Winters in Woods Hole are windy, mild and temperatures rarely dip below 35 degrees F. Rain replaces snow and foggy, over-cast days out number sunny ones. The wind constantly blows, howls and screams, picking up sand or sea-spray and flinging it everywhere. It's no wonder the houses are all painted grey and covered with shingles: the Cape Gray Lady style.
 |
| A view of Water Street looking towards National Marine Fisheries & MBL |
Since snow is pretty rare in Woods Hole and inches of accumulation rarer still, it was a pleasant surprise to wake up to snow! At 8:00am snow really began to accumulate, and Sandy and Tia enjoyed playing in it.
In Eel Pond, ice began to form as the temperature dropped.
 |
| Mooring buoy the owners forgot to remove | |
Ice forming near the dock. Though it's cold, shoveling snow into the pond definitely accelerated ice formation.
Chad couldn't shovel fast enough...the snow kept coming!
We're up to 5 inches and snow continues to fall. It makes for a peaceful, quiet Saturday.
Most of the time the boat is pretty warm. In addition to forced-are heat, we added two electric and one propane heater (yes, mom and dad, it's safe). But, since the marina has no internet, we often escape to local shops like Coffee Obsession, Pie in the Sky, Woods Hole Market (formerly The Food Buoy), or Captain Kidd's for heat while we work online.
A view of our dock in the snow. We're docked behind the wrapped boat on the left.
View of Eel Pond from a little courtyard where Sandy and Tia play during outside time.
We've experience a few cold days (12-25 degrees F) that challenged our thermal-preparedness. The main challenge is trying to run two electric heaters, one in the bilge/engine compartment and one in the cabin, without overloading the circuits. The propane heater helps, but placement must be strategic and crucial and run time is limited. Another issue is keeping up with and trying to eliminate condensation, a particular issue in the forward compartment, since it sits lower than the main salon and is not heated. To our surprise, lighting about a zillion candles in the forward head helps mitigate condensation and keeps the sink from freezing.
With all the challenges that come from living on a boat, it remains a fun adventure, and I am having a great time!
