Sleet and Snow

Whenever you think about sailboats, you normally envision warm sunny days and white sandy beaches, not sleet and snow. But that's what we've got today. It reminds me of the winter I spent aboard Aurora in Marion, Massachusetts, back in 2007-2008. I wasn't able to get her ready in time and didn't even go into the water until late December.

By early January, I gave up all hope of making it out, as the weather had already turned too cold and nasty, so I spent the winter on the boat on Barden's dock. We had several snow storms and lots of wind, but thankfully the harbor never actually froze completely over. I was there until late April when I moved to Manhattan and took a job with Bloomberg -- great job, but not quite the same as living on a boat.

I have no intention of repeating that, but I've still got a lot to do and very little time in which to do it. There won't be much light today, but I should be able to get a bunch of small things mounted. I may even work on the engine if I get a chance, but the focus now is getting the deck dry. I'll save the portholes for tomorrow.

Zoe watch:

She's back in her fleece, and didn't seem to like the sleet very much. We took a long walk, and she stayed hidden behind me most of the way. She also stays on the boat all the time now. It's just too cold to leave her outside for long periods of time. I'm sure she'd be okay, but since there's no shelter down there, she can't get out of the wind. And we've got a lot of wind this time of year.