This morning the cove was covered in slush ice or shuga. There is a large amount of fresh water on the surface of the cove as it comes down Bore Valley and from Gull Lake as snow melt and pours into the Cove. The formation of sea ice starts with a thin skin oce ice crystals over the water called frazil which is easily disrupted by wind etc. Sometimes the snow falling floats on these crystals. If left undisturbed frazil coagulates to form nilas, a continuous sheet of ice that will gradually increase in depth. However, this morning with the small amount of wind nilas was not formed instead the frazil acted as seed crystals, ice growing around them to form a floating slushy mass that was a foot thick. In some place this slush had further congeal into a spongey mass called shuga. These get banged together as they harden and look like plates with edges raised all the way around – known as pancake ice (there were a few of these but with an increase in wind were quickly dispersed).

Being monday there was the normal weekly checks of all the boats. I spent the first part of the morning writing up lecture notes for boat school and a few exercises. All a bit overkill but there are a few people wanting to do RYA Day Skipper/Coastal Skipper so I am following those syllabus and teaching to that level.

With the outboard engines trimmed properly there is a large gap between the top of the transom and the engine brackets. The thumb screws are very close to the edge of the transom so

I milled some greenheart timber to make as a spacer which I will screw on the top and also glass over. It will take quite a while to finish this project but I do have a few months this winter!

HMS Dotty’s oar lock has been broken for a year or so. Today I took an M10 stainless bolt modified the head and drilled a 4mm hole through it. Then I threaded the plastic that is attached to Dotty and voila she now has a repaired oarlock – a little agricultural I know but I think it should work just fine for the small number of times she is out on the water!

I haven’t had a winter in 6 and half years so it is a bit of a shock to see the moon rising next to Duse at 5pm… still over a month to midwinter. It will be getting dark around 4pm next month.