Bitter Cold

The temperatures in central Holland dropped to a stunning -23 degrees centigrade last night. That is quite extraordinary for the Netherlands. Our lifeboat Arie Visser is built of aluminum and can't handle ice at sea, so she is more or less out of action for the time being. She is replaced by an older model (seen behind the Arie Visser), made of solid steel and able to cope ice conditions. By the way; seawater freezes quite different from fresh water, it cools down and keeps on circulating vertical until all the water reaches the same temperature. And then, in only a few hours time, the complete sea is frozen.