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Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, lit up by Saturday's sunset |
If there’s one thing I find less enjoyable about living on a boat it’s our ongoing battle against the lack of storage space.
The plan before we moved on board our 43ft cruiser Ravensdale was to seriously reduce the amount of stuff we owned and we did, but apparently nowhere near enough.
From time to time, we pull everything out of the places we’ve stowed it. The intention being to sort it and get rid of anything we don’t need, but very little ever seems to be thrown away - http://fromahousetoaboat.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/liveaboard-storage-wars-place-for.html
The good thing about doing this is that we find things we’d lost or totally forgotten we had in the first place, but then we have to find room to put most of it back again.
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The bunks in the forward cabin piled high with stuff |
This week, we decided to tackle the forward cabin, which boasts V-bunks that we hardly ever see J
Fairly early on, we accepted that the upper bunk, which is on the starboard side of the boat, was going to have to be used for storage, the plan being that it would hold a few neat boxes that could easily be moved if necessary. Needless to say, that didn’t happen L
We did actually manage to clear the lower bunk when a friend came to stay a few months ago and promised ourselves we’d keep it that way, but it proved impossible.
Trying to keep the areas of the boat we use all the time tidy and uncluttered meant that the empty bunk soon became a dumping ground again, particularly since Christmas when the decorations ended up in there until they could be returned to our shore-based storage unit.
On Monday of this week, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and pulled everything out of the forward cabin in an attempt to regain control of the space.
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Some of the stuff we pulled out of Ravensdale's forward cabin |
It also seemed like a good time to tidy up the locker under the lower bunk as we’d been unable to get into it for a couple of months so that was emptied too.
The boxes of Christmas decorations were packed up ready to take back to the storage unit.
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The V-bunks in Ravensdale's forward cabin |
Bags and boxes of bits and pieces that had been put in there until we got around to sorting them were sorted and those that were needed were boxed and stowed away again. I also made a detailed list of what was put away where in the hope we might actually be able to find the items again.
We took a trip to our storage unit yesterday, which is a 24-mile round trip, to return the boxes of Christmas decorations. This not only helped to tidy up the boat but also served to remind us that we really need to make time to go over and have a good sort out of the stuff we’re storing there.
Since we moved on board, we’ve downsized from a 75 square foot storage unit to 50 square feet and then to our current 25 square foot of space, but the ultimate aim is to do away with it completely.
Meanwhile, we’ve had another very windy week, both by day and at night.
In fact, most nights over the past week, we’ve been rocked to sleep to the sound of water slapping noisily against Ravensdale’s hull.
On Saturday evening, the top wind speed recorded locally was 36mph with 47mph gusts and an average wind speed of 30mph was recorded with gusts up to 40mph at 4am on Monday morning.
It continued to be very windy throughout the following days, with a top speed of 36mph and gusts of 57mph on Wednesday morning and, on Wednesday evening we were still experiencing winds of up to 33mph, gusting up to 51mph.
Other jobs we’ve been looking at this week include trying to fix the system that boosts the harbour wifi to create our own network on Ravensdale, which went wrong a couple of months ago.
As the signal from the marina is so much better since we moved from a mooring near the harbour wall to a hammerhead it was no longer a priority, but it is better when it is up and running.
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Phil and Tony testing the wifi booster |
A friend, who’s also a berth holder here and knows more about boat electrics and electronics than we do, took a look at the booster and the aerial for us and has given us some ideas about what we may need to replace.
We’ve also discovered a rip in the cover over the flybridge so I’ve ordered some fabric to repair it.
On a brighter note, the stormy weather over the past week has made for some dramatic skies, providing some excellent photo opportunities.
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Stormy skies over Maryport Basin with the marina in the distance |
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Storm coluds over Maryport Marina |
We also had some amazing sunsets at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, last weekend.
We almost missed the beautiful sunset on Saturday evening. By the time we realised the sky had coloured up, it was almost over. I only managed to get a couple of shots of the marina before it faded.
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The colourful sunset over the slipway at Maryport Marina on Saturday |
On Sunday evening, we were ready to head out at the first hint of colour in the sky and dived around to different locations overlooking the marina and the beach trying to get the best shots. However, although the sunset was good, it was nothing like the previous evening’s colourful display.
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Sunday's sunset over Maryport Marina |
And, yesterday (Thursday), I had another go at getting some photos of the sunset, this time at the harbour and across the basin to the lighthouse.
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Yesterday's sunset over Maryport Harbour |
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Sunset over Maryport Lighthouse |
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Another view of Maryport Harbour |
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A closer view of Maryport Lighthouse |
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