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Ravensdale returning from yesterday's (Thursday) successful fishing trip |
We’ve taken our floating home out fishing three times this week – a full day and two shorter outings.
In fact, Ravensdale has been out of the marina more often over the past fortnight, since she went back in the water following antifouling, than she did during most two-week periods at the height of the summer.
We were delighted to get three calm days this week after the horrendous wind and rain during Storm Callum - the third named storm of the UK season which battered this area last weekend.
So, we took our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser out onto the Solway Firth in Cumbria, UK, on single-tide fishing trips on Sunday and Monday and stayed out over two tides yesterday (Thursday).
We also took her fishing on Saturday October 6 and Wednesday October 10.
This week, we brought home the biggest cod Phil has caught from the boat yet and a good-sized thornback ray (AKA skate).
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Phil with one of the spurdog he caught yesterday (Thursday) |
His other best catches this week were the first two spurdog he’d ever caught but they were released back into the sea.
So, it’s been a really good week for fishing, but I never really mind how many fish we catch as I still love the idea of bobbing around on the water in our “house” 😊
That said, it’s always very welcome when we get to eat our catches 😊
Sunday’s fishing trip
After the horrendous weather we had last Friday and Saturday thanks to Storm Callum, it was so good to get some calm, dry weather again.
And it quickly became evident that Sunday was going to be a good chance to take Ravensdale out fishing on the Solway Firth.
As it was the weekend, we expected to have quite a bit of company out there, but we were surprised by the number of boats that left the marina that day – possibly the most we've seen go out at any one time.
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Ravensdale leaving Maryport Marina on Sunday |
We left the marina at 1.20pm and dropped anchor in the same spot as on our last trip - just a couple of hundred yards off Maryport Pier.
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Phil waiting for the fish to bite |
This was the location at which Phil caught his first cod of the season, so we thought it was as good a place as any to try again and we were not disappointed.
He caught his biggest cod yet, a small dab and loads of dogfish.
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Phil with the largest cod he's caught from Ravensdale |
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The dab Phil caught on Sunday |
The cod measured 18ins and weighed in at 2lb 6.7oz so we were very pleased with that.
The weather was sunny and much warmer than I’d expected.
I was wearing a big woolly jumper when we left the marina but had to take it off because I was too hot.
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Me enjoying the sunshine on the Solway Firth |
The sea was very bumpy again, so we were rocking around well but Ravensdale turned easily with the tide and the rocking subsided a bit after that.
While out fishing, we saw the swan family out on the Solway Firth with another lone swan nearby.
I had no idea they left the basin and headed out to sea, but they still seemed to be staying fairly close to shore.
And we've never seen the other swan before, so I have no idea where that one came from.
We returned to the marina soon after 5pm after three hours and 45 minutes out on the water and Phil gutted and filleted the cod ready for freezing.
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The cod we brought home for dinner |
The forecast was good for the following day, so I left all the stuff I pack away inside the boat when we’re taking her fishing packed up ready for our next outing.
Monday’s fishing trip
We were really looking forward to another fishing trip after catching a good-sized cod on Sunday but sadly this trip was less successful as far as big fish were concerned.
However, Phil still caught a few fish, albeit smaller ones, so we decided to look on it as a “species hunt” instead as he caught four different types of fish – a thornback ray, a dab, a tiny whiting and loads of the inevitable dogfish.
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Phil with the small thornback ray he caught on Monday |
It felt windier than it had been on Sunday but was considerably less bumpy – possibly because we had an easterly wind instead of the NNW wind the previous day.
However, Ravensdale didn’t settle well facing into the tide on the rising tide and kept turning back and fore causing the fishing lines to end up alongside or under the boat.
She turned right around a good half an hour before high water then sat quite happily facing that way when the tide started flowing in the opposite direction.
It was also a lot cooler than I’d expected as it was fairly sunny. I had to go and put on a warm jumper and a woolly hat after the boat turned around because we were sat in the shade.
And I discovered a problem with our new non-spill insulated travel mugs that I was raving about when we first got them – they’re so well insulated that they don’t generate any heat so I couldn’t warm my hands on my mug, but my tea stayed lovely and hot so I’m not complaining 😊
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Me with one of our non-spill insulated mugs |
One of the highlights of the trip for me was that, while waiting for the fish to bite, we saw what looked like a fairly light-coloured porpoise leap twice within about 20 metres of the boat. Sadly, it didn’t come up again, so I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of it but it’s still nice to see things like that.
We’d left the marina soon after 2pm and returned at 5.45pm so were out for around three hours and 40 minutes and this time the swans were waiting for us on our return.
The silly birds swam in under the bow of our boat as we were mooring up but thankfully Phil kept Ravensdale really slow and they were unharmed.
