Winter sun, falling temperatures and flying visitors leaving unwanted gifts

Cormorants enjoying the winter sunshine at Maryport Marina

Winter is beginning to make its presence known here now.

We’ve had a couple of days of lovely winter sunshine over the past week, but it has also been getting a lot colder, especially at night.

We haven’t had any frost yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before it arrives.

Looking back at one of my first blog posts, written soon after we moved onboard this time last year, I can see that it was so cold that the water in the marina froze over on November 21.

And, for a few days before that, the marina staff were putting salt on the pontoons to make them less slippery.

A cold sunny day at Maryport Marina

The lowest temperature we’ve seen on the thermometer inside our 43ft Neptunus 133 cruiser Ravensdale so far this winter is 8C (46.4F) in the saloon first thing on Monday morning, but it was probably lower during the night.

It looks as though we’re going to have to start leaving our Webasto 5 diesel heater on overnight soon.

Thankfully the new heater we had fitted after the existing Eberspacher heater broke down in January of this year is a lot quieter than the old one, which means it doesn’t disturb our sleep as much as the Eberspacher, but we still prefer not to put it on until we really have to.

We’ve also swapped the tyres on our car for winter tyres this week ready for the colder months. They’re probably not really necessary in Cumbria, but we already had them from when we were living in Scotland so we will carry on using them until they wear out.

I really can’t believe how quickly the year has flown by. It’ll be Christmas again before we know it.

In fact, the shops seem to think it’s Christmas already. Some of them put their decorations up as soon as Halloween was over. I love Christmas, but I still think it’s way too soon. Surely they could at least wait until December before expecting us to get into the festive spirit? 

New starter batteries to ensure Ravensdale's two 300hp engines start first time

Phil fitting the new batteries in the engine room

That said, Ravensdale has been allowed to have her Christmas present early this year.

Phil fitted two new 180 ampere hour starter batteries in her battery bank last weekend so hopefully she will start first time every time now.

And, after many years of retirement, Phil is now going out to work again – but only on a temporary basis. For as long as I can remember, I've been the one going to work while Phil stayed at home and now the roles are reversed, but I'm definitely not complaining J

This week, he’s been providing relief cover for the operational staff while they were undergoing training from Monday to Wednesday.

And he got a call yesterday (Thursday) lunchtime asking if he could do a few hours yesterday evening to cover for a member of staff who had called in sick.

Phil has been carrying out short periods of relief work, mainly opening and closing the marina gate and raising and lowering the footbridge across the harbour, for a few weeks now, but this was the first time he’d worked full days.

The funniest part was that, on his first day, three of the jobs he was given were fixing problems that I’d reported.

These were a toilet that had stopped flushing, a blocked shower drain and the replacement of a full-length mirror in the ladies toilet and shower block that was removed when the new door fob system was fitted.

Just goes to show that, even if he tries to go out to work to get away from me, he can’t get away from me finding jobs for him to do J

I’m pleased to report that, after his efforts, the broken loo is now working again, the shower drain is running better and the mirror has been reinstated.

Another job that he spent a good bit of time on was scrubbing birds’ mess off one of the pontoons that seems to attract a lot of flying visitors.

But, before he started, he kindly gave me a phone call to let me know that the cormorants I’d been wanting to photograph were sitting on the pontoon.

I've been trying to get a photo of the adult and juvenile cormorants together and this was the first time we'd seen them in the same place at the same time.

I was able to get a few reasonable shots before I got too close and they flew away onto another pontoon, leaving Phil to get on with the job of scrubbing the messy one.

Cormorants perched on one of the finger pontoons at the marina

The adult cormorant takes flight

The down side of the many birds that visit the marina is guano on the pontoons

Two cormorants sitting on a pontoon near the marina gate

I’ve also been trying to get some shots of the cormorants diving, but not had any luck as yet. The nearest I've got so far is a few shots of them swimming and a swan that was determined to get in on the photo shoot J

The juvenile cormorant urges the adult bird to join it in the water

A young cormorant surfaces after diving for food

One of the two swans that are very regular visitors to the marina

Pigeons bathing in a puddle on a dinghy cover

The change in the seasons has also changed the view from our home – the marina is looking pretty empty now because a lot of the boats have been lifted out onto the hard standing for work or winter storage.

