Polar Vortex

Wow.  It’s barely into January and we’ve really been put to the test already this winter.  For the past several YEARS, we’ve had the mildest of winters around here – higher than average temps, hardly any snow (thank you global warming!) – that have been generally bearable. This winter?  Geeze! Eight days into the new year, and we’ve already had a mythological snow storm and now a polar vortex.

What the heck? 2014 is shaping up to be one hell of a winter.  Lucky us.
Before the bitter cold air of the arctic came our way via a drunken jet stream, we had a surprisingly nice day on Sunday.  Temps were in the mid 40’s.  (those of you already in the Caribbean can stop laughing now.)  We took the opportunity to clear off the last bits of snow & ice from the last snowstorm. (Note the icebergs in the water…)

Monday we were busy prepping the boat for the cold days ahead, breaking out additional heaters and placing them strategically throughout the boat.  We settled on one radiator heater in each hull and a ceramic heater in the salon.  Just in time too because our reverse cycle heating units were basically just blowing out cold air.  It seems we had reached the crucial point where the water temps are too cold for them to keep working.  We battened down the hatches and prepared for the onslaught of 2 days of single digits temps paired with 30mph wind, making it feel -10 below. Awesome.

Monday night we slept down in our bedroom, per usual.  When we woke up, it was so cold you could almost see your breath and the windows were frosted over.  We were big campers before buying the boat and invested in a quality sleeping bag for all of those chilly fall nights in the mountains.  I can not say enough great things about our Big Agnes double wide sleeping bag.  It speaks volumes when it’s cold enough to see your breath, yet it’s so warm under the covers that your toes are sweaty.
The car speaks the truth.  If only there were two 7’s, then we’d be in business!
Tuesday night we wised up and moved into the salon, turning the couch into a bed.  I’ll admit, it was a pretty sweet set up, and kept us warm and comfy all night. This is a great shot of Agnes in all of her glory.

Tuesday night was interesting.  Just as we were high-fiving that we survived the vortex without any major incidents, I go to turn on the water in the galley sink and nothing happens.  Nada.  Same with the sink in our starboard head.  The water line had frozen.  Thankfully the sink in the port head was still flowing, and I was able to wash the dinner dishes that night.  Just like camping, right? It must have thawed sometime today because the water was flowing again when Matt got home from work.  No busted lines on the boat, but there was a busted pipe at the marina bath house, which pretty much shut down the facilities for the night and turned the parking lot into an ice rink.

It’s slowly starting to warm up, with temps getting into the mid 50s this weekend…
We bought a thermometer to record the temps.  Turns out that this one only goes down to 10 degrees, after which it just reads “Lo”.  I guess if you’re somewhere where it’s less than 10 degrees outside, knowing how cold the actual temperature is would just be like adding insult to injury.
Temp in our salon this morning when we woke up. It’s no balmy 70 degrees, but at least we couldn’t see our breath.
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