Our fourth Christmas afloat, Ruby’s operation and more boat maintenance

Ravensdale's Christmas lights reflected on the still water at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK

I can’t believe we’ve just spent our fourth Christmas on Ravensdale at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK.

That said, I’m not sure if it feels like longer or less time since we moved on board our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser 😊

I also can’t believe it’s almost a month since I last published a blog post, but my time seems to have been taken up with working full-time and dealing with orders for the calendars I had printed to raise money for our local inshore rescue team.


Christmas on Ravensdale

Ravensdale decorated for Christmas

Wet and windy weather meant we didn’t manage to get our Christmas lights up until much later than usual this year.

We put coloured fairy lights around the guard rails on the Saturday before Christmas but ran out of daylight before we could finish the job.

We had intended to add more lights on the flybridge the following day but didn’t get time to do it before the weather broke, so we decided to leave it as it was.

Some of the colourful lights on Ravensdale's aft deck

We couldn’t use the Christmas tree we had as Ruby sleeps where we put it last year and, at four-foot, it was too tall to put anywhere else on the boat so we bought a little three-foot tree and even then I had to bend the top over 😊

Christmas cards and our little Christmas tree in Ravensdale's saloon

The other liveaboards in our marina went away to stay with family for Christmas so Phil and I were the only ones here on our boat for Christmas.

And there was only one member of the marina staff on duty, so we invited Evan to join us for dinner, which we timed for just after he had closed the marina’s sea gate.

Phil managed to cook a full Christmas dinner on Ravensdale’s little stove, with the help of our air fryer and microwave so we had turkey with all the trimmings followed by Christmas pudding with brandy butter and cream.

It was so good that we’d eaten it all before I even thought about taking a photo 😊

The star and twinkling icicle lights in the window of Ravensdale's saloon

Ruby can be a bit of nuisance when people visit us on the boat as she wants to jump up at them and play with them.

I had tried to stop this by saving her Christmas presents until Evan arrived and, to an extent, it worked.

Ruby with the new treat ball that she destroyed in about 10 minutes 😊

Ruby with her new lickimat

I managed to distract her with her new toys and chews for a while, but, from time to time, she discovered he was still here and had another go at jumping up at him. Thankfully Evan likes dogs 😊

Ruby and I on Boxing Day

Charity calendars raise over £1,000

Me presenting the cheque to Maryport Inshore Rescue team

I was delighted to be able to present a cheque for £1,120 to members of the Maryport Inshore Rescue team last Sunday.

This was the profit from the sale of calendars featuring some of my photos of Maryport harbour, the shore and the town.

I sold the calendars for £10 each with every penny, other than the cost of printing, postage and packing, going to our local rescue team, which is independent of the RNLI and HM Coastguard.

The cover of my Maryport calendar for 2020

It is totally reliant on donations and sponsorship to keep this life-saving operation running.

When I decided to produce the calendar, I was only going to order 25 and hoped I might be able to raise as much as £100 for the inshore rescue team.

It proved far more popular than I expected, and I ended up having four batches printed and selling a total of 226 calendars.

We obviously have a personal reason for supporting our inshore rescue team.

We hope we will never need to call on them for help but it’s good to know they’re there if we do need them.

Another image of Maryport Inshore Rescue boat at this year's trawler race

Posting the cheque presentation on Facebook, the team’s operations manager Michael Messenger wrote: “We would like to thank Sue and everyone who bought the calendars for this amazing amount of money.

“It’s very much appreciated and really does make a huge difference.

“As an independent organisation, fundraising is absolutely vital so thank you all once again.”



Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby looking sorry for herself after her operation

We took Ruby to the vet to have her spayed on Tuesday, December 3 and this time they were able to go ahead with the operation.

This was our fourth attempt to have her neutered. The first time, she became unwell with a tummy upset the night before.

It was put off for a week, but she still had a bad stomach so it was put off for another a week by which time she’d started her second season so we had to wait another couple of months as it needs to be done mid-cycle.

And this time Ruby was fit and well and able to have the operation that will prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Ruby having a cuddle with Phil after her op

She loves going to the veterinary surgery so that wasn’t a problem and she happily went off into a back room with the vet when we left her there at around 10.15am.

We got a call to say she’d had the op and everything had gone well at about 2.30pm and went to collect her straight away.

She was a little drowsy when we brought her home in her little romper suit that stopped her from licking and chewing the wound on her tummy.

She whined a lot during the first evening but slept well and seemed much brighter the following day.

The most difficult part was stopping her climbing up and down the boarding steps and all the steps inside the boat. We lifted her wherever she wanted to go being very careful not to lift her under her tummy.

