the answer you want. Forgive me for this, but a beginner just should NOT be on the water this time of year. There really is no flexibility. This is what I would tell my own family members. The only exception would be if you took a drive to Lake Columbia in Portage, WI. This lake is heated by a power plant and is very warm. Even here you will learn very quickly what wet skin feels like in cold air. Never paddle in water you are not willing to swim in. The point is “beginner” and cold water just don’t mix. It’s just too risky and who wants to kill themselves over a hobby anyway??

Experienced sea kayakers will go out this time of year but we wear a drysuit that will actually keep water off us. Then we wear wicking clothing under the drysuit. Then we also back up this with a bunch of emergency gear. We plan for the worse and hope we never need it. Anything less than a drysuit is too much risk. I know guys go out fishing all the time in row boats and motorboats without dry gear. But note too that most hypothermia deaths among kayakers are new or inexperienced kayakers. They just should not have been out there. I have read various accident reports already this year where inexperienced kayakers have needlessly died due to poor choices. It’s very sad but good people die every year and they just don’t understand the risks they take.

So please, for now, put your kayaks in the living room and sit in the cockpits and watch TV for the time being. (I did that with my first boat) In fact why not get a copy of “This Is The Sea” or other kayaking videos to get the feel for it. Then take a lesson either from Rutabaga, myself or other certified instructor. Give yourself an extra safety margin while you learn, then after you have more experience you can decide if you want to invest in dry gear and explore the winter wonderland by water.

All the best!