They have to be ready to travel to race regularly. After all, it is not easy to get a 5,000 -15,000 lb. boat and 5 to 8 crew to another place just for a race or two. True, some smaller boats can be trailered to regattas, but only a handful of racers do that. But there is one group of dedicated sailors who are truly the gypsies of the sailing world. They are the iceboaters.
Water is water.
It may be salty or fresh, cold or warm, calm or stormy, but as long as it is not frozen, it is still just water, and if it is deep enough, and you have wind, you can race in it. It is not so simple for the iceboater. Ice can be too rough, too soft, too thin, too covered with snow, and if the ice is okay, the air temperature may be too frigid. Hence, iceboaters must be nomads. They seek the appropriate conditions, wherever that may take them.