We also tried to keep her quiet and stop her leaping around for two weeks, as the vet had recommended, but she was back to her usual self after a couple of days and it was practically impossible to stop her jumping.

Ruby looking cute in her romper suit

Ruby trying to persuade Phil to share his food

We checked this with the vet, who said to let Ruby do whatever she was happy doing and she had no trouble at all after the op.

She went for her final post-operative check-up about 10 days after surgery and the vet was pleased with the way it had healed up.

We’re both very glad it is over and done and Ruby is fine now.

I'd been a bit bothered about whether living on a boat would make her recovery more difficult, but it wasn’t really a problem at all.

Ruby with a stick she found on one of her walks

Since she got over the operation, Ruby has had lots of lovely walks with Phil while I’ve been at work, with runs on the beach whenever the weather and the number of other dog walkers permits.

Ruby waiting for me to take a photo of the harbour

She has also accompanied me on walks around the harbour with my camera and still waits patiently while I take photos.


Servicing the pump on the black water tank 

The pump on Ravensdale's holding tank

The pump on our black water tank didn't seem to be working properly the last time we took Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth.

Phil took a look at it when we got back and discovered that one of the valves wasn't working so he ordered a service pack and serviced the pump while I was at work.

Everything seems to be OK now but we won't be able to try it until the next time we take our boat out on the water.




New TV aerial

Ravensdale's new TV aerial fitted on her radar arch

Our old TV aerial hasn't been working properly for some time.

We were getting frequent interruptions to the signal and turning the aerial around didn't help.

Phil checked the coaxial socket discovered that water had got into it causing it to rust.

So he ordered a new aerial and fitted it while I was at work.

We're now getting a much better signal and more channels than we had before.


My return to the world of work

Me ready for my work Christmas do

I’ve been working full-time at Chimney Sheep for the last couple of weeks because we’ve been so busy filling orders for draught excluders for chimneys and boot insoles made of sheep’s wool, among other items.

Getting up early in the morning to go to work is never easy at this time of year but it helps that I enjoy my work when I get there.

At first, I was coming home with a backache after being on my feet for most of the day, but my body seems to have got used to it now and my back is fine.

And I’ve enjoyed the Christmas celebrations at work.

On Friday, December 13, I went along to our work’s Christmas do at Shill’s Restaurant in nearby Cockermouth, where there was a lovely atmosphere and the food was delicious.

The following Friday, a local caterer delivered a festive spread at lunchtime, courtesy of a wholesaler we supply in the US.

And, later that afternoon, Santa and the Grinch turned up at the factory with presents for all of us. Thanks to the same wholesaler.

Our work Christmas do at Shill's Restaurant in Cockermouth

Santa and the Grinch distributing presents at my workplace

Our boss gave us a paid day off on Christmas Eve and left a lovely present for each of us under the Christmas tree in the warehouse.



My new mobile phone

The first photo I took with my new phone - taken without flash in a dark room

I now have a Google Pixel 3a that takes much better photos than my old phone, which was a Huawei P10 lite.

I always struggle with changing my phone but I’m getting used to it now with a little bit of help from my younger work colleagues 😊

The photos are so much better than I was getting with my old phone, which means there’s no excuse for missing a photo of anything.


Photography

My photography opportunities have obviously been curtailed by the amount of time I’ve spent at work as it is dark when I get home in the afternoon.

However, I’ve still managed to get out with my camera whenever I get the chance and my mobile phone is always on hand if I don't have my camera with me.

Here’s a selection of some of the photos I’ve taken over the past month…

Maryport shore looking towards south pier with the Scottish hills in the distance

Looking in the opposite direction along the shore

Waves rolling along the pier at Maryport

Reflections on the still water in Maryport Harbour

A calm day at Maryport Harbour

Maryport Basin at sunset

Stormy skies over Maryport's south pier

Choppy water in the harbour at Maryport

Another view of the harbour on a windy day

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour on Christmas Day

Colourful fishing boats in the harbour

More colourful fishing boats in the harbour

Reflections on the still water at Maryport Marina

More reflections at Maryport Marina

Stormy weather

Big waves whipped up by high winds on the shore at Maryport on December 8 

As this blog post covers a longer period than usual, I decided against recording the weather for each individual day.

However, we’ve had a lot of very wet and windy weather over the past month, so I really haven’t missed much by working full-time.

Ironically, the weather was considerably worse before and after Storm Atiyah - the first named storm of the UK storm season - than it was during the storm itself.

The strong winds associated with the storm, which swept across western Ireland, Wales, south-west England and the south coast during the evening of Sunday, December 8 into Monday, December 9, hardly affected us in the north-west.

