A spectacular trawler race and fixing our fishfinder

Some of the colourful boats taking part in Maryport Trawler Race on Saturday

Taking Ravensdale out onto the Solway Firth to watch decorated trawlers racing in the sunshine was definitely the highlight of the past week.

And it was lovely to have our friend, Angie, along to keep me company on the flybridge while Phil kept the boat moving to get us the best possible view while keeping out of the way of the racing fishing boats.

The amazing hot and sunny weather has continued throughout the week making our liveaboard lifestyle even more enjoyable than it is when it’s wet and windy – but, even then, I would rather be on our boat than living on the land 😊

Meanwhile, after a few setbacks, Phil has fixed the fishfinder and it’s working properly but sadly it didn’t help us much on our latest fishing trip, which was the least successful yet.

And the pair of swans, who visited the marina with their cygnets last week, returned and I coaxed them back to Ravensdale with food.

The swan family waiting for food by Ravensdale

The spectacular Maryport Trawler Race

Many of the boats in the fishing fleet from our home port of Maryport in Cumbria, UK, were decorated with flags, bunting and banners on Saturday for one of the biggest events in the town’s calendar.

And they were joined by vessels from the Isle of Man, which is 34 nautical miles from Maryport.

Around 20 boats lined up to wait for the starting pistol that signalled the start of the race, each packed to the gunwales with dozens of people.

One of the local lifeboats crossing in front of the trawlers lined up at the start of the race

We took Ravensdale out onto the Solway Firth well before the race was due to start at 1pm.

Angie climbing up onto the flybridge

The wind speed was just into double figures so higher than we would normally go out, but we just had to be out there for this event. Also, as we were going to be moving the whole time, it was going to be less of a problem than if we were trying to fish at anchor.

Angie and I sat on the foredeck on the way out of the marina and as we headed out between Maryport’s twin piers. This is what I usually do but this time the water was rougher than usual and we were soaked by Ravensdale’s bow wave.

I later discovered that Phil was watching and laughing at us from the comfort of the cabin, but we didn’t mind at all.

It was so hot that we quickly dried off in the sun.

Angie and I went up on the flybridge to get a better view and Phil drove around while we waited for the trawlers to emerge from the harbour.

When we saw them lining up, he manoeuvred the boat to get behind the race, so we could follow it for a while. 

Following some of the trawlers on the first leg of the race

Choppy conditions created by the racing trawlers and one of the local lifeboats

Two more of the colourful trawlers taking part in the race

Phil then moved Ravensdale around so we could watch the fishing boats coming back again.

Sincerity - one of the local Maryport fishing boats

Another local boat - Silver Fern - leading the way before winning the race

Maryport fishing boat Winsome

Another Maryport boat - Alauna

The water was already pretty choppy, but the wakes of the fishing boats made it more so and we felt the rolling motion even more up on the flybridge.

I found the windshield was getting in the way of my photos so perched on the back of my seat to get a better view, being very careful to make sure I didn’t get thrown overboard.

We’d intended to stay out fishing after the race, but it was too bumpy to be comfortable at anchor, so we followed the trawlers back in and returned to the marina.

Whitehaven all-weather lifeboat and Silloth lifeboat at the trawler race

Maryport Inshore Rescue boat after the trawler race

All the decorated boats full of people were the most amazing sight and it was lovely to have Angie with us to share in the fun.

And we’ve already decided that next year we will have to get some bunting and decorate Ravensdale for the event.

I wouldn’t have missed the race for the world and took literally hundreds of photographs.

Thankfully, other people also took photos of our boat during the event and have kindly allowed me to reproduce them here.

Ravensdale leaving Maryport with Angie and I on the bow. Photo by Lee Wise

Ravensdale on the Solway Firth during the trawler race. Photo by Ronnie Bell

Ravensdale during the trawler race. Photo by Ronnie Bell.

Ravensdale ploughing through the waves on our way home. Photo by Ronnie Bell

 
Fishing trip

The windy conditions that stopped us fishing on Saturday continued for the next couple of days.

We considered going on Tuesday but went around onto the pier to check the sea state before the marina gate was due to open and decided it was still rougher than we wanted to go out in, so we stayed put.

We repeated this exercise on Wednesday morning. This time the sea looked a little calmer, so we decided to go for it.

Preparations to leave our mooring take us far less time than they used to, especially as a lot of the loose stuff I usually pack up, such as ornaments and books, have been left stowed away since we started going out onto the water more regularly a few weeks ago.

My note reminding us to “disconnect shore power” remains on the console whenever we’re in the marina and it’s doing the job for which it was intended.

