WINTERLUDE 2016 PART TWO

Having spent most of January cruising in the Caribbean I was lucky enough to miss JONAS the named blizzard that hit the area. Luckily there was no Arctic freeze following the storm and temperatures rose melting much of the snow before I returned.   So unlike last winter I was easily able to get down to the boatyard and check on BIANKA and see how she fared while I was away.
The deck cockpit and the deck on the south facing side had very little snow on them. The Solar Bimini where I had not yet reinforced the Lexan center piece had collapsed on one edge dumping some snow into the corner of the cockpit.

Something I will take care of once things warm up. For now I re positioned it back and slide a temporary brace underneath it. The deck area on the northern side of the boat still had about two inches of slushy snow and ice. I thought there would be more snow and bought a plastic folding shovel along to help remove it:

 I got this folding plastic shovel many years ago as a Christmas present. It's made for carrying in the car. But, I found a better use for it on board to help remove any snow and ice on the deck that might linger over the winter. It's small enough for the deck area and it being plastic does not mar the deck.

The cover over the mast partners was still secure so it was time to see how things were in the cabin. I looked in the bilge and there was a little bit of water in the bilge. Not surprising since the boat had been through a major Blizzard two weeks before.

I used my two gallon wet/dry vacuum to suck the water out and splashed some more antifreeze into the bilge:

 This should help keep things unfrozen until I can once again check on things in another week or so. I did find one item that gave up the ghost from the last time I used it last winter. That was the small ceramic cube electric heater:

It was still putting out heat but, the fan was not working. It was on BIANKA when I bought her in 1995 and was working last winter helping to keep me warm while working on board. Though I guess twenty plus years is a pretty good run. I'll probably buy a replacement for the next visit.

SOMETIMES YOU GET LUCKY

The word from NOAA:

"...BLIZZARD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY
AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY
AFTERNOON.

* LOCATIONS...THE FIVE BOROUGHS OF NEW YORK CITY...COASTAL
  PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY...AND LONG ISLAND.

* HAZARD TYPES...HEAVY SNOW ALONG WITH STRONG AND POTENTIALLY
  DAMAGING WINDS.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 8 TO 12 INCHES.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE LOWER 30S.

* VISIBILITIES...ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES.

* TIMING...SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON."

Meanwhile down here in the Caribbean it looks like this:

Feel lucky to be down here cruising for a bit as a blizzard approaches up northbut, still thinking about BIANKA on the hard.

A WINTERS BOATYARD TALE

Things warmed up a little between Polar Vortex cold fronts and winter storms. So I decided to go down and do another quick check on the boat before the next winter storm came barreling through. It was definitely a much more pleasant experience than my visit twelve days previously. For one thing it was much easier to get to the boat. The left photos were taken twelve days earlier than the right which was my most recent visit:

Almost all of the snow was gone and I was not slip slidin' around while trying to get to the boat on the icy drifts of snow. The deck too was clear of snow and looked clean and ready for the new season:

I could even see the solar panels once again as they continued to do their job keeping the batteries topped up over the winter:

Finally the cockpit was cleared of snow too:

If it wasn't for the 28 degree F temperature I might have cracked open a beer and enjoyed the view. With less than twenty days until spring begins I hope that day comes soon.

WINTERLUDE 2014

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The mooring permit arrived in the mail the other day. Despite the snow still on the ground I really had to get down to the boatyard to pick up some documentation for the application. Also because I had not been on the boat since late December I really wanted to make sure things were ok on board. We have had several winter storms during January and I had visions of an ice filled bilge or worse. In addition a Nor' Easter was expected the next day which would make getting to the boat even harder if not impossible. So for all of these reasons I put on some boots and headed to the boatyard.

Like Robbie the boatyard manager told me a few days before there was still some frozen snow drifts making for a difficult walk to the boat but, not too bad. I used the folding ladder like a crutch or walking stick to help break through the frozen drifts. Soon I was in sight of BIANKA:

There was no snow underneath the boats but, icy  foot and half drifts along the sides. My boats southern location help keep the snow to a minimum around the boat so I could unfold the ladder. But, before I did I noticed the three foot icicles hanging down from some of the cockpit and deck drains:

Yeah, it's been a cold winter with very little thawing in between storms.  I'm going to be doing a close inspection of the cockpit drain hoses when things warm up for sure.  Just to make sure the ice build up has not damaged them. Climbing up the ladder I saw first hand how much snow we have had compared to previous winters:

Somewhere under all that snow is the cabin top and deck. Looks like it was a tactical error not to cover the boat this year. Previous winters for the past ten years had been rather mild and any snow did not stick around for long. Especially with the harbor waters helping to moderate the winter temperatures.

The cockpit was partially filled with snow. The solar panels on one side of the solar bimini were covered as well from the snow of last week:

So I was expecting the worse as I went into the cabin I had not seen since late December. But, to my surprise I found only about an inch of water in the bilge despite all the snow that hit the area:

The water was still way below the bilge switch but, unfortunately because of the recent below normal single digit temperatures the water was frozen.

 So I added a little more spare Antifreeze to the bilge and hope to come back again soon to remove the water when things warm up a bit. I still was relieved to see how little water had actually ended up in the bilge in the month and a half since I was last on board. I also checked the cover over the mast partner area of the boat and it was secure and things were completely dry by the mast step:

Despite the solar panels having been partly covered by snow I was glad to see the batteries were still fully charged. Though I turned on both battery charges to make sure they would get a little top up too while I was on board. I also took out the small ceramic heater and fired it up:

Soon things were nice and toasty. I took off my boots and warmed the insides as well as my toes after trudging around in the 20 degree temperatures and snow drifts  to get to the boat. This little heater works very well to warm up the cabin on a cold winters day. I stayed on board about an hour. Picked up the paper work I needed. I took one last look at the winter view of the docks:

The  undisturbed snow on the dock makes it seem like spring is so far away.  But, after the snow storm last night temperatures reached up to 40 degrees fahrenheit this morning and started to melt much more of the snow. This gives me hope that my next trip to the boat will be a lot easier and warmer.  

WHY I'M AN OPTIMIST

While some sailors may look out their front door in despair at this scene courtesy of the blizzard Nemo. As for myself, I take comfort that I mailed in the application for this seasons mooring permit yesterday. So I know the sailing season is on it's way.