But either side of this we had winds gusting up to almost 50mph.

Ice on the water at Maryport Marina on Saturday, November 30

We’ve had a few very cold spells, with ice on the water in the marina and on the pontoons.

Early in December, overnight temperatures fell below zero and we had to put anti-slip snow grips on our shoes so we could walk safely on the pontoons, but the cold snap was short-lived and it wasn’t long before the milder wet and windy weather returned.

Sunshine and an almost clear blue sky at Maryport Marina on Christmas Day

Christmas Day was the first good weather we’d had for weeks – the sun shone, there was very little wind and it was fairly mild with a top temperature of 6C (43F).

But Boxing Day (yesterday – Thursday) was grey and damp again with heavy rain late morning and around lunchtime.

Heavy cloud over Maryport Marina before the rain arrived yesterday (Thursday)

And, so far today (Friday) the weather has been calm, but wet.


Happy New Year!

I hope everyone reading this had a very merry Christmas and that you have a very happy and prosperous New Year.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.

However, if I did, it would be to get back to writing a weekly blog post again as I like keeping a record of what we’ve been up to onboard and hopefully some of you enjoy reading it too 😊

Taking a friend fishing on Ravensdale, completing the oil change and losing our fresh water supply

Ravensdale returning to Maryport. Photo by Terry Little

It’s been a busy couple of weeks during which we’ve only been able to take our floating home out on the water once.

My three-day-a-week part-time job has become more demanding as it’s the busiest time of the year for people buying draught excluders for their chimneys, so I've worked nine days in the past fortnight.

The calendars I’ve had printed to raise money for our local inshore rescue team have also taken up a lot of our time.

And Phil has been getting on with some routine maintenance on Ravensdale - our 43ft motor cruiser - and sorting out a couple of problems that needed fixing.



Fishing trip 

Phil and Evan on Ravensdale's flybridge as we left the marina

The forecast for Monday (November 19) had been better than the previous weekend for a few days so we decided to wait until then to go fishing.

And we arranged to take a fisherman friend out with us on our 43ft motor cruiser, Ravensdale.

We were all ready to go well before the marina gate was due to open and Evan turned up in good time to come with us.

Ravensdale heading towards the marina gate

We left the marina at about 12.40pm and headed to Phil’s favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay in Cumbria, UK.

Evan sat up on the flybridge beside Phil as we left the marina. When we reached the basin, Phil usually moves down into the saloon and steers the boat from there as we go out onto the Solway Firth.

Phil took the wheel in the saloon and Evan stayed up on the flybridge to enjoy the ride.

Evan enjoying the view from Ravensdale's flybridge

I also went up there for a while to take a few photos from a different viewpoint.

We dropped anchor in our usual location and Phil and Evan set up their fishing rods.

Phil and Evan setting up their fishing rods

Once they were all set up, I got us all a mug of tea.

I was going to leave Ruby in her cage as that’s where she seems to have wanted to be on our last couple of outings, but this time she cried to be let out so that’s what I did.

The only trouble was that she just wanted to get to Evan the whole time. I guess it was because there was someone new on her boat 😊

The water was lovely and calm, which made for a very comfortable outing, but the fishing was hopeless.

Phil's little dab

Phil only caught one small dab and Evan had a crab and a dogfish.

Evan with the crab he caught

Phil and Evan fishing as the sun goes down

We returned to the marina at about 4.30pm, which was just after sunset.

Me enjoying our time out on the Solway Firth

I later discovered that a couple of people had taken photos of Ravensdale returning to the marina and they kindly agreed that I could share them on my blog. Thanks Terry and Dave! 😊

Ravensdale on the Solway Firth. Photo by Terry Little

Ravensdale in Maryport Basin. Photo by Dave Welham

Ravensdale entering Maryport Marina. Photo by Dave Welham

Water pump breaking down

Phil removing the dead fuse on the water pump

Why is it that if something is going to breakdown while we’re in the marina, it always seems to do it at the most inconvenient time?

We were getting ready for bed on Friday (November 15) when we discovered that there was no water coming out of the taps.

We knew we hadn’t run out of water as Phil had only filled the water tank a couple of days beforehand.

It was nearly midnight, which meant we really didn’t want to investigate the problem any further at that time, so we filled up jugs and saucepans with water from the standpipe on the pontoon to see us through the night.

The following morning Phil went down into the engine room to find out why the water pump wasn’t working and discovered it had blown a fuse.

The location of the blown fuse

It wasn’t a fuse that we had but he managed to get a couple from our local garage, so our domestic water supply was back up and running the following day.

