An aborted fishing trip and our double-glazing experiment

Ravensdale returning to Maryport in Cumbria, UK, on Tuesday morning

We took Ravensdale out for a short cruise/fishing trip on Tuesday to give her engines a run and to see if Phil could catch anything nice for supper.

Sadly, we only achieved one of our two aims.

Our boat got a bit of a run, but Phil didn’t even get to attempt to fish because of the bumpy sea conditions.

And we ended up returning home to Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, much sooner than we’d intended ☹

Meanwhile, the large windows on our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser help to warm the boat up when it’s sunny but they also mean we lose a lot of heat when it’s cold outside.

The window behind the dining table that has been caused a draught problem

So, this week, we decided to experiment with fitting secondary double-glazing to one of the smaller windows that causes a real draught problem.

The plan being to do likewise to further windows if it makes a noticeable difference.

Tuesday’s fishing trip

Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth during our previous fishing trip

An unpleasant experience while out fishing on November 17 has put us off going out over two tides for a while.

Very bumpy conditions made fishing extremely difficult and resulted in us having to motor up and down the coast for a good hour and a half while waiting for the marina’s sea gate to open so we could go home.

However, a forecast for single-figure wind speeds tempted us out onto the Solway Firth for what was to have been a four-hour fishing trip on Tuesday.

The basin between our marina and the firth dries out at low tide, so the marina’s sea gate is only open for around two and half hours either side of high tide.

This means that we either have to leave when the gate first opens and make sure we’re back before it closes again when the same tide is going out or stay out until the next tide, which means it’s impossible to return for at least seven hours.

Maryport Marina gate opening

This is not a problem in favourable conditions.

However, when the forecast proves to be totally wrong and the wind speed is nothing like the low speeds that were promised – as happened on our last outing - it becomes a real pain.

Tuesday morning’s high tide was at 09:18 so the gate was due to be open from around 06:48 to 11:48.

And the forecast was for average wind speeds of 6-8mph while the gate was open, which would’ve been well within our comfort zone.

We set an early alarm and woke up to still and very cold conditions.

Frosty pontoons at Maryport Marina early on Tuesday morning

Ravensdale’s decks were icy and her mooring ropes that we neatly coil on the pontoons and decks were frozen solid.

The marina pontoons were also very slippery, so Phil salted the ramp up to the facilities as he went up there before any of the staff were on duty.

He also decided to salt our decks as, although it would be messy, at least we would be safe.

Meanwhile, I packed all the loose stuff inside the boat away into crates, as usual, and strapped down the freezer and microwave.

We also moved the dehumidifier in the aft cabin off the shelf, where it usually lives, onto the floor so it couldn’t fall as happened on our previous outing.

Ravensdale going out through the marina gate on Tuesday morning

We left the marina at about 7.30am, which was more than half an hour before sunrise so it was still pretty dark.

We headed down towards North Workington and found the spot where we intended to fish.

Ravensdale on the way to our first stop

Phil put the engines in neutral ready to drop the anchor and we were surprised at how much the boat was rocking given the lack of wind.

At first, we thought it was our own wake as he had turned the boat around, but the waves just kept on coming so it obviously wasn’t that.

We waited a while to see if it would stop, but it didn’t so we decided there must be a big swell.

We then headed back towards Maryport to see if we could get the boat to settle at another fishing spot close to Maryport pier.

It seemed a little quieter so we dropped the anchor and turned off the engines but, before Phil could even set up his fishing rods, the wind started to get up and that coupled with the swell made for a very bumpy ride again.

Maryport from our fishing spot close to the pier

Again, we waited a while to see if the boat would settle but it didn’t so, we brought the anchor in and decided to cut our losses and head for home.

Phil bringing up Ravensdale's anchor

Passing Maryport lighthouse on our way back to the marina

We were back in the marina soon after 9am after just over an hour and a half out on the water during which time we did 6.4 nautical miles with a top speed of 10.2 knots.

I moored Ravensdale up using our docking sticks, which enable me to tie her up without help. Before we got them, I was reliant on someone coming to meet us and catching our ropes as our boat is too high for me to jump off onto the pontoon.

Phil put on the spring lines and we were about to replace the lines on the docking sticks with our regular bow and stern lines when I suggested that it might be a good time to get some more diesel before doing so.

We went up to the marina office to check they were OK with this then moved Ravensdale onto the fuel pontoon to fill her up.

Phil refuelling Ravensdale

We may not have managed to do any fishing, but we did get to give Ravensdale’s two 300hp Volvo Penta engines a bit of a run and we refilled her diesel tank, which made the effort involved in taking her out worthwhile.

Secondary double-glazing

Phil marking the multi-wall polycarbonate sheet ready for cutting

Me lending a foot while Phil cuts the sheet of plastic

Ravensdale’s large windows result in considerable heat loss during cold weather.

And the one that causes us the most discomfort is the long, narrow window along the back of the dinette on the port side of the boat.

Phil sits under this window while we’re relaxing in the evening and has long complained of cold air dropping down under the curtain when it’s closed.

This is our third winter living on our boat and each year we’ve said we should do something about it.

However, it hasn’t happened and, once spring comes around, it's forgotten until the temperature drops again.