Spaces in the marina where boats have been lifted out for the winter

And there have been a few things going on in the marina this week.

One of the larger boats left for pastures new on Tuesday evening.

Dive vessel, MV Susan H, has been sold and is heading to Antwerp, en route to Chile, where she's going to be used for oceanographic survey work.

MV Susan H taking on fuel ready for the trip - taken from Ravensdale's aft deck

The survey team's GPS equipment

A small team from Swansea in Wales has been up here surveying the seabed in the marina, the harbour and the basin between Maryport’s two piers to see how bed levels have changed since the area was last dredged in 2015.

They set up a tripod with an aerial near the marina building to enable them to take accurate GPS readings and drove a small dinghy around the areas they were surveying to record the levels.

The results will give the marina an accurate picture of how much silt has built up since the last time it was dredged and give an indication of when it's likely to need doing again.

I'm told the marina is usually dredged at roughly five-yearly intervals.

The bed level survey being carried out in the marina

Survey work underway in the harbour

And an old metal walkway that used to sit on top of the marina gate was cut up and taken away this week.

The bridge, which used to shorten the walk from Maryport to the beach, was removed a couple of years ago when it was discovered that it was too heavy for the gate and was putting it under strain. It had been sitting on the hard standing ever since.

The old bridge being cut up - taken from Ravensdale's fore deck

And, as usual, I’ve been out and about with my camera capturing the ever-changing views of Maryport, which I'm affectionately calling my adopted hometown J

One of the local fishing boats bringing home its catch

The sun going down over Grasslot shore at Maryport

Fishing as the sun sets

A local fishing boat returning home to Maryport

Winter sun on the grasses above the beach at Maryport

Rainbow over Maryport Marina

First year liveaboard lessons and Ravensdale's early Christmas present

Ravensdale soaking up the winter sun in Maryport Marina

The first anniversary of selling our house and moving onto a boat set us thinking about the lessons we’ve learned so far.

The whole experience has been a huge learning curve and I’m sure that will continue to be the case.

One of the main things we discovered soon after moving onto our 43ft seagoing cruiser Ravensdale is that we’ve got way too much stuff (especially me – but don’t tell Phil I said that J)

The other big one is the cost of maintaining a boat of this size.

I know there are plenty of people out there who have been doing this for much longer than us, who will have far more knowledge than we've managed to glean in our first year.

However, I hope our experiences may help others in a similar situation to us and those trying to decide whether they would enjoy life aboard.

10 lessons we’ve learned over the first year


1.    You need far less stuff than you think you do

Sorting some of our stuff during our storage wars in the early days

Everything has been tidily put away

We got rid of most of our belongings in the fortnight between me finishing work and the sale of our house in Fort William, but we still have way too much stuff to fit on Ravensdale.

We initially rented a 75sqft shore-based storage unit, which we downsized to 50sqft and then 25sqft, the aim being to get rid of it altogether, but we haven’t managed to achieve that yet. We also have 1m3 of storage space at the marina and store our bikes in the marina bike rack.

We plan to continue reducing the amount of stuff we own until we can fit it all on the boat, except possibly the bikes. We haven’t yet decided how to deal with them.

I’m well aware that a major factor in our storage wars is my collection of clothes, coats, shoes and boots – most of which I will never wear on a boat but I can’t seem to let them go just in case...  

2.    Maintaining a boat will always cost far more than you expect

Getting Ravensdale's two 300hp Volvo Penta engines serviced cost £1,200

Before we made the decision to make this life-changing move, we calculated the costs of all known expenses to make sure we could afford to do it. We included a figure for maintenance in our calculations, but we don’t mind admitting that we underestimated this figure – by a lot!

We now know you need to put aside as much as possible to pay for repairs, replacements and improvements and, most important of all, learn to do as much of it as possible yourself.

