First attempt at DIY marine engineering, missed opportunities and stunning sunsets

Phil removing the intercooler on Ravensdale's port engine

Windy weather this week delayed maintenance work on Ravensdale’s port engine.

Phil removed the intercooler and had intended to tackle the heat exchanger the following day, but high winds meant the boat was rocking quite violently at times, so he decided to wait for the weather to calm down a bit.

However, we hadn’t expected the wind to drop so much that we might have considered taking the boat out to sea.

Maryport lighthouse reflected in the flat, calm water on Tuesday

Removing the port engine heat exchanger

An overheating problem meant our starboard engine needed urgent attention earlier this year.

At that time, Phil felt he needed help to solve the problem and a local man, called Norman, who’s kept his family’s fishing boats running for years, came to our rescue.

Norman removed the intercooler and heat exchanger, took them away and cleaned them up before refitting them and the overheating problem was cured.

However, this revealed that the port engine, which had previously appeared to be fine, was also getting hotter than it should have done.

When Norman dealt with the starboard engine, he kindly showed Phil how to do it himself so, this time, he felt able to take it on.

The weather forecast didn’t look up to much for a few days, so we decided it was a good time to get the job done as we were unlikely to want to take Ravensdale out to sea.

Ravensdale's port engine

Ravensdale's dirty intercooler before cleaning

So, this time, Phil removed the intercooler and heat exchanger himself, with a little help from his friend (or rather me handing him the tools he needed 😊)

Phil undoing pipes ready to remove the heat exchanger

I also looked out the photos I’d taken of Norman doing the job as a reminder.

Phil removing bolts from the heat exchanger

Both parts have now been dropped off at Norman’s for him to clean them up in his workshop.

Phil has been doing the routine checks and maintenance on Ravensdale’s two 300hp Volvo Penta engines since we both took the RYA Diesel Engine Course, but this was by far the biggest job he’d taken on so far.

The really interesting bit will be when the heat exchanger and intercooler are ready for collection and he has the job of refitting them.

The weather was very cold at the weekend, with snow showers and high winds, so we definitely wouldn’t have wanted to leave the marina.

However, on Tuesday, the sun came out and the wind dropped to single figures – the very weather that usually has us untying our mooring ropes and heading for open water.

We might have considered taking the boat out for a spin if both engines had been in working order.

There was no way we could go, but we weren’t too disappointed. A few boats went out fishing that day, but it seems they didn’t catch anything worthwhile.

To be honest, even though it’s always fun taking Ravensdale out to play, we’d rather get the engines sorted and save our diesel for when the fishing improves or we want to travel somewhere.

Storage wars

Storage has been one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced since moving on board Ravensdale in November 2016.

And this week, I’ve been trying to improve on the way we store our food.

I’ve been recycling plastic orange juice bottles as storage containers for dry food, such as flour, sugar and rice.

Our new storage bottles

The brand we usually buy is sold in a wider necked bottle than most of the plastic bottles used for other products. This makes them much easier to use, both for filling and for pouring the dry foodstuff when we want to use it.

As we empty another bottle of orange juice, I wash it out and make sure it’s totally dry before filling and labelling it.

So far, I have three bottles that I’ve filled with wholegrain basmati rice, plain flour and self raising flour and I’m looking forward to adding to my collection as they fit really well in the little cupboards in Ravensdale’s galley.

Where have the swans gone?

The pair of swans that usually pay regular visits to Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, have not returned since I agreed to feed them.

I took on the task after the death of Phil Lee, the berth holder who'd been feeding them for years and had become known as “The Swan Man”.

I'd promised to feed them while he was unwell and staying with a friend in the town and I did so for a while, but I haven’t seen them since he died.

The swans hanging around by Ravensdale looking for food before they disappeared

I attended his funeral on Monday and was pleased to see two of my photos of him feeding the swans in the marina on his coffin.

I can’t really believe the swans know The Swan Man has gone.

My husband thinks they haven't been back to the marina because they’re away up the River Ellen finding a nesting site and I’m sure he’s right as I’ve seen them on the river on a couple of occasions recently.

