Enough already! Snow and very cold days and nights, icejams on the Saint Lawrence River, mist early morning saying the water is warmer than land, icy sidewalks refusing to melt! Will it ever end. I can see the Marina, I can smell the salt air! The birds aren't back from the south, the snow isn't melting... 

When??? Here's what the farmer's almanach has to say for March 2009
Mar. 20-26: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold ; Mar. 27-31: Rain and snow showers, cold

Ir's not over yet  ...April and May will have near-normal temperatures, on average, with below-normal rainfall. Summer will be cooler than normal, with above-normal rainfall in the east and drier weather in the west. The hottest temperatures will occur in mid- to late July.

O well, it will be all the better for the wait.

From Scuttlebut 's March 19th daily news: WEATHER WOES COULD SHUFFLE FLEET
think the effect of the complex weather conditions may show some change over the  two days
as the fleet negotiates the patches of high pressure with varying degrees of
success. Quotes Ericsson 3 navigator Aksel Magdahl, “My biggest concern is the
high we will have to negotiate in two or three days’ time. It can easily be a
parking spot.” And, Telefonica Blue finally rounded Cape Horn today, passing the scoring waypoint at the Atlantic-Pacific intersection at 13:39 GMT. Telefonica’s tale of woe on this 12,300-mile marathon is well-documented. The self-inflicted wound of a three-point penalty due to a rudder change, leaving Qingdao 19 hours behind the scheduled starters after hitting a rock, mainsail delamination and a broken forestay were all low blows. -- for excepts: http://www.volvooceanrace.org
Thanks to Scuttlebut for current positions (as of Mar. 19, 10:15 pm GMT):
1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 1,498 nm Distance to Finish
2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 58 nm Distance to Leader
3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 144 nm DTL
4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 241 nm DTL
5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 675 nm DTL
Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start
Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS
Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS

Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4
Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com

Good advice, solid techniques on heavy weather sailing. Worth a look.

The Volvo Ocean race game is a huge hit!

It costs 10 Million $ to run a sailboat in the race, so there's only eight running; but sailing fans, sofa racers and wannabes number 147 593 (as of Feb 10th) simulating the race with their own strategies and tactics online , with  4 522 groups registerd to play; and, all hoping to win the game prize: a VOLVO C30.

Some info on the Volvo race :
Distance Covered: Approximately 32,700 nautical miles (37,630 statute miles/60,560 kilometers)
Duration: 9 months (September to early June), including one- to three-week stopovers between legs
Frequency: Every four years
Required Class of Boat: Volvo Ocean 60 sailing yacht (64 feet/19.5 meters)
Scoring: Equal number of points awarded for each of nine legs; team with most points overall wins

Great sailing action in Around Great Britain race if you're finding winter long without sailing (I am). Best turn off the music first. Enjoy!

Watch the sail adjustments as these guys tumble around! and out!