And, as soon as I’d secured the ropes, I gave them a feed as I hadn’t seen them in the marina for a few days.
Full day at sea
A forecast of flat calm conditions coupled with favourable marina gate opening times tempted us into spending a full day out on the Solway Firth yesterday (Thursday) and we were very glad we went.
We got up to a beautiful sunny, calm morning and set off soon after 8.30am, well before the gate was due to close for the morning tide.
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Ravensdale leaving the marina yesterday (Thursday) |
It was pretty chilly – just 5.2C (41F) – when we set off, so we were well wrapped up. I was wearing thermal trousers, a long-sleeved thermal vest, a woolly jumper, fur-lined boots and a woolly hat.
We initially went to the spot close to home where Phil had caught cod on recent outings.
He was catching most of the time, but all small fish and dogfish.
In this location, he caught five small whiting, two dabs, a tiny cod and seven dogfish.
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Two small whiting |
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One of the dabs Phil caught |
At one point, he had four rods set up and was spinning with a fifth.
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The generator running on Ravensdale's aft deck |
When we’re out of the marina all day, we put the generator on from time to time to keep the freezer cold and to top up the batteries. I also use it as an excuse to use the coffee maker.
The wind got up a little around lunchtime, but nothing significant. Scotland became shrouded in cloud for a while, but it stayed bright and sunny where we were, and the wind soon dropped off again.
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Me at the helm of Ravensdale on the way to Three Fathom Bank |
After lunch, around low water, we moved to Three Fathom Bank, which is about six nautical miles off the coast – the furthest from land that we've dropped anchor to fish. The plan was to try for thornback rays.
Initially, it was very quiet except for a few dogfish. We decided we must be in a bad position and started to put away the fishing gear ready to move on.
As Phil was bringing in the last line, he discovered he'd hooked a good-sized thornback. I dived back to the aft deck to get the landing net that I’d just stowed away and scooped the big fish out of the water.
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Phil with his thornback ray |
We then decided to stay put for a bit longer and over the course of about an hour he caught two spurdog – the biggest being three feet long – a small dab and a tiny whiting.
Phil was delighted with the spurdog as it was a new species for him.
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The smaller of the two spurdog |
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One of the spurdog's venomous spines |
They are a slender shark species and one of the few venomous fish in UK waters. They have small spines behind their two dorsal fins. These secrete venom, which can cause swelling and discomfort in humans.
Thankfully, Phil didn’t touch the spines while trying to control the larger of the two to pose for a photo.
He said it was very strong and really didn’t want to have its photograph taken. I loved this one of Phil struggling to hold it still 😊
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Phil with the three-foot long spurdog |
During the afternoon, the sun became much warmer and I was much too hot in my winter clothes, but that wasn’t a problem.
One of the joys of having our home with us is that I just had to pop down below to change into cooler clothing.
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Me soaking up the afternoon sun on Ravensdale's aft deck |
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A barrel jellyfish passing Ravensdale |
We saw quite a few barrel jellyfish passing the boat while fishing but, sadly, most of them were too deep for me to photograph.
We also saw porpoises, but I never seem to have my camera pointing in the right direction at the right time.
We reluctantly left our fishing spot at around 6pm to head back to the marina as we were already going to be back after sunset.
It wasn’t the most colourful sunset ever, but there were some lovely reflections on the still water.
And the journey back to Maryport was the first time we'd used our navigation lights.
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Ravensdale's starboard navigation light on the way back to Maryport |
We arrived back home soon after 6.30pm after more than 10 hours out on the water having had a totally brilliant day.
Cleaning Ravensdale
Ravensdale always ends up looking more than a little grubby after a fishing trip.
Her foredeck gets badly marked by “fish juice” – my name for the blood and other delightful things that end up on the deck while fishing.
So, Phil makes sure she gets a good wash when we get back or, if it's late in the day, first thing the following morning.
And I have to say he does a great job.
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Phil cleaning Ravensdale after Monday's fishing trip |
I almost mean it when I tell him I need to put my sunglasses on to look at her after he’s finished 😊
Bimini or no bimini
We’re trying to work out whether to remove Ravensdale’s bimini as we don’t use it except to support a washing line.
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Ravensdale with her bimini dropped down |
The problem is that it makes fishing off the aft deck very difficult if not virtually impossible.
It also gets in the way when dealing with ropes while mooring up.
We’re both agreed that we wouldn’t want to get rid of it altogether, partly in case we ever decide we do want to use it and partly because it's part of the boat.
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Ravensdale's aft deck with the bimini down |
But getting it out of the way would help a lot so we tried dropping it down to see if that would help at all and it looks as though it would be a big improvement so we’re planning to try it next time we go out fishing.
