Why I’m very glad our boat stays in the water over winter

Phil fishing from Ravensdale's aft deck as the sun goes down

We’ve taken Ravensdale out on the water in beautiful, sunny conditions twice during the past week.

And, despite the low temperatures and lack of any decent fish, I’ve still loved every minute of it.

I sometimes think taking Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth in Cumbria, UK, on a nice, calm day during the winter is even better than on a hot, sunny day.

It somehow feels like more of a treat when it’s slotted in between periods of miserable, wet and windy weather – not that we don’t get them in the summer too 😊

And it makes it difficult to understand why some folk take their boats out of the water to store them for the winter (unless they have to, of course) as it means they then miss out on some of the pleasures of boating.

The other reason we keep Ravensdale in the water is that it's so much nicer living on her when she's floating than when she's chocked up on the hard-standing.

Gone fishing 😊

Much colder, calmer weather at the start of this week provided the opportunity to take Ravensdale out fishing - twice.

Ravensdale leaving Maryport in bright sunshine on Monday afternoon

We’d only intended to go on Monday, but the weather was even better the following day, so we made a last-minute decision to go again.

And we were very glad we did as we had torrential rain for most of the day on Wednesday, which meant we hardly left the boat.

Monday’s fishing trip

The forecast had looked good for Monday for several days beforehand, but we always wait until we see the weather on the day before making the final decision.

We got up on Monday to a beautiful, bright, calm, sunny morning and decided we would head out as soon as the marina gate opened.

As the gate wasn’t due to open until around midday, we had time to pop to the Aquarium for more bait and to do a bit of shopping before preparing Ravensdale for the trip out.

Taken while Ravensdale was heading out of Maryport Marina

We set off out into the basin and followed the channel along the side of the pier and, despite a notice warning fishermen on the pier to reel in their lines for passing boats, one of them failed to do so again.

I was sat on the bow as we went out and could see the rod next to a parked van but there was no fisherman to be seen so I assumed he'd reeled it in and was sat in his van.

Phil baiting a hook on Ravensdale's aft deck

As we got closer, I could see he did have a line out and, when we were almost level with him, he dived out of his van and grabbed his rod just as the line tightened as it caught under our boat and snapped.

It's so annoying that he had a line out and didn’t even bother watching to see if there were any boats coming.

The last time this happened was just before we had Ravensdale lifted out for antifouling and we found that fisherman’s line wrapped around her port prop shaft.

We then headed down to Allonby Bay close to where the charter boat Venture West was fishing, and Phil set up two rods on the aft deck.

This was the first time he’d fished off the aft deck since removing the bimini canvas and dropping the frame that supports it and it certainly made for a more comfortable fishing experience.

Phil fishing from Ravensdale's aft deck

And we discovered that we could even watch the rods from the comfort of Ravensdale’s saloon while eating our lunch, which was previously eaten outside on the foredeck.

Phil watching his rods from Ravensdale's saloon

The only problem with fishing off the aft deck may come when I have to get the landing net under a big fish as it is about 18 inches higher than the foredeck, but we have a long-handled net now so hopefully it will be fine.

Sadly, we didn’t get to find out on Monday as the only fish he caught were dogfish.

As Phil wasn’t catching anything, we decided to move on at about 3.15pm and, while he was bringing in his lines, one of the hooks caught in a rope attached to our outboard motor so Phil had to climb down the ladder to the bathing platform to unhook it.

We then dropped anchor near Maryport pier where he had caught his best cod on a previous fishing trip but still had no luck.

While we were in Allonby Bay, we saw local fishing boat Sunrise out on the Solway Firth for the first time since her skipper Steve was involved in a nasty car accident in July.

Sunrise out on the Solway Firth

It was lovely to see him out on the water again and we really hope he’ll be able to start taking fishing club members out fishing again soon.

We left the marina at 12.05pm returning at 4.20pm having been out for four hours 15 minutes and travelled eight nautical miles.

Fishing trip on Tuesday

Another lovely calm, sunny day tempted us to go back out to see if we could have better luck with fishing the following day.

I had a hair appointment late morning, so we’d written the day off.

However, as I was walking up to town to the hairdresser’s shop, I realised that it would be possible to do both.

I called Phil and said that, if he wanted to go out fishing, he could get everything ready and I’d call him, so he could pick me up when my hair was done so we could make a quick getaway.

We decided to go for it, even though it would mean we’d be a little later leaving the marina than we would’ve liked.

Phil drove me home and I managed to get all the inside stuff that I pack away stowed in just 10 minutes – that must be a record for me 😊

And we left the pontoon within 20 minutes of leaving the hairdressers.

