The Marina is Closed. Also Known as a Bit of Snow.

Posted on by T.J. Butler, Author
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Part of our dock has been shoveled and the boats are iced in. 

So there’s a blizzard going on in the mid-Atlantic this weekend. They’re warning people to stay off the roads, whiteout conditions, threats to life and property, potential wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

And the marina is closed. We received this email from the dockmaster:

“The snow is still coming down here and wind is brisk, but not really bad. The plaza, the pier and the docks are closed to all. There appears to be close to a foot of snow on the pier. Boats that I could see looked to have less than 6 inches on them. It was very difficult to see most of the boats.
With the current forecast, it will probably be Monday before the plaza, pier and docks are reopened and cleared for pedestrians. Nobody should attempt to go to their boat until this is done. I will let you know when it is advisable to go to the marina.”

Nobody should attempt to go to their boat? What if you’re inside it?

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33 thoughts on “The Marina is Closed. Also Known as a Bit of Snow.”

  4. Just make sure your hatches don’t freeze closed. I spent a few hours walking and playing in the snow earlier this morning. Just in the neighborhood, there’s an average of 2ft around and more in some places. Roads are bad too. My wife said there was a report in the news saying plows are getting stuck too.

    Hope you’re staying warm on your boat. Good day to stay inside.

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  10. The local marinas here don’t have ice, but the strong north wind a couple of days ago blew so much water out of the lake into the bay and into the gulf that a few sailboats found themselves grounded and leaning on their side with docks sitting on the mud .Sea birds happy, but boat owners? Must be new to the area (Sadly some don’t come down often in winter and don’t know what’s happening) – locals know which marinas don’t silt up, can handle deep drafted boats in winter, and are good hurricane holes. Costs a bit more, but worth it.
    Keep the bubbler going – and be careful on the docks!

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    1. I always think it’s sad when you see sailboats on their sides! Our draft is 18″ so we won’t have to worry about that. But the ice, that’s a different story.
      We’re still cleaning up from the blizzard and now in a deep freeze this evening so whatever wasn’t frozen will be by tomorrow.
      Have you ever heard the sound of a bubbler? Maybe it’s our double hull pontoons but it sounds like we have a fan running.
      Hope your boat is safe with all this crazy weather!

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      1. We’re boatless at the moment, but doesn’t keep up from walking the docks and out of marinas. As we prefer to sail in the Gulf of Mexico instead of lake/bay we tend to have deeper drafts – staying in the channel to get out is always a thrill among the tankers.
        Catamarans are cool – we raced Hobies, Prindles, and a Nacra before the monohull Morgan. We keep looking at monohulls for the next one.
        As loud as a fan? – that must be a tad annoying. It’s usually mild here so no worries about ice – only northers pushing too much water out. Hope the sun is warming things up there

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      3. Just time passages for hurricane season and watch the oil rigs. HA HA Or stick closer to land and explore the intercoastal and other waterways. – some areas more scenic than others. Shallow keep is good. There’ll be a Yachty Gras boat parade with beads between the lake to the bay pretty soon to go along with Galveston’s Mardi Gras.
        This is a good time of year to read about spots to visit once the weather turns.

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  12. It is weird really about the weather in opposite hemispheres this time of year. It’s been around 100 degrees F all week and your snowman would’ve evaporated in minutes. We ended up with a huge rain storm yesterday afternoon where the rain fell in huge sheets. Had a bit of minor flooding.
    Hope you’re safe and boat’s good.
    Have a great weekend.
    xx Rowena

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    1. So funny that you should bring this up. We have a travel calendar and saw that it was recently Australia Day. This evening I commented at dinner that it was strange in the middle of January when it’s always the dead of winter here that Australia would have a holiday where people are at the beach.
      We just had a blizzard and we are still digging out of 2 feet of snow. We will be thinking about you at the beach and in the air conditioning!

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      1. Thanks. We had a fairly quiet Australia this year but you’d love all the boating action on the harbour. They have a fabulous ferry race.
        By the way, I thought you’d like this story.The guy who sold my Dad the yacht, decided that he wanted a motor boat. Dad thought this was interesting because apparently “blowies” and “stinkies” generally don’t mix. You’re one or the other. It now turns out that he’s sold the motor boat because he realised that much of the pleasure was in getting to your destination, rather than arriving.
        He named the boat Solitaire as his wife wanted a diamond solitaire but ended up with the yacht instead. I can see him being in what we Australians call “the doghouse” for awhile.
        By the way, a “blowie” is Australian slang for a blow fly.
        Hope you’re having a great weekend!
        xx Rowena

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      2. We have the same thing in the US. I have heard of people saying boaters drive stink pots and sailors sail sailboats, but you probably won’t find any motor boater who calls his boat a stink pot.
        There is really something about being on the water when the wind is right, turning off the diesel, and sailing with only the sound of the water splashing behind the boat. On the other hand, you’re probably only going 7 knots when that happens and a motor boat can go at 20-30 knots. So it depends on how fast you want to go.
        That brings up a whole new topic for me- when you have a destination in mind that you need to reach, traveling under sail is incredibly inefficient. Our average motoring speed is about 5.5 knots and sometimes it feels like you can walk faster.

        BUT I am constantly reminded, as is the man you mentioned, that a big part of sailing is the actual part where you’re sailing, not the part where you get there. Charles is a good reminder for me that going sailing means hoisting the sails, not turning the key in the diesel and pulling in somewhere down the river.

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      5. I’ve got to get back out on the water in the laser and feel the wind in my hair and the energy of a small boat where you sailing on the edge. Well, on the edge for me anyway.
        When we went out with my Dad, we did a mix of sailing and motoring so we could pick up the diesel and also get back in time. We also saw a few yachts with sails up who were actually under motor. That was interesting.
        I am a huge fan of having those “go slow” moments where you can truly inhale the world around you without rushing or needing to be somewhere else. Hard to achieve outside holiday time though.
        I thought you might enjoy a post I wrote about going sailing with my young daughter onboard https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/what-do-we-do-with-the-frightened-sailor-palm-beach-sydney/
        She is about to start a sailing course with the sea scouts. They’ll take her from scratch and hopefully she can become more confident. A year down the track, I think she’s more confident in general. It would be great if she could join us. Hey, I want to get back out there myself.

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      6. The sailing school for your daughter sounds great! I’m on the fence between paying for sailing lessons and just getting out there to do it. There’s nothing like on the job training.

        We also sail with the motor on when we need to pick up the pace. If there’s a small breeze you won’t get very far under sail alone by everything helps the diesel. However there is nothing like being on the motor for a while and finally cutting it off so all you hear is the water!

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      7. What type of motor do you have? I’m not very knowledgeable myself but in Dad’s old yacht, it had an outboard for the motor and it didn’t do much. The Catalina’s is pretty good.
        I get what you mean about needing to get somewhere. My husband has taken the laser out and had to paddle back. The diesel is good insurance at the very least but I agree with what you say about how relaxing it is without the motor. Hmm!

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      8. I’m not sure of the brand of diesel we have but we are definitely getting an overhaul before we make our next big trip.

        Your husband had to paddle back? I think that is a guy thing. Once we ran out of gas in the dinghy and my husband had to tow is back by swimming.
        I have a video of the swimming on the very first entry of the blog, the one where we’re wearing party hats.

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