We've both done the RYA Diesel Engine Course and are hoping to be able to service Ravensdale's two 300hp Volvo Penta engines ourselves next time as paying for a professional service cost us £1,200.

3.    Bigger is better where holding tanks are concerned

Maryport Marina toilet and shower block

Install the largest black water holding tank you can afford that will fit on your boat.

We discovered that our 97 litre tank fills up way too quickly if we try to use it like we would use a toilet in a house. As it happens, we wouldn't have had room for a larger one, but would certainly consider this if we ever changed our boat.

Thankfully we have good marina facilities here at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, and the walk to the loos and back is good exercise at more than 300 steps per round trip :-)

We also had a pump fitted so we can discharge the holding tank at sea.

4.    Buy the most comfortable mattress you can afford

Our very comfy bed with its 8in memory foam mattress

When we first moved onboard, we were sleeping on the original mattress, which was very thin and very hard. It was only fractionally more comfortable than sleeping on the floor so we bought a new one asap.

Our new 8in custom-made CoolBlue Memory Foam mattress has been a God-send and, coupled with the rocking motion of the boat, makes for a very good night’s sleep – far better than I ever managed on dry land. 

It may be OK to make do with a thinner mattress if you're only spending short periods or occasional nights aboard, but you really need a comfy bed when it’s your home.

5.    Dehumidifiers are worth their weight in gold – and them some J

One of our two dehumidifiers

Boats are well known for suffering from damp problems. Living on board, which means they're kept warm most of the time, helps a lot, but they still need some extra help.

Soon after moving onto Ravensdale, we bought two dehumidifiers, each of which is supposed to be suitable for a five-bedroom house. We keep one in the aft cabin, where we sleep, and the other in the fore cabin, moving one of them into the main saloon area if we see condensation building up – for example during and after cooking.

During the summer, we used them very little as we had the windows open whenever possible. Since the weather has got colder and damper, we’re using them for short periods night and morning on most days. 

When it gets really cold and damp, we leave one dehumidifier on a very low setting in the fore cabin overnight with all the doors open and this seems to keep the boat dry.

6.    Pay a regular sum of money into a diesel fund

A diesel fund is a must - particularly for cruiser owners

We set up a bank account specifically for this purpose and a standing order to transfer money into it from our current account soon after we moved onboard. 

The idea being to ensure there would always money available for fuel for both heating and propulsion as and when it was needed - and it has served us well.

Right from the start, we decided that it was fine not to travel if it was our choice to stay put, but we didn’t want to get to a point where we wanted to go somewhere and couldn’t afford the fuel to make the trip.

7.    Learn as much as you can about your boat

Phil and Bay Sea School instructor John Parlane during our diesel engine course

You also need to learn as much as possible about navigating if you’re planning to go anywhere on your boat.

We both took the RYA Day Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore theory courses and the RYA Diesel Engine Course.

We also both gained our VHF radio Short Range Certificate.

8.    Use the marina showers whenever possible

The ladies shower and toilet facilities at Maryport Marina

We have a perfectly good shower on Ravensdale. It's en suite to our bedroom, separate from the heads and larger than many boat showers with a good flow of water.

However, using it in cold and/or damp weather tends to make it more difficult to keep the boat dry.

We've found the best solution for us to be using the onboard shower in the summer when it's easier to dry properly and the marina facilities are busier. Since the weather has started to change for the winter, we've gone back to using the now quieter marina showers.

Fortunately our marina has really good showering facilities. The shower and toilet block is lovely and warm and we can use as much hot water as we want – compared to onboard showers when we try to restrict the amount of hot water we use as much as possible.

9.    You don’t need to own a washing machine

Wash day at Maryport Marina laundry

Before we moved onboard, I rather stupidly thought I would miss having our own washing machine, but I don’t – not at all. 

That said, I'm well aware that the situation would be very different for anyone who is not marina-based or whose marina doesn’t have a good launderette.

Here, I take a load of washing up to the marina’s laundry room once a week, where I wash and dry the week’s washing for just £5.40. This includes an extra high spin before putting it into the tumble dryer. Our clothes, towels, bedding, etc. all come out lovely and dry ready to be folded up and put away.