Well, this year, we decided to tackle the problem, so we bought a multi-wall polycarbonate sheet and some double-sided sticky tape.

And, yesterday (Thursday), Phil set about cutting the sheet to fit the window then used the tape to stick it to the metal window frame.

The secondary double-glazing in place on the window in Ravensdale's dinette

We’re hoping it will make a big difference and, if it does, we'll do the same to some of Ravensdale’s other windows.

Horse and cart ride 

The photo I’d been hoping for of me getting a ride back to the marina on a horse and cart the weekend before last never materialised.

I was really hoping someone would’ve snapped us and would post the image on a local Facebook group.

This didn’t happen, however, there was a photo of me chatting to Dave, the guy who owned the horse and cart, before he offered me a lift home.

Me chatting to the owner of the horse and cart before my ride back to the marina

Photography

My calendar showing photos of Maryport

The July photo in my calendar

This week, a photo calendar I’d ordered featuring some of my photos of Maryport arrived back from the printer.

I had it printed for a woman who contacted me on Facebook and asked if I would make a calendar for her to give to her father as a Christmas present.

I was happy to do it and, having seen the finished result, I really wish I could’ve had more printed and sold them to raise money for Maryport Inshore Rescue.

I considered this when I was ordering the single calendar but discovered the cost was likely to be prohibitive as it would mean charging more for the calendars than I thought people would be willing to pay.

I was disappointed about this so was really pleased when I met a local woman who runs her own business making cushions with photographs on them.

I agreed that she could use some of my photos of Maryport on her cushions to raise money for the charity of my choice, so Maryport Inshore Rescue will now receive £1 from every cushion she sells with one of my photos on it.

Our trip out on the water offered a few photo opportunities on Tuesday, but not as many as I’d hoped.

It was rather dark when we left the marina and the sunrise wasn’t particularly special, but I still managed to get a few photos from the trip that I quite liked.

Maryport just before sunrise

Cormorants on a navigation mark in the Solway Firth

The cormorants' perch with the Iggesund paperboard factory at Workington in the distance

Sunrise over the Solway Firth

I also took my camera for a walk along the shore and around the harbour on several occasions during the week and I popped out to get some photos of the sunset over the marina on Monday evening.

Bridge over the River Ellen at Maryport

Waves crashing on the lifeboat slipway at Maryport

Ellenfoot Bridge over Maryport Harbour

Reflections of fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

More reflections in Maryport Harbour

Maryport Marina at sunset

Another view of Maryport Marina at sunset

And, having discovered my mobile phone took better photos than I thought before I discovered it just had a dirty lens, I couldn’t resist trying a few shots with it when I didn’t have my camera with me.

Maryport shore taken with my mobile phone

Another phone photo of the shore at Maryport

Swan family

As we were getting up on Saturday morning, we heard a strange sound coming from the side of the boat.

We looked out to see the swans tapping on Ravensdale’s hull.

It was as though they thought we should’ve been up earlier to feed them 😊

Feeding time

One of the cygnets tries to take food from the beaker I use to feed them

They were back many times demanding food throughout the day on Sunday and Monday.

The swan family lined up along the pontoon waiting for food

And we saw them out on the Solway Firth on Tuesday.

We haven’t seen them in the marina since then, but I’m sure it won’t be long before they’re back pestering us for food.

Weather watch

We’ve had more than our fair share of wind and rain here in Maryport over the past week with precipitation falling on every day but Tuesday.

Overnight Friday into Saturday was a very windy night with a top average wind speed of 24mph, gusting 37mph.

Saturday was a grey day with rain during the morning. It became dry and calm during the afternoon with a top temperature of 8C (46.5F) and a top average wind speed of 15mph.

Grey Sunday at Maryport Marina

It was wet and miserable all day on Sunday although the rain stopped for a short period mid-afternoon. The temperature reached 10.1C (50F) and the highest average wind speed recorded locally was 18mph.

Sunday night into Monday was wet and windy and it was still raining when we got up, but the sky cleared and it became dry, bright and sunny for much of the day. The top temperature was 6.7C (44F) with the average wind speed peaking at 14mph.

Blue skies and sunshine at Maryport Marina on Monday morning

Overnight Monday/Tuesday was a very cold night and there was frost on the pontoon and Ravensdale’s decks first thing.

Tuesday was supposed to be really calm, which is why we decided to take the boat out on the water, but it really wasn’t ☹ The cloud increased as the day went on and the top temperature was 7C (44.5F) with the average wind speed reaching 13mph.

Pigeons on the ramp at Maryport Marina during a brief break in the rain on Wednesday

Wednesday was wet with rain falling nearly all day and, even when it stopped raining, it was still grey and damp. The top temperature was 7.1C (44.5F) with a top average wind speed of 8mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) was another very wet day with rain from the very start. It stopped for a short while early afternoon then started raining again.

Another grey, wet day at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

It was windier and warmer than the previous day with the temperature reaching 10.4C (51F) and a top average wind speed of 22mph, gusting 31mph.

And, so far, today (Friday) the weather has been very windy with average wind speeds up to 30mph, gusting 41mph. The top temperature so far is 7.7C (46F).