We haven’t forgotten to unplug from the electricity bollard on the pontoon since the trip to the fuel berth when we accidentally cast off our mooring ropes while still connected. Thankfully, no damage was done but we really don’t want that to happen again.

Heading off to our fishing spot with the Iggesund Paperboard mill at Workington in the distance

We discovered the sea was a little rougher than we’d expected after leaving the marina on Wednesday, but still calmer than it had been on Saturday.

Phil drove us to our usual fishing spot and we dropped anchor.

We always check the depth sounder when we stop and calculate the amount of chain that needs putting out, making allowances for the tide.

Our anchor chain has coloured markers every five metres. The number and colour of the markers indicate the length. I know the markers for our usual depths, but still take the list out onto the bow with me in case we need to check it.

As I had no suitable pocket to put it in, I tucked it down the front of my vest and totally forgot it was there until considerably later when Phil was looking for the plastic wallet it’s kept in as it also contains the marina gate times.

At first, we thought we’d lost it then I remembered where I’d put it 😊

Me hiding the missing papers  - I had no idea they were there when this photo was taken

When we first dropped anchor, Phil tried fishing for mackerel but had no luck, so we put out the usual uptide rods. One was baited with squid and the other with a hardback crab that we’d caught in the prawn pot that hangs off the boat when we’re in the marina.

Phil baiting a hook with a hardback crab

Phil casts a line in the hope of hooking a big fish

Uptide rods set up on Ravensdale's foredeck waiting for a fish to bite

And this time we caught absolutely nothing.

Phil hooked one dogfish on the squid but thankfully it dropped off before he brought it aboard.

Our biggest problem on this trip – other than the total lack of fish – was that the westerly wind blew up while we were out stopping Ravensdale from turning around when the tide changed.

Not only does this give us a very bumpy ride, but it also means the fishing lines get pulled and end up under the boat.

We waited a good hour after the tide turned but the boat still refused to turn around, so we decided to head home earlier than planned.

Phil said he would’ve stayed longer if we’d been catching fish, but it seemed pointless when the fish weren’t biting anyway.

The seal coming up for air

While waiting for the boat to turn, we watched a seal but it was just a bit too far away to get a decent photo of it. Of course, that didn't stop me trying 😊

We were only out for just over three hours, but, as always, loved every minute of it.

Even when we’re not catching fish, I totally love sitting out on the deck, watching seals, eating our lunch, drinking a cup of tea or just enjoying the peace and quiet of being out on the water.

It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it 😊

Fixing our fishfinder

At long last, our fishfinder is fitted and working.

We thought it was sorted last week when Phil fitted the transducer in the bow bilges inside a container full of cooking oil. The oil is supposed to make a through-hull transducer work inside the hull.

The previous container from which the oil leaked out into the bilges

Sadly, the sealant he used didn’t stick to the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic the container was made of, the oil leaked out into the bilges and the fishfinder stopped working.

Phil thoroughly cleaned the bilges, bought a length of plumbing pipe (after checking it was the right type of plastic) and tested the sealant on the pipe before fitting it.

Once he’d established that the test sealant had cured and was securely stuck to the pipe, he cut it to size, attached it to the inside of the hull and fitted the transducer inside it.

Phil sealing around the base of the pipe for the fishfinder transducer

The fishfinder in action during our latest fishing trip

He filled it up with vegetable oil again just before we went fishing on Wednesday afternoon and it worked fine while we were out on the water.

It was comforting to see that the depth registered on the fishfinder corresponded with that shown on our depth sounder, which has been adjusted to allow for Ravensdale’s draft.

Our proper depth sounder shows the depth beneath the keel, whereas the fishfinder shows the depth beneath its transducer.

We were very pleased to discover that the pipe was still full of oil the following day, which means the sealant is holding this time.

Sadly, the fishfinder didn’t help us to catch any fish on our latest fishing trip but will hopefully come in useful in the future.

Unusual pineapple or melon stand

This week I discovered a good way to stop pineapples and melons rolling around when the boat rocks.

Our new pineapple stand

We can’t fit large fruit like pineapples and melons in our fruit bowl and were reluctant to get another one, so we usually leave them on the shelf behind the seating in the dining area, but they tend to roll when the boat does.

While having a bit of a clear-out, I found an old, chunky, plastic bangle and was about to throw it out when I had an idea.

It made a perfect stand for the pineapple that was sitting on the shelf at the time.

I have since used it for melons and am planning to search the local charity shops for a couple more.

At the moment, it can slide if the boat rocks a lot, which it hasn’t done since I came up with my cunning plan, so I will probably put some non-slip matting under them.

