Dogfish, herons, shorts and post-op walks

The dogfish that found its way into our crab net

I had expected to be out of circulation for a week or two after the operation to remove my gall bladder, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

My consultant’s instructions that I should do three 30 minute walks a day have got me out and about more than ever over the past week.

Other than that, life on board Ravensdale has been much the same as usual.

Meanwhile, summer seems to have returned to Maryport.  

Having worn shorts all summer, I put them away for the winter after my op as the weather seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

However, after a few days of wearing leggings – the only things that felt comfortable on my tummy immediately after my op – the sun came out again and I decided that I’d recovered sufficiently to wear shorts again.

Some days, it’s been so warm that I’ve been able to sit out on the aft deck and read a magazine in my shorts and a vest top without feeling the slightest bit cold.

The best catch in our prawn and crab net this week was a good sized dogfish.

Phil was surprised at the weight of the net when he started pulling it up from the bottom of the marina and we were both amazed to see the dogfish curled around inside it.

Phil lifted it out carefully so I could get a photo of it then returned it to the water.

It seems most of the fish being caught on the pier at the moment are dogfish so I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised that one found its way into the marina.

The dogfish in the net

Phil posing for a photo with the dogfish before returning it to the water

The heron on top of one of the piles

I’ve also been trying to get a decent photograph of the heron that has taken to sitting on one of the metal piles that support the pontoons in the marina.

He seems to take up his position on a pile down by the marina gate most evenings as the light starts to fade, which makes it more difficult to get a good shot of him.

Another heron regularly sits on the slipway at the other end of the marina. I guess, between them, they've got the area covered J

My three walks a day have included, walking along the beach and out along the pier, around the harbour, up to town and shopping trips.

The only trouble with walks around the harbour is that we get tempted to stop for coffee and cake at The Aquarium and I’m not convinced that the consultant intended me to increase my cake intake when he said I needed to get out and walk regularly J

I also suggested a trip out one day so I would still get my walks, but in a different location so we paid visits to Allonby (five miles up the coast), where we walked along the beach, and Siloth (seven and half miles further on), where we had lunch and walked along the promenade.

Dog walkers on the beach at Allonby

The promenade at Siloth

It was a very misty day so not great for photos, but I took some anyway. I felt they worked better as black and white images.

I’ve also taken many more photos in and around Maryport, but the changing weather and light means that they're different every time.

Grafitti in an old building by Maryport lighthouse

Close up of the graffiti with a view to the town of Maryport

Marport looking peaceful at nightfall

The sun shining through the mist over Grasslot Shore at Maryport

A man checking his crab pots at low tide in Maryport Basin

A small fishing boat heading into Maryport

Fishing on Maryport Pier

Sunset over Maryport Marina

The heron sitting on the pile at the far end of the marina

Phil has been on many of the walks with me, but sometimes he stays behind if he has something he wants to get on with on board – such as washing the boat and maintenance in the engine room.

Washing Ravensdale's fore deck

Recuperating on a rocking boat after abdominal surgery

One of my post op walks on Maryport beach - less than 48 hours after surgery

I have to confess that I was a little bit apprehensive about returning to Ravensdale immediately after surgery.

However, I needn’t have worried at all. It’s really no different to recuperating in a house.

Climbing on and off our 43ft cruiser is no problem, thanks to the big sturdy metal steps the previous owner left for us.

A bag of fruit left as a gift on our big chunky steps

And the rocking of the boat is a very comforting feeling, especially when under the influence of heavy duty painkillers J

I went into West Cumberland Hospital at Whitehaven in Cumbria at 8am on Tuesday morning to have my gall bladder removed by keyhole surgery at the day case unit.

I had previously warned hospital staff that I’d been very slow to come around after earlier operations so they put me first on the list.

The procedure, which involved making four small holes in my abdomen, took just under an hour. It was carried out between about 10am and 11am and I was back on the ward by 12.45pm.

A selfie taken soon after I returned to the ward

I had been unsure whether to go ahead with the operation as I had not had any problems with my gallstones since two very unpleasant flare ups in March and April.

But I am now very glad I did.

After the operation, I was told that my gall bladder had been inflamed and could have caused me a lot of trouble if I had kept it.

I was back on board soon after 8pm the same day and tucked into a normal evening meal.

I’d been warned that people who’ve had this operation often feel nauseous afterwards and I was given medication to take if this happened.

However, despite a very rocky first night, I haven’t felt in the slightest bit nauseous.