Ravensdale going out of the marina gate in glorious sunshine

This time Phil sounded Ravensdale’s horn in the basin to warn fishermen on the pier that we were coming out and they needed to reel their lines in and they all did.

There’s no way of knowing whether sounding his horn worked or whether they would’ve done it anyway, but it seems like a good plan for the future.

We headed out to Three Fathom Bank, which is about five nautical miles out from Maryport.

Leaving Maryport on our way out to Three Fathom Bank

The water was so calm it was like a mill pond and we were able to watch a seal near the boat for a while but I couldn't get a very good photo of it as it was a bit too far away from us.

A seal watching us from the Solway Firth

Thankfully, it wasn't too cold so I didn't even have to spoil my hair by wearing a woolly hat 😊

Me enjoying the sunshine on Ravensdale's aft deck - without a hat 😊

Sadly, Phil only caught dogfish and one small dab, but it was beautiful out on the Solway Firth.

The small dab Phil caught on this fishing trip

We considered staying out until the next tide as the wind wasn’t supposed to get up until after the marina gate was due to open at around 1.15am the following morning.

Phil waiting for the fish to bite as the sun goes down

If the fishing had been going better, we might have decided to give it a go, but we also realised that we hadn’t gone prepared to fish over two tides so didn’t really have enough bait with us.

So, we left our fishing spot around sunset and headed home with our navigation lights on and got back in good time for the gate.

Ravensdale's starboard navigation light on the way back to Maryport

We left the marina at 1.20pm and were back at 5.10pm so were out for just under four hours and travelled slightly less than 10 nautical miles.

Aquarium cards

My photos are now on some of the postcards and greetings cards on sale in the Lake District Coast Aquarium on the harbourside at Maryport.

I was so proud to see my images on their card racks and I’m told they’re selling well.

They've also printed my name and a link to my blog on the back of the cards.

Me with some of the Aquarium greetings cards bearing my photographs

This week we picked up the membership card I was given as a thank-you gesture for letting them use some of my photos of the local area and wildlife for this purpose.

And apparently it doesn’t just give us unlimited access to the Aquarium, it also gives us 10% off our purchases in the coffee shop, gift shop and, most importantly, the fishing bait and tackle shop 😊

I really must go over and make use of free admission to the Aquarium very soon to take photos of the fish and other sea creatures on display there.

Swan family

The two adult swans and their three cygnets, which are now as big as their parents, turned up for food on Sunday for the first time since one cygnet was left in the marina on its own last week.

Thankfully, that experience hasn’t put them off coming to visit us.

The swan family returned to the marina for food on Sunday

We don’t know if they came into the marina on Monday or Tuesday while the gate was open as we weren’t here.

Phil saw them in the marina first thing on Wednesday morning, but they’d gone by the time I got there, and I didn’t hang about outside looking for them because it was pouring with rain.

I figured that, if they were hungry, they'd come back and, I was right. A short time later they were back crying for food, so I had to put on a waterproof jacket and go out to feed them – as you do 😊

One of the cygnets pecking at the food beaker

They’ve only been back a couple of times since so they’re hopefully finding plenty of food elsewhere.

And I spotted them in the harbour pestering a fisherman for food yesterday (Thursday) evening.

The swans and cygnets visiting a fishing boat in Maryport Harbour yesterday (Thursday) evening

Photography

Two trips out on Ravensdale over the past week means a lot of my photos were taken while out on the water again.

Maryport from the basin as we returned just before sunset on Monday

Venture West charter fishing boat on the Solway Firth with Maryport in the background

Maryport from the Solway Firth

Sunset on the Solway Firth on Tuesday

Another view of sunset on the Solway Firth

Maryport taken on our way out onto the Solway Firth on Tuesday

Part of Robin Rigg Wind Farm on the Solway Firth

I’ve also been out and about in the local area with my camera quite a bit at other times

I took it out to photograph the sunset on the beach on Friday evening.

A dog walker on Maryport beach at sunset

The sun setting on the shore at Maryport

Maryport pier with the Scottish hills in the distance just after sunset

And I was back in the harbour with my camera on Saturday to capture the fishing boats at high tide in the winter sunshine.

A fishing boat in Maryport Harbour

Colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

More fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

And, on Saturday evening, I grabbed a few shots of a beautiful sunset over the marina. I really wish I’d gone around to the shore again but didn’t notice just how good the sunset was until it was too late to get there in time ☹

Sunset over Maryport Marina

Maryport Marina slipway at sunset

Sunday was another cold and sunny day, so I took my camera for a walk along the shore, where the local angling club was holding a fishing competition.

