Winter update

Hello everyone.  Just a quick update on the progression of the winter months.  The temperatures have been consistently below zero, save a few hours of the last few days.  The snow came back a week ago and left a good amount on us.  The temperature has ensured it has stayed too, although on lower ground around the base, the fluctuating temperatures of the last few days have melted the snow in places during the day, then re-frozen the melt water at night.  This leads to some slippery conditions as I found out first hand on my midnight rounds the other night (bruised hip but pride intact as nobody saw!)
Things are getting slightly more difficult than in the summer.  For example Ashley and bought one of the jet launches out of the water the other day to carry out some work.  We had to clear the slipway of snow and ice to get her re-launched.  Also the hose used for flushing the rib engines has to come inside to stop it freezing, and the water to it has to be kept running in to a drain to keep the pipes from freezing.  Other than that, it is the usual problems, like looking for mooring lines accidentally left un marked under a few feet of snow, and remembering  that once you do find them and dig them out, to put gloves on before handing them!  The ice makes them in to 16mm thick cheese wire!!  I fixed a problematic diesel heater on the jet launch during the haul out which is a god send in avoiding scraping the wheelhouse windows to clear the ice too.
Time is occupied with Mid Winter Present making still (a blog on what I have made will appear when it is no longer a surprise to the recipient!) and working on a personal project or two.  Again there might be some more on these as they progress.
Anyway, pictures speak a thousand words, so here are some photos from the other day.  Things are still fairly mild and benign, so this is not so bad.

The JCB sporting her winter snow chains.

Icicles from the roof

The sea in the cove is largely iced over.  Not thick enough for skating though!