Meanwhile, I've been photographing some other birds - the pigeons that are building a nest in the drainage hole in the harbour wall near Ravensdale and some redshanks that I found huddled together on Maryport's middle pier. 

The marina pigeons getting their feathers ruffled by the wind

Redshanks watching the tide come into Maryport basin

Passers-by

The marina slipway has been closed for a few days this week while work was carried out on the Whitehaven-registered commercial vessel Callan.

Callan arriving at Maryport Marina on Monday

The large orange catamaran dwarfed Ravensdale as it passed us on its way to the slipway on Monday, then again on its way out of the marina yesterday (Thursday).

We were most impressed by the way it handled. The skipper was obviously using bow and stern thrusters as the boat moved forwards and sideways as if manoeuvring its way around a chess board.

Callan leaving the marina yesterday (Thursday)

I wish I’d been on the boat when seven canoeists passed Ravensdale on Tuesday as I missed the opportunity to get a photograph of them in the marina.

However, I got a few shots of the same colourful canoes in the Solway Firth while out for a walk with my camera a short while afterwards.

Colourful canoes in the Solway Firth

A closer view of the canoeists

Photographic opportunities

Dramatic skies and stunning sunsets have provided some great photo opportunities here in Maryport this week - sadly I managed to miss some of the best sunsets.

Rays of light breaking through the clouds over the Solway Firth

A wider view of the dramatic sky over the firth

Sunset from the shore at Maryport

Another shot of the sunset from the shore at Maryport

The unexpected arrival of a Coastguard helicopter for a training exercise also encouraged me to get out with my camera to capture the action.

We were still in bed on Sunday morning when we heard a helicopter very close by. Usually, the sound goes away again, but this time it continued making it obvious that something was happening on our doorstep.

I quickly got up, dressed and looked out to discover that the Prestwick-based search and rescue helicopter G-MCGR had landed on a grassy area by the marina.

I dived over there with my camera and start taking photos. I couldn’t resist asking what was going on and was told it had come to provide the local lifeboat and Coastguard rescue teams with “helicopter familiarisation training”.

Lifeboat and Coastguard rescue teams with the Coastguard helicopter

The Coastguard search and rescue helicopter taking off

The helicopter flying over Maryport Marina

It then took off and flew across the marina to the Solway Firth where it dropped its winch line for training with Maryport Inshore Rescue boat.

The Coastguard helicopter training with Maryport Inshore Rescue boat

The Coastguard helicopter lowering the winch line

Maryport Inshore Rescue boat with Robin Rigg offshore wind farm in the distance

Maryport Inshore Rescue boat on the Solway Firth

Cold and windy start to spring

Tuesday may have been the official first day of spring in the UK, but nobody seems to have told the weather.

The freezing conditions we experienced in recent weeks have gone, but it’s been pretty nippy for most of the past week.

Sunset over Maryport Marina last Friday evening

It was very cold overnight Friday/Saturday. We awoke to find snow falling on Saturday morning and a temperature of 0.1C (32F). The temperature only went up to 1.3C (34F) during the day, which was also very windy with speeds of up to 29mph and gusts up to 48mph recorded at nearby St Bee’s Head.

Snow falling at Maryport Marina on Saturday morning

This was followed by another cold windy night with temperatures down to -2C (28F) and average wind speeds of up to 25mph, gusting to 40mph.

Sunday was cold with occasional attempts at snow and the day ended with a beautiful sunset.

Another shot of Sunday night's sunset

It remained cold and windy overnight with temperatures down to -0.1C. We awoke to bright sunshine and relative calm first thing on Monday, but the wind got up again late morning.

Tuesday was the best day of the week. It was calm and sunny. There was very little wind, but it was still quite cool.

The mercury actually rose a little on Wednesday. It started dull and overcast, then, as so often happens when the weather starts to warm up, the rain arrived. The temperature went up to 6.2C (43F), but it felt a lot colder in the wind.

Yesterday (Thursday) started bright and sunny, but the sky soon clouded over. Temperatures of up to 6.5C (44F) were recorded locally, but average wind speeds of up to 23mph, gusting to 32mph, meant it felt a lot cooler. It started raining heavily soon after it got dark and was very windy throughout the night.