We took advantage of today’s warm(er) weather to get back outside, and spent the morning breaking ice off the ship’s offshore lines and getting ready to pull our paint floats out of the water for the season. No matter what the weather is like on land, the water is bitterly cold this late in the year, so we wear Mustang exposure suits anytime we’re working on the paint floats or in the small boats. Mustang suits are awkward to move in and miserable to get out of, but they’re certainly warm, and they make our work that much safer—even if, as one crewmember pointed out, they make us look like bright orange marshmallows.

On the other side of the plaza, Team Carpentry spent the day demolishing parts of the old starboard fore channel, a 17ft long piece of wood that runs horizontally outboard of the bulwarks. The starboard fore shroud legs, which keep the foremast from moving side to side, are attached to the channel. The channels are a fundamental piece of our entire rig. Building and installing the replacement will be tricky. But for now, our goal is to have the old channel removed before the holiday break.

Speaking of the holidays: there’s no volunteer work party scheduled for either this Saturday December 24th, or for Saturday December 31st.  We’ll see you all after the New Year!