I was told I needed to go out for three gentle 30 minute walks a day starting the day after my op to prevent blood clots forming so just 24 hours after I was on the operating table I was walking along the pier amazed that I was feeling so well.

It is now just three days since the op and I can carry on with most of what I would do on a normal day. I’m just not allowed to lift anything heavy and I’m avoiding getting things in and out of the very low drawers in the galley, which involves a lot of serious bending.

I also get quite tired after my walks so am making the most of the opportunity to lounge around in the saloon reading and snoozing.

One of the best things about recovering from an op on a boat is that, even when I’m indoors, it feels like being outdoors.

In a house, I would’ve been surrounded by walls, whereas here there are windows on all four sides of the saloon so I can prop myself up on the sofa with my feet up and still see everything that’s going on around us.

The big windows in the saloon that bring the outdoors in

Yesterday (Thursday) was dry and fairly warm so we were able to leave the door and windows open to allow lots of fresh air to circulate.

And, when the sun came out yesterday afternoon, I sat out on the aft deck to have a coffee.

Today (Friday) it was dry first thing so we walked into town to get a bit of shopping, stopping for coffee and cake at The Aquarium cafe, but it’s now raining so I guess I’m going to get wet on my next two walks today.

I’m hoping to start reducing the painkillers tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how I feel then.

As well as looking after me, Phil is also finding time to keep on top of Ravensdale’s needs.

On Monday, he noticed that the water level in two of our four batteries was very low.

Ravensdale's battery bank

The two that are most accessible are sealed and we thought all four were the same, but he discovered that the two hidden away at the back were not.

He topped them up with a few litres of deionised water and tested them with a hydrometer, which gave a reading like pure water.

We really thought we were going to have to buy two new ones, but he retested them yesterday and they were reading a full charge so we’re now hopeful that they may be OK.

While down in the engine room, Phil noticed that there was more water in the bilges than usual and set about finding the cause.

He discovered that the outlet pipe from the Whale Gulper waste water pump, which gets rid of the water from the shower and the washbasin in the en suite head for our bedroom, was leaking.

Loose connections on a sensor on the starboard engine

It seems the jubilee clip holding it on had worn a hole in the pipe and the water had been pumping out into the bilges under our bed and running through into the engine room.

The fuse in the pump had since blown, which meant it stopped working completely and all the water from the shower and washbasin was going straight into the bilges.

Phil used a hand pump to remove the water and carried about eight buckets full of water up out of our bedroom.

He has shortened the pipe for now, with the intention of replacing it soon, and the fuse has been replaced so hopefully the problem has been sorted.

Phil working in the engine room

Phil also spent some time in the engine room tightening up loose connections and carrying out the regular engine checks.

Starlings on rigging

We won’t be taking Ravensdale out to sea for a couple of weeks as I won’t be able to throw ropes for a while, but he's making sure that she will be ready to go when I am.

While out walking, we spotted these starlings on one of the yachts in the marina and it made me very glad that we don’t have a mast and rigging.

At this time of year, the birds have been feasting on blackberries and their droppings cause nasty purple stains on white gelcoat.

We may get the occasional bombing, but at least we don’t have as many perches as the yachts J

Flying the flag and new docking sticks

The red ensign flying from Ravensdale's new flagpole

Ravensdale will be proudly flying the red ensign when we take her out of the marina in future.

We will also be able to dock at marinas where there is no one available to catch our ropes, thanks to our other latest purchase – a pair of docking sticks we ordered from the States.

When we bought our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser the only flag pole on board was a softwood pole that had seen better days and the only flag was the Dutch flag.

I suppose this wasn’t surprising as Ravensdale was made in Holland and was originally kept on the Dutch inland waterways.

She must have left Holland some years ago as she was on the River Shannon in Ireland and then the Clyde in Scotland before our predecessors brought her to Maryport in Cumbria a couple of years ago.

We learnt that we should be flying the national maritime flag on our RYA Day Skipper Course and had been meaning to rectify the situation for some time, but there always seemed to be other jobs that needed to be done first.

However, we have now purchased a stainless steel pole and will definitely be flying the flag in the future.

Whereas the flag and flagpole are decorative our new docking sticks serve a more useful purpose.

My first attempt at using one of the new docking sticks

Hooking the rope over a cleat

They will enable me to get a mooring rope over a cleat without assistance, given that the boat is too high for me to jump off onto the pontoon to moor up.

We searched for something to do this job online and the best solution we could find was these docking sticks that clip onto the end of a boat hook and hold the rope in a loop while it is slipped over the cleat.
Once in place, a sharp pull on the boathook unhooks the stick and the rope is securely over the cleat.

