The Snowman's Tale

Frosty smiles broadly. This is his favourite time of the year. As he strides out, stick arms spread, to do the Christmas shopping, his coal black eyes glow with excitement.

For several weeks, the decorations have been up, on Chatham High Street ;

 

and holly berries have brightened the hedgerows ;

But the weather has been unseasonably mild. Rendering it risky, for a snowman to venture out.

Lest he might melt, in the midday sun.

Now, a blanket of snow shrouds Kent. By day, temperatures barely rise above freezing. By night, they plunge far below. The perfect conditions for Frosty's festive preparations.

The waters, of Dockyard Basin number One, are skinned with ice. Dulling the surface. Save for a glistening leat, incised by the launch, during its daily patrol of the marina.

Aboard Stargazer, I discover a half bucket of (fresh) water in the bilge. Fearing ice damaged plumbing, despite the placement of precautionary heaters, I raise the sole boards, to seek out its source. Then set about emptying the cockpit locker's contents into the saloon.

The number one suspect is the calorifier (hot water tank). Which is located beneath the cockpit locker and therefore only indirectly warmed by the cabin heaters. Usually I would run its built in immersion heater, during a cold snap. But failed to do so on the first night of this freeze.

After two days of trials, to reproduce the leak, I trace it to the domestic water pump, which is located in the engine bay. Right next to one of the heaters. Age, rather than cold, appears to be the villain, in this Christmas Whodunnit.

Slowly the snow thaws, in the grounds of the former Royal Naval College (reborn as the University of Greenwich).

Frosty, back from the shops, waits pensively beside his front gate. Hoping for a Happy Christmas.