Fishermen taking part in an angling competition on the shore at Maryport

Some of the fishermen taking part in the competition

Fishermen measuring their catch

Maryport pier

Ellenfoot Bridge at Maryport Harbour

Yesterday (Thursday) I took my camera for a walk around the harbour during the afternoon and went back again in the evening for the sunset.

A fishing boat in Maryport Harbour

Another fishing boat in Maryport Harbour

And, I rarely manage to walk back from the beach without taking a few shots of the marina as well.

Maryport Marina

I really do need to try to cut down on the number of photos I take or be far more disciplined at deleting all but the best of them as I’ve had to move another year’s worth of photos off my laptop onto an external hard drive to make room for my new images.

I’ve just been trying to delete some of the thousands of images I’ve taken in the past month and discovered that there were only three days on which I didn’t take a single photo.

I think I could be addicted to photography 😊

Passers-by

A fishing boat called Laura Ann arrived at Maryport Marina on Thursday, October 25 and went up onto the slipway for work on October 26. It left again on Sunday, October 28.

Laura Ann passing Ravensdale as she leaves Maryport Marina

 A number of smaller fishing boats have also passed Ravensdale this week.

A fishing boat passing Ravensdale on Monday

A group of fishermen setting off from Maryport Marina

Another fisherman setting off to fish on the Solway Firth

I missed those that went out on Sunday but managed to snap the boats that left the marina before us on Monday.


Freezing temperatures

This week, the temperature dropped to 0C (32F) for the first time this winter.

We awoke on Monday morning to discover that the pontoons were white with frost.

I discovered that they were pretty slippery on my way up to the marina facilities for my morning shower.

Ravensdale's Webasto diesel heater

Sadly, I wasn’t able to get a photograph of the frost as it had started to thaw by the time I got back to the boat to get my camera, but I’m sure there will be plenty of other opportunities to get photos of frost and ice on the pontoons over the coming months.

Despite the freezing temperatures outside, we’ve been lovely and warm on the boat thanks to our super-efficient Webasto 5 diesel heater.

And, on the coldest nights, we’ve left the heater on the economy setting overnight to keep the chill off.

Overnight Friday into Saturday was another night of creaking ropes thanks to average wind speeds of up to 24mph, gusting to 37mph. It was also pretty chilly with temperatures falling to 3.7C (39F) during the night.

We awoke to a dry, bright morning on Saturday, but it was still very cold and windy. The temperature only went up to a high of 5.6C (42F) during the day and the top average wind speed was 25mph with gusts up to 41mph.

Sunshine on Saturday morning at Maryport Marina

This was followed by another very cold night with temperatures down to 1.8C (35F).

At 8am on Sunday morning the temperature was just 2.2C (36F).

It was dry, bright and sunny with considerably less wind than the previous day. The daytime temperature peaked at 7.3C (45F) and the highest average wind speed recorded locally was 14mph.

Tangaroa, our marina neighbour, out on the Solway Firth on Sunday

Sunday night into Monday was the coldest night so far this winter as the temperature plummeted to 0.0C (32F) - even if it isn't officially winter yet, it certainly felt like winter to me 😊 

Monday started dry, bright and calm, but it was still only 0.3C (32.5C) at 8am. During the day, the temperature reached 7.6C (46F) and the top average wind speed was 14mph.

Overnight Monday into Tuesday was another cold night with the temperature going down to 0.6C (33F).

Calm conditions at Maryport Marina on Tuesday

Tuesday started dry, bright, calm and still pretty cold. The highest temperature recorded locally during the day was 6.8C (44F) and the top average wind speed was 9mph.

The weather changed overnight Tuesday/Wednesday. It rained during the night and we woke up to a grey, wet, warmer and much windier morning.

Wet Wednesday at Maryport Marina

It continued to rain for the rest of the day becoming heavier and more persistent during the afternoon. The top average wind speed was 24mph, gusting 34mph, and the top temperature was 8.8C (48F).

Yesterday (Thursday) we were back to fine, dry weather. We had a sunny start to the day with very little wind. The wind speed increased a bit during the day and there was more cloud later in the afternoon. The temperature reached 8C (46F) and the average wind speed peaked at 16mph.

A calm, sunny start to the day yesterday (Thursday)

And, so far, today (Friday) the weather has been a mixture of sunshine and cloud. The top temperature so far is 10.3C and the highest wind speed recorded locally is 10mph (50.5F).