We were expecting bad weather over Tuesday night into Wednesday morning when the Met Office announced that Storm Aileen – the first named storm of the season – was heading our way.

A yellow warning for wind was issued, which revealed that we could expect gusts of up to 75mph along exposed coastlines – that would be us then J

There was also an amber warning for rain issued with up to 40mm expected in the worst hit areas. This was less worrying for us for obvious reasons.

Extra ropes were added in preparation for Storm Aileen

We moved the boat out from the pontoon a bit to make sure we wouldn’t get blown up against it and put on extra ropes just in case, even though we always have plenty of mooring ropes attached.

Storm clouds gather over Maryport Harbour

Another view of the storm clouds over the harbour

I took my camera for a walk around the harbour to see the storm brewing and could see dark clouds gathering overhead.

I made sure I was back inside before the rain started and we sat tight waiting for the storm to arrive, but it didn’t get here. In fact, we had one of the quietest, least rocky nights we’d had for days.

Apparently Storm Aileen moved further south taking us out of the area for which the Met Office had issued a severe weather warning.

We’ve had some fairly high tides recently and I actually got around to taking a photo of Ravensdale from the walkway, which is usually above the marina wall next to us, to show that at the higher tides we’re practically level with it.

Ravensdale and the pontoon alongside the walkway at high tide

We've caught another couple of small pollock in our crab net and the crabs we catch seem to be eating most of the shrimps that get trapped in the pot.

Phil removing a pollock from our crab net

Meanwhile I’m getting on well with my book and have also been getting out and about with my camera.

Below is a selection of images taken around Maryport over the past week.

The River Ellen at Maryport

Maryport basin from the top of Market Steps

Maryport from Mote Hill

A fishing boat returning to Maryport

Waves breaking on Grasslot Beach at Maryport

A brightly coloured fishing boat in Maryport Harbour

A rainbow over Maryport Harbour

Taking Ravensdale’s mini me out for a test drive

Mini Ravensdale's first dip in the marina

We bought our new dinghy a few months ago but had never got around to putting it in the water.

The outboard we bought while down in Wales visiting the family at the start of this year had also never been used so we decided it was time to take them for a sea trial – or at least a pootle around the marina.

We blew the three-man Excel Volante 235 dinghy up when it arrived in July and left it up for a few days to check it didn’t have any leaks so we were hopeful that would still be the case...and thankfully it was.

Phil pumped it up on the aft deck and I was so pleased we had chosen the dark blue version rather than pale grey as it’s a perfect match for Ravensdale’s blue stripes and canvas dodgers and covers. It really looks as though it belongs on this boat.

We then lifted Ravensdale’s mini me over the side of the aft deck onto the pontoon as, although we now have winches on our davits, we’ve yet to buy the straps needed to hold the dinghy and two mounting rings need fixing to its transom.

We positioned the dinghy on the pontoon with its stern hanging over the edge and Phil fitted the outboard.

Our dinghy balanced on the pontoon with its new outboard motor fitted

We then carefully lifted it into the water, tied its mooring rope to a cleat on the pontoon and Phil climbed in.

Sadly the outboard refused to start so the planned trial had to be aborted.

Luckily for us a friend, who’s a marine engineer, was visiting the marina on his boat at the time and he offered to take a look at the outboard motor for us.

Stewart discovered that it had oil in the cylinder. He cleaned it out and the motor started first time.

Stewart working on our outboard motor

We decided it was better to try it with just one of us in it initially in case there were any problems so Phil climbed in, I untied the rope and off he went.

It worked fine and the little 2.5hp Suzuki engine provided plenty of power for what we wanted it to do. It will only be used to transport us to and from the shore if we ever end up mooring anywhere other than in a marina.

Phil taking the dinghy for a test drive

Phil brought the dinghy back alongside the pontoon and I joined him in it, thankfully without falling into the water in the process J

We then spent a fun-filled half an hour or so whizzing around the marina visiting everyone who was on their boat that day.

The weather was lovely – sunny with very little wind - but the marina gate was closed for much of the day due to the high tides being early in the morning and in the evening. The gate is only open for around two hours either side of the high tide.

There was no way we could’ve taken Ravensdale out to make the most of the conditions and decided playing in the dinghy was the next best thing.

The aim of the exercise was simply to check the dinghy and outboard were in good working order and to practice manoeuvring the little boat as reversing involves turning the whole motor around.