10. We don’t miss our dishwasher

Washing up in Ravensdale's galley

I really can’t believe I even thought I'd miss our dishwasher, but we’d had one for many years and had got use to using it.

Anyway, we don’t miss it at all, to the extent that I would almost say I can’t see the point of having one, unless you have a large family or do a lot of entertaining, neither of which was true in our case. 

Living on a boat, which invariably means the galley is much smaller than most kitchens ashore, makes it a no-brainer to wash up as you go along during food preparation and immediately after meals.

And one for luck...

11.  Consider dropping a few pounds (or stones in my case) J

Me enjoying a cup of tea at sea

This is the hardest one for me to admit, but I know that losing a bit of weight – OK, a good bit of weight – would make life much easier on the boat.

This is particularly true in the heads and moving around the island bed in the aft cabin.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly happy living in a relatively confined space. However, if there was a bit less of me, I would have more room to move around.

I keep promising myself the diet starts tomorrow and I really must get on and lose the extra weight – or at least make a start on it – one day soon (perhaps after Christmas J).

The past week

Here's to many more happy years on Ravensdale

We drank a toast to Ravensdale on Saturday evening to mark our first anniversary as liveaboards and celebrated in true British fashion with a delicious fish and chip supper J

And we've bought her an early Christmas present – two new 180 ampere hour starter batteries – after discovering that the existing ones were finished.

Ravensdale's new starter batteries

We’re still enjoying our new berth and have been getting a bit of winter sun here.

It’s also interesting to see some of the bigger boats passing Ravensdale on their way to the marina slipway and the MPM boatyard next to the marina.

Close encounters - Solway Challenger heading for the marina slipway

The RV Susan H passes Ravensdale on her way back from the slipway

Other than that, this week seems to have disappeared into thin air.

We seem to have spent a good bit of our time socialising, on and off the boat, or out walking, taking photos and, in Phil’s case, fishing.

I’ve hardly found any time to get on with the novel I'm trying to write, but hoping to catch up on that a bit next week.

On Saturday morning, we decided to look into the possibility of booking an organised fishing trip as we have no real idea where to fish from our boat in the Solway Firth.

While trying to find out who best to speak to about this, we had a chance encounter with a marine electrician, who was about to do some work on another berth holder’s boat.

He agreed to come and take a look at the electrics on Ravensdale and spent the best part of three hours on Saturday afternoon replacing all the connections on the battery terminals.

The new connections on Ravensdale's battery bank

He also discovered that the alternators on both engines were connected to one battery and split them so that there is now one connected to each battery.

And he’s going to return to carry out some further work for us in the near future.

We also managed to sort the fishing trip by joining a local fishing club and we hope to go out on the club’s boat very soon.

Meanwhile, Phil has been trying his hand at fishing off Maryport pier while I wandered around taking photos and chatting with anyone who would talk to me J

Phil fishing on the pier at Maryport

Sadly, Phil didn’t manage to catch our supper – just a couple of very small fish that were thrown back.

However, one of the other fishermen we met on an earlier walk on the pier was delighted to catch his first cod of the season.

I asked if I could take a photo and he happily posed with his catch.

While I was taking a couple of shots, the fish managed to wriggle free and made a bid for freedom, which I was really pleased to have accidentally captured on camera, complete with the shadow of the flying fish.

The one that got away

Almost every time we go out, I return with a whole heap of photos. I really must go through them and delete all but the best asap.

Phil, on the other hand, only takes occasional photos, which invariably turn out to be so much better than mine, or so he says J

Ravensdale at night by Phil Restan

Swans in the marina by Phil Restan

He calls me a “machine gun photographer”, which I guess is fair comment, and to prove it below are some or the many images I’ve taken this week.

A juvenile cormorant in the marina

Maryport Marina on a sunny November day

The ramp down onto the pontoons at Maryport Marina

Another view of Maryport Marina

A berth holder and friend at sea

Maryport Lighthouse at sunset

Evening light on Maryport Harbour

Fishermen on Maryport pier

Iggesund Paper Mill at Workington

Grasslot Shore at Maryport