We’ve since been given some more fuses by a friend with a fishing boat here who had some spare fuses that he dropped off at Ravensdale at the weekend. So, we will now have spares the next time it goes. Thanks John! 😊


Chain locker locks

The chain locker in Ravensdale's forward cabin

The cover on the chain locker in the forward cabin has been falling off for months.

When Phil used the windlass to lift the anchor after a fishing trip, the chain piled up against the cover and knocked it off.

This meant that the chain spilled out onto the bunk and we couldn’t get the cover back on and I was sure the open hatch was making the forward cabin colder than it would otherwise have been.

So, we bought two sliding bolts to stop the cover being dislodged.

Phil piled the chain back into the chain locker and fitted the bolts last week.

The forward cabin now feels warmer as well as looking neater with the chain locker cover firmly fixed in place.

The new locks on the chain locker in Ravensdale's forward cabin

Port engine oil change

Phil changed the oil in Ravensdale’s starboard engine last month.

Phil refilling Ravensdale's starboard engine

He initially intended to do her port engine immediately afterwards but discovered other work to her exhaust system that needed to be carried out first.

This was carried out asap and he got around to changing the oil in the port engine and replacing the oil filter on this engine this week.

And it was a much quicker job than the previous engine as he'd acquired a wider pipe to use on the oil pump he’d used to empty out the old oil.

From starting the engine to warm up the oil to running it again once the oil and filter had been changed to check it was working OK took just one hour and 45 minutes.

So, both engines have now been done 😊

I couldn't take a new photo of Phil doing this job because I was at work.

Charity calendar

Some of the calendars I'm selling to raise money for Maryport Inshore Rescue

The calendar I’ve had printed using my photos of our local area has been selling so well that I’ve had to order more.

The calendar is being sold to raise money for Maryport Inshore Rescue.

It really is doing so much better than I’d expected or even hoped and dealing with orders, payments, postage and calendar collections had taken up far more of my time than I could ever have imagined.

The next batch of calendars is due to arrive next week so the whole process starts all over again.

I’m really looking forward to selling the last of the calendars so our free time will be just that again but the main thing I’m looking forward to is handing over the profits to our independent local inshore rescue team.


Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby standing on her hind legs on Ravensdale's aft deck

Ruby was really weird on our latest fishing trip.

She's usually really laid back about the whole experience, so much so that she hasn’t even wanted to leave her cage on the last couple of outings.

But this time we had someone with us, and I think she was feeling left out.

Ruby on deck in her life jacket

She started whining to be let out of her cage as soon as we dropped anchor and turned the engines off.

I let her out as soon as Phil and Evan had set up their fishing rods, put her life jacket on her and took her up on deck on a lead but she was much more difficult than usual as all she wanted was to get to Evan.

Ruby watching Phil and Evan fish

I took her back inside while heating up some pasties for our lunch. I took Phil and Evan’s food out to them so they could carry on fishing, but I ate mine inside with Ruby.

I played with her for a while and tried to take a few selfies with her.

Ruby and I

Ruby gives me a kiss

Ruby takes a closer look at the camera on my phone

I tried taking her outside a few times after lunch, but she pulled and whined all the time, so I had to take her back indoors.

Meanwhile, Ruby has been enjoying her new bed.

Ruby laying on the warm side of her new bed

Ruby looking comfy on her new bed

A couple of months ago, we bought her a special bed with one side that’s is supposed to keep her warm when it’s cold and the other side to keep her cool when it’s hot.

It looked like a lovely comfy bed, but she didn’t seem very interested in it, so we put it away and got it out a couple of times to try again.

We were on the verge of throwing it away as we don’t have room to store things that are not likely to be used but decided to give it one last go.

We put her bed on the seating in the saloon where she sleeps at night and covered it with her blanket and she loved it. She spends more time on it than she ever spent in that spot before we put the new bed up there.

Ruby catching some winter sun on Ravensdale

But she still likes to lay in the sun whenever she gets the chance.

Baby Ruby watched by her Mum

I had a lovely surprise this week when the woman we got Ruby from sent me a photo of my beautiful baby when she was just a few days old.

I’d never seen it before, and she looked really cute with her bright pink nose.

And she’s booked in for her spaying operation next week so we’re hoping she’ll actually get there this time as she’s managed to get out of it on two previous occasions.


It's Christmas! 😊

Miriam after she'd stuck a Santa hat on the sheep

It's not really Christmas yet but it's starting to feel a bit more Christmassy at work.