At first, every time Phil tried to reverse the whole dinghy turned around so we ended up travelling in the same direction in reverse as we had done while travelling forward, which wasn’t very helpful, but caused a lot of hilarity.

However, he soon got the hang of it and was able to reverse in the intended direction.

Then we just had fun until we decided we’d had enough and moored up on the pontoon next to Ravensdale.

Sadly there are no photos of the pair of us in the dinghy as I didn't think to ask anyone else to take one and couldn't take a selfie as I left my mobile phone on the boat in case it fell in the water.

But it was definitely a great way to spend a sunny afternoon – a lot more fun than being stuck in an office :-)

The forecast for the following day was also sunny and calm and the gate was due to open about an hour later so we decided to get up early and take Ravensdale out to play in the Solway Firth.

We already had fishing bait in the freezer and Phil saved some of the shrimps that we’d caught in our crab net.

I went through my usual routine of packing away anything breakable that could move while at sea while Phil sorted our mooring ropes ready for the off.

We left at around 8.45am and stayed out longer than on previous occasions, returning at about 11.30am. We knew we needed to be back by around 12 noon because of the gate and didn’t want to cut it too fine.

Heading out past Maryport Lighthouse on our way to the Solway Firth

Time for tea on Ravensdale's fore deck

Our little cruise around the firth was very enjoyable, especially when we put the engine in neutral and let the boat drift while Phil attempted to fish. I made us a cup of tea, which we drank on the foredeck in the sunshine.

For some reason, it suddenly struck me just how exciting it was to be bobbing around on the waves in our house. It seemed totally bizarre - in a very good way - after years of living in a static house on the land :-)

Another delight was seeing all the jellyfish swimming around our boat. We couldn’t see them while travelling due to Ravensdale’s wake and wash.

But, when we stopped, we could see that there were literally dozens of barrel jellyfish varying in size from about 6ins to 18ins in diameter all around us. The little ones reminded me of the Space Invaders computer game. 

I tried to photograph and video them, but it was not very successful due mainly to the reflections of the sun on the rippling water.

One of the larger jellyfish close to the boat

Some of the dozens of smaller jellyfish

They were swimming very close to Phil’s fishing line and I was amazed that none of them got caught up in it.

Unfortunately nothing else got caught that day either, but we had fun trying.

Phil checking one of his fishing rods

Some of the shrimps we caught were used as bait

Whatever fish were down there, if indeed there were any fish there at all, didn’t seem to be interested in our shrimps or the frozen squid Phil was using as bait.

Another interesting aspect of this outing was that it was the first time we’d been to sea since Phil fitted the in-hull transducer and it worked.

We felt a lot safer knowing how much water there was beneath Ravensdale’s keel – not that we went anywhere that was going to be too shallow.

It was just interesting to see what depths were beneath us in different areas of the firth.

The depth sounder/log registering the depth but no speed while we were drifting to fish

Phil at the helm

All went well until we decided to head home and, when we were about a mile out from the harbour entrance, the alarm on the starboard engine went off.

It was really loud and very scary, especially as we had no idea why it was going off.

Ravensdale had been doing about 15 knots when the alarm started sounding. Phil immediately eased off, the alarm stopped shortly afterwards and we returned to the marina without any difficulties.

The only problem now being that we have no idea what caused it.

Having spoken to our marine engineer friend about it, he suggested it might be worth getting the fuel injectors cleaned and reset so that’s something we plan to do fairly soon. However, he said it would be fine to carry on using the engine in the meantime.

Since then, Phil has spent some time in the engine room changing the perspex lid on the port engine water filter and the gasket on the starboard engine’s water filter.

He also thoroughly cleaned both filters and checked all four pairs of drive belts on the two engines, tightening up one that had become slack.

We had another interesting catch in the crab pot this week when a tiny Pollock found its way into the net along with the usual collection of little crabs and shrimps.

The tiny Pollock that turned up in the crab net

Ravensdale returning home from our latest outing

And a couple of days after our last trip out into the Solway Firth this photo was posted on a local Facebook group called Maryport Past and Present. The woman who took it has kindly allowed me to use it on Facebook and in my blog.

It was a lovely surprise to discover that someone had actually taken a photo of Ravensdale at sea.

I was sat out on the fore deck taking photos of Maryport and the marina gate on our way back in and caught the photographer in one of my images.

She's only very small in this image and the quality is not great as it was taken into the sun but it struck me as funny that she was photographing us while I was photographing her.

The photographer is just visible to the right of the base of the lighthouse

Heading back towards the gate to Maryport Marina