Leak-free windows
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Capt. Tolley's penetrating sealant |
We’ve done it! At long last Ravensdale’s windows appear to be watertight again – at least for now 😊
Storm Callum – on Friday of last week and Saturday - provided the perfect opportunity to find out whether the leak or leaks in the window on the port side had actually been cured.
And it seems that Capt. Tolley’s penetrating sealant does exactly what it says on the packet.
The leaks that we’d previously been unable to stop are definitely fixed as no water came in during two days of almost continual torrential rain.
Swan family
The swan family continues to turn up at the boat demanding regular feeds.
They were waiting for us when we got back to the marina after our fishing trip on Monday.
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The swans enjoying their food on Monday afternoon |
They visited just before we went to bed on Tuesday evening while I was chatting to one of my son’s on Facebook. Without thinking it was anything unusual, I told him I was “just popping out to feed the swans”. He replied: “Ha, ha, ha, As you do!”. And I realised that he probably thinks his Mum has totally lost the plot now 😊
I obviously didn’t give them enough as I could hear the cygnets crying for food when we were in bed, but there was no way I was getting dressed to go and feed them again.
I saw them in the harbour on Wednesday and they were back at our boat looking for food on numerous occasions during Wednesday afternoon and evening.
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The swan family in Maryport Harbour on Wednesday afternoon |
And they turned up again early yesterday (Thursday) morning.
I fed them quickly before we went out and I was later told they were pretty cross when they turned up during the day to discover Ravensdale was missing. I don’t really believe that (I’m not as stupid as I look – although Phil would disagree 😊) but it’s a nice story 😊
Photography
Unsurprisingly, given the amount of time we’ve spent out on the Solway Firth on Ravensdale this week, most of my photos were taken while out on the water.
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Maryport Pier from the Solway Firth |
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A wider view of Maryport from the Solway Firth |
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Yacht Manatee on the Solway Firth |
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Maryport Lighthouse taken on the way out of the basin |
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The Isle of Man from the Solway Firth at sunset |
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Iggesund paperboard factory at Workington from the Solway Firth |
However, I also took my camera for a walk around the harbour on Wednesday afternoon.
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Colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour |
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More boats in Maryport Harbour at low tide |
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Another view of Maryport Harbour |
And I popped over to the beach to catch the sunset on Wednesday evening.
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Sunset on the shore at Maryport |
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Maryport's old lighthouse at sunset |
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Maryport shore at sunset |
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Ravensdale at Maryport Marina at sunset |
Weather watch
Storm Callum made its presence known here in Maryport, Cumbria, last Friday and Saturday.
The worst of the wind was on Friday with average wind speeds of up to 40mph and gusts of up to 61mph.
It started raining the previous day and kept it up throughout Friday and Saturday. The water in the marina was very brown and muddy-looking on Sunday after the storm.
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Muddy water in Maryport Marina on Sunday |
There was thick cloud cover all day on Saturday and it didn’t stop raining all day. The average wind speed was in single figures in the morning, increasing during the afternoon to a high of 36mph, gusting 48mph. The highest temperature recorded locally was 15.2C (59F).
Sunday started grey but bright and very calm with average wind speeds of just 2-7mph throughout the day. The top temperature was 11.8C (53F).
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Reflections in the calm water at Maryport Marina on Sunday |
Overnight Sunday into Monday the temperature dipped to 4.5C (40F) and Monday was dry and bright from the start. It remained calm throughout the day with a top wind speed of 9mph and a top temperature of 11.5C (53F).
Tuesday started cloudy but bright. The sun managed to break through occasionally, but we also had a little light drizzle from time to time. It started raining properly from about 3pm. The temperature peaked at 13.4C (56F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 34mph.
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A sunny interval at Maryport Marina on Tuesday morning |
Tuesday night into Wednesday was a relatively warm night with a temperature of 12.7C (55F) at 10pm gradually decreasing to 10.6C (51F) at 8am.
Wednesday was bright but cloudy with a bit of sunshine from time to time. It was much less windy than the previous day and there was a lovely sunset. The daytime temperature reached 12.1C (54F) and the average wind speed reached 15mph.
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Clouds over Maryport Harbour on Wednesday |
Yesterday (Thursday) was sunny and calm throughout. We had a very cool start to the day with a temperature of just 5.2C (41F) at 8am. The temperature reached 12.4C (54F) and the average wind speed was just 2-6mph.
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Early morning sunshine over Maryport Basin yesterday (Thursday) |
Today (Friday) started fairly bright with sunshine, light cloud and a bit more wind than yesterday. It began spitting with rain around lunchtime and has kept it up ever since. The top temperature so far has been 12.1C (54F) with a top average wind speed 16mph.
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