Last Friday (Nov 22), Miriam, our warehouse manager, decided it was close enough to Christmas to put a Santa hat on the sheep on the Chimney Sheep logo outside the factory unit that is our workplace.

And we've been very busy over the past fortnight making and packing chimney draught excluders made from sheep's wool.

I was taken on to work a three-day week until the end of the year, as this is the firm's busiest period, but we've had so many orders to fill that I worked four days last week and five days this week. Not that I'm complaining as the extra money will be very useful  😊


Photography

Maryport from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the basin

The north western fells from the Solway Firth

Fishing boat Serene pays us a visit

The sun dropping down over the Solway Firth

Maryport pier at sunset from the Solway Firth

Sunset over the Solway Firth

I also took my camera over to the beach here at Maryport on Sunday (November 17) to photograph the sunset.

Sunset over the Solway Firth from the shore at Maryport

Solway sunset

Maryport's north pier at sunset

Maryport Lighthouse

Maryport's south pier

On the way there, I walked along the side of the marina and took a few photos of the reflections of boats on the still water.

Maryport Marina with Ravensdale to the right of the image

A closer view of Ravensdale at Maryport Marina

Maryport Marina at sundown

A fishing boat returning to Maryport Marina just before sunset

Maryport Marina and the local Coastguard station

Maryport Lighthouse

Looking across the basin towards Maryport

And I just had to take my camera up to town on Saturday afternoon/evening to photograph the Maryport Christmas lights switch-on event.

Local children switching on the town's Christmas lights

Captain Hook and the Ice Princesses at the Christmas lights event

Excited youngsters meeting Santa

Some of Maryport's Christmas lights

Crowds gathered around a fairground ride in Senhouse Street

Weather watch

Maryport Marina on Sunday afternoon (Nov 17)

We had some very cold wintry weather the week before last.

This week has been warmer, which also brought more rain, but it started to get cooler again yesterday (Thursday).

Saturday (Nov 16) was overcast, dry and relatively calm. The top temperature was 6.7C (44F) and the top average wind speed was16mph.

Saturday afternoon at Maryport Harbour

Saturday night into Sunday was a very cold night. We awoke to ice on the water and frost on the pontoons.

It was a grey and damp start to the day on Sunday (Nov 17) with very little wind. The weather improved early afternoon and the top temperature was 6.1C (43F) with a top average wind speed of 11mph.

Phil and Ruby on the frosty pontoon on Monday morning (Nov 18)

Sunday night into Monday (Nov 18) was another very cold night with the temperature falling to -0.4C (31F) at St Bees Head – our nearest weather station - but it felt even colder than that here.

Monday was cold, dry, overcast and calm.

The top temperature was 5.3C (41.5F) and the top average wind speed was just 5mph.

Calm conditions at Maryport Marina on Monday morning (Nov 18)

The top temperature on Tuesday (Nov 19) was 5.7C (42F) and the top average wind speed was 21mph but definitely calmer here with virtually no wind.

Wednesday (Nov 20) was dry and cloudy with sunny intervals and fairly breezy. The top temperature was 7C (45F) and the top average wind speed was 29mph.

Maryport Marina on Thursday morning (Nov 21)

Thursday (Nov 21) was cool, windy and fairly bright. The top temperature was 6.4C (43.5F) and the top average wind speed was 24mph, gusting 34mph.

Friday (Nov 22) was dry and overcast with a cold breeze. The top temperature was 8.3C (47F) and the top average wind speed was 15mph.

We had rain overnight Friday into last Saturday, which was a grey, mild day.

It stayed overcast and breezy with a top temperature of 9.8C (50F) with a top average wind speed of 15mph.

Sunday was grey, damp and misty. The top temperature was 8.3C (47F) and the top average wind speed was 14mph.

Monday was cloudy with patchy rain and fairly breezy after a calm start to the day. The top temperature was 9.5C (49F) and the top average wind speed at St Bees Head was 22mph, gusting 31mph, but it seemed calmer than that here.

A grey start to the day on Tuesday while I waited at the level crossing on my walk to work

It was dry first thing on Tuesday then cloudy with heavy rain showers. The top temperature was 9.8C (50F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 31mph.

Wednesday was mainly dry and fairly mild with a little light rain at times. The top temperature was 8.3C (47F) and the top average temperature was 14mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon at Maryport Marina

Yesterday (Thursday) was overcast, windy and cool with a top temperature of 7.1C (45F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 33mph.

The temperature dropped to 0.9C(34F) overnight and we awoke to frost on the pontoons this morning.

And today (Friday) the weather was dry, sunny, calm and cold with a top temperature of 4.3C (40F) and a top average wind speed of 9mph.