The only trouble is that the fruit standing on the bangle reminds me of a fairground coconut shy and I get very tempted to throw something at it 😊

Fishing bait

Crabs caught in our prawn pot

Our prawn pot is still doing a great job of catching bait for our fishing trips with lots of crabs getting trapped.

In fact, one day recently, there were so many that Phil stopped one of the small fishing boats passing us on its way out of the marina and asked if they’d like some as bait.

They were very grateful and pulled in alongside our pontoon to collect them.

We also found a two-foot long silver eel in our prawn pot on Wednesday, but we didn’t want it for bait, so we threw it back.

The eel that was trapped in our prawn pot

Photography storage problem solved

Most of the photos I’ve taken this week have either been of the trawler race or during our latest fishing trip, although I did take my camera out for a walk in the sunshine on Monday.

Maryport lighthouse from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth

The Scottish hills on the other side of the Solway Firth

Robin Rigg wind farm on the Scottish side of the Solway Firth

The northern fells in Cumbria

Meanwhile, my photo storage solution has hopefully been solved – for now 😊

I’d reached a point where I couldn’t put any more photos on my laptop because the disk on which they are stored was full up.

We moved some of the folders onto another disk that had more free space and I set about deleting any that I really didn’t want but couldn’t make any real impact on the situation and it became obvious that a more dramatic solution was required.

We’ve now bought a 4TB external hard drive to store my older photos.

They’re also backed up on another back-up disk, so I’ve now deleted them from my laptop to make room for more new images.

However, considering I took more than 500 photos of the trawler race last Saturday, I have a horrible feeling it won’t be long before I’ve filled up all the available storage again and I’m back to square one ☹

Marina wildlife

Swans eating floating duck and swan food by our pontoon

The marina swans by Ravensdale

The swans and cygnets that have put in a few appearances at the marina in recent weeks returned this week in search of food.

On each occasion that I’ve seen them in the marina, I’ve coaxed them back to Ravensdale with floating duck and swan food.

I still haven’t convinced them that this is their feeding station now, but hopefully they will soon learn as we inherited the food that Phil Lee “the swan man” used to give them before he died earlier this year.

The pigeons nesting in the drainage hole in the harbour wall near Ravensdale are still using the hole despite several futile attempts at breeding there.

Every time they built a nest earlier this year, it was washed away by rain as the hole drains water from the road above into the marina.

We still see them coming and going from the hole or sitting in the entrance basking in the sunshine so hopefully they’ve managed to raise a brood during the prolonged spell of warm, dry weather we’ve had lately but, as yet, we’ve seen no young.

Mrs Pigeon warms herself in the sun at the entrance to the drainage hole

A less pleasant visitor was a large band-eyed brown horsefly - Tabanus bromius – that we found on our bimini cover this week.

The band-eyed brown horsefly that landed on our bimini cover

It was almost an inch long and very scary-looking but they’re apparently less interested in biting humans than other types of horsefly, preferring to feast on the blood of cattle and ponies.

Summer continues with a vengeance

This really is the best summer I can remember since I was a child but I’m never sure whether summers really were better back then or we just think they were 😊

In fact, we’ve had fabulous weather for nine out of the past 10 weeks, which is practically unheard of in the north of England.

Every single day this week has been hot, dry and sunny.

There’s been very little cloud in the sky and the only variables have been how hot and how windy it has been.

Yet another sunny day at Maryport Marina

On Saturday, we had a top temperature of 23.9C (75F) with a top average wind speed of 11mph.

Maryport basking in the sunshine on Saturday

I forgot to check the temperature and wind speed on Sunday, but it was hot and relatively calm.

Monday was the hottest day in the past week with the mercury rising to 25.4C (78F). It was also the windiest day of the week with a top average daytime wind speed of 14mph, rising to 18mph in the early evening.

People making the most of the sunshine on Maryport beach on Monday

Tuesday’s temperature peaked at 22.6C (73F) with a top average wind speed of 11mph.

On Wednesday, the top temperature was 20.8C (69F) and the top average wind speed recorded locally was 7mph, but it was definitely higher than that while we were out on Ravensdale.

Blue skies and sunshine for our trip out on the Solway Firth on Wednesday

The hot, sunny weather continued yesterday (Thursday) although, during the afternoon, there were a few more clouds than we’ve seen for a while, but they cleared again as day went on. The highest daytime temperature was 20.3C and the top average wind speed during the day was 18mph.

And, so far, today (Friday) there has been a bit more cloud and it has been a bit cooler than of late. The temperature has risen to 15.4C (60F) but I'm sure it will increase as the day goes on. The top average wind speed so far is 9mph.