I went up to check on my boat this morning. She is stored in water at a marina in Glen Cove, NY. The summer before the mast was pulled and a through rigging inspection done and with that in mind I decided one more to store in water with the mast up. The yard supplies propeller like units that send powerful jets of water up from the bottom of the slip to deter ice. We in NY and elsewhere have been though a very cold and windy winter --yesterday it was 1*. I just returned from a out of State trip so was anxious to check on the boat --so appropriately dressed I drove up to the yard at 9AM.
It was low tide when I got there and I could see from the parking lot about 15-20 feet above water level that the marina was in a death grip of ice. The clammers were frozen onto the dock with no way to get out the frozen fairways. OMG! a red tinge was around Leslie Kay on the side I was facing. Could a hapless worker fallen in? I rushed down the gangway to the boat.
Ice had formed on the dock side of the boat between the boat and the finger dock. The other side was free of ice due to the "bubbler". As the boat rises and falls it seems some of the ice stays on the surface pf the water and scrapes off some red bottom paint causing a ring of red/pink ice--like a slushy or frosty drink. It doesn't look like its casing any damage. Inside the boat my MAX-MIN thermometer said the coldest it got was 9* air temp. the boat looked fine and dry. I was relieved.