A Flurry of Activity - The Blizzard of 2013

As is usual, things we enjoy in life often get interrupted by, yep, that's right, LIFE!  Well, living in the Northeast offers a robust variety of sailing, seasons, and weather.  In the Winter its always a challenge to pursue a full agenda of boat work.  We have been lucky so far this year and have made decent progress on Harmony.  However, this past weekend was another story!

The Blizzard of 2013 arrived Friday, February 8, and gave us a great excuse to stay home.  Small note:  the entire state of Massachusetts was closed to traffic, and, besides, who in their right mind would venture out into the raging storm - not us.  Our work agenda focused on projects in the home shop, which do need to completed.

Anyway, before we could even think of epoxy, varnish, or teak, we had to shovel out from the roughly 30 inches of snow we received Friday night.  The wind blew in gusts over 30 mph causing significant drifts.

A 4 - 6 foot snow drift on the side porch

Thank goodness that the power stayed on.  However, our generator would have kept all systems operational and the house warm.  When we got up in the morning, the storm was still raging.  So we cooked a hearty breakfast and enjoyed our coffee watching the snow accumulate.

The snow stopped and the sun came out briefly around 10:30 am.  OK, time to attack the mess.  Thank God for the snow blower, but I still had to shovel the walkways, porches, and, of course, the access to the shop.  The snow was powdery, but there was still a lot of it!

An access "tunnel" to Beth's farmers porch

The front door and snow over the window sills

After about 6 hours of snow duty, I called it a day.  My arms were so tired from shoveling out the roughly 6 foot drifts on the porches and around most doors, that I had no desire to sand epoxy fillets on the sea hood (a.k.a. turtle hatch) I had started the day before.

The driveway cut into 30 inches of snow

So, I made a symbolic check of the metaphorical anchor, shut the companionway, and wrapped myself around a soothing glass of wine.  Watching the sunset from the cockpit of Harmony will be wonderful!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!