Thread: Winter cruising
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Old 01-17-2012, 09:41 PM   #8
Nomad Willy
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City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,743
RE: Winter cruising

It's been 5 degrees for two days and I'm not going anywhere. The biggest problem w winter cruising up here in my opinion is ice. Ice on deck, ice on the windows, ice on the floats and domestic water ect. One needs several sources of heat for safety reasons .....not just comfort. Most of the time my mooring lines are frozen very solid. And then the winds do'nt help either. Then one gets slop on the windows and of course it becomes ice. Too much ice. Two or three years ago we set out for Petersburg. Went up to Coffman Cove on a building gale. Went in to Coffman Cove in the dark w 7' stern seas. Tied up to a big aluminum fishing boat and watched the heavy rain and 55 knot winds till the next evening. We had a day to move but could'nt get up Wrangell Narrows as the tide was ebbing in the am. Would need to run part of the narrows in the dark. There's 57 lighted nav aids in the narrows. I've seen it at night. Like a big Christmas tree. I do'nt know how anyone can pick out the light they need. We used the weather window to leave Coffman Cove and go home. Had enough boating for the moment. Now that we're moving back to Puget Sound winter boating will be an option again. By the way we are'nt leaving Thorne Bay till the 25th because of my injured foot.

Eric
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