Snow, Snow Go Away!

SHIP'S LOG:

     Well, it was a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing, Snowstorm "Dion" that is. After all of the hype, it was put into the proper perspective by a Congresswomen from upstate New York who referred to it as " a heavy frost." We didn't get all that much here in the wilds of Griswold, perhaps 2 inches, maybe, but it did get cold. That will probably be the most lasting effect as the temperature is not suppose to rise above freezing for the rest of the week, until that is we get smacked with the next snowstorm on the weekend. we'll have to wait and see how accurate NOAA is this time.

     This little weather incident will surely cause to spring into action all those who have yet to winterize and cover their craft. It is not so much to prevent damage to the exterior but to the interior.  Snow melt and refreezes and melts and refreezes and it tend to block scuppers and cockpit drains. As a  result, a truly "decent" snowfall followed by a melt can fill most cockpits to overflowing and the place into which they overflow is the boat's interior. Water, especially frozen water, is something that you definitely want to keep out of your boat. Doing the proper covering job before the "bad winter weather sets in" means that you are less likely to end up 10 to 12 feet in the air (one's boat on boat stand), precariously  perched on ice/snow covered decks, trying chip-off, shovel away the accumulation, especially from the drains and scuppers. And to do so in rather chilly weather as well! Another one of those "fun aspects" of boat ownership.

     In my current financial state, I no longer receive "CRUISING WORLD" or "SAIL"  or "BLUE WATER SAILING" and that is a good thing. At this time of the year, they are all replete with stories and article of people sailing/cruising/living in the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of Florida, Latin America, and the Islands of the Pacific. It is cruel and heartless to have such stories present to us, whose only skin coloring  is provided by wind burn from the cold winter winds. And it is still 10 days from "the turn of the tide," the shortest day of the year after which the days begin to get longer, not that it will be noticeable much before February. So the spiral is still downward, but one must always keep positive outlook. After all, last year at this time there were lots of people expecting the 21st to be the end of the world!