Lessons learned from other boats breaking down…and why we’re glad we haven't got a mast 😊

Phil changing the fuel filters on Ravensdale's port engine

Two boats from our marina broke down at sea on consecutive days due to engine failure.

One also had problems with communications.

These incidents provided timely reminders that we needed to carry out some routine engine maintenance to the two 300hp Volvo Penta engines on our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser and to replace our VHF radio.

Meanwhile, we took Ravensdale out fishing on the Solway Firth at Cumbria, UK, on Saturday.

And we’ve learnt that there’s a hidden benefit to having a cruiser rather than a yacht – it’s less attractive as a bird perch 😊



Saturday’s fishing trip

Ravensdale leaving Maryport Marina

The forecast was for calm conditions during the time the marina gate here at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, was due to be open on Saturday so we were keen to go fishing again to see if we could do better than on the previous day.

We drove around to the pier to check the sea state before making a final decision and the water didn’t look too bad at all.

So, we decided to head down towards North Workington as Phil fancied fishing in a different area for a change.

Andrew, one of the marina staff, waving us off after he'd opened the sea gate

We left the marina at around 2.20pm but it was pretty bumpy on the way down towards Workington, so we decided to turn around and go to Allonby Bay to see if it was any better there.

Ravensdale heading towards North Workington before we decided to go the other way

It was much calmer in our usual fishing spot, so we dropped anchor and Phil set up his rods.

Phil waiting for a fish to bite

The fishing was very quiet to start with, then he started catching dogfish.

He was beginning to lose heart when he caught his first codling of the day.

Even though it was undersized and had to be returned to the water, it gave him hope that there may be other larger codling around, so he carried on fishing.

He pulled in two more codling, along with more dogfish, and one of the codling was big enough to keep so it wasn’t the most successful fishing trip we’d ever had but at least he brought home one fish.

Phil with the codling that we kept to eat

Ruby wasn’t very interested in coming out on deck at all on this trip. She stayed in her cage for ages before venturing out.

I put her life jacket on her and took her out on deck, but she was soon back indoors and stretched out on the seating in the saloon.

But I’m not complaining. I want her to be wherever she's happiest, and it gave me the chance to take more photos 😊

Sun breaks through the heavy clouds over the Solway Firth as Ravensdale's flag blows in the wind

We were treated to some amazing skies while out on the water and I took loads of photos of the sun breaking through the heavy clouds.

It looked as though it could rain at any time but, thankfully, it stayed dry.

Ravensdale returning to Maryport on Saturday evening

We returned to the marina at around 6.20pm after about four hours out on the water during which time we’d travelled 6.9 nautical miles.

Ravensdale heading back into Maryport Marina

We were delighted to discover that a friend had taken a photo of Ravensdale on her way into the marina. Thanks Roy!

Ravensdale in Maryport Basin. Photo by Roy Simmons

A dramatic rescue

A yacht from our marina suffered engine failure in the middle of the Solway Firth while we were out fishing on Saturday afternoon.

We were totally unaware of this until we got back to the marina as there was no call over the VHF radio.

By the time we heard about the situation, friends with a similar-sized but considerably faster cruiser than Ravensdale had gone out to tow her home.

Our friends' boat Andromeda on the Solway Firth on Saturday before they went to rescue the yacht

We later heard that they’d had trouble locating the broken-down sailboat as her VHF radio wasn’t working and the mobile phone signal was intermittent.

They managed to find her and the two people on board were fine and they got her under tow, but the sea was very lumpy, and the tow rope kept snapping so they called the Coastguard.

The stricken vessel was towed into Whitehaven Marina – 14 miles from Maryport - and our friends had to go into Whitehaven as well as, by this time, the sea gate to our marina had closed due to the falling tide.

Our friends returned to Maryport on the morning tide, but the yacht had to stay put as her engine had ceased.

We were asked if we’d go and tow her back to Maryport but had to decline as our insurance allows us to tow a vessel back to port in an emergency but not to act as a pick-up truck to tow a boat from A to B.

We hated having to say no but couldn’t risk messing up our insurance.

They still haven’t managed to get home to Maryport yet so really hope they’ll be back here soon.


Changing fuel filters

The new fuel filters on Ravensdale's starboard engine

We’ve been meaning to change the fuel filters on Ravensdale’s two 300hp Volvo Penta engines for some time.

We ordered the filters last week and went to collect them on Saturday morning.

And, after towing in our friend’s fishing boat when his engine cut out on Friday, we were very glad we’d decided to do it now, especially after we later learned that his engine problem had been caused by dirt getting into the engine.

We’d intended to ask someone else to fit them for us.

However, after the engine problems this fishing boat and the yacht experienced while out on the water, Phil decided to do it himself, so he’d be able to do it again if he ever needed to do so while we’re away from our marina.

Changing the fuel filters was fairly straightforward until it came to priming the filters on the starboard engine because a fuel pipe had been fitted against the top of the pump handle so it couldn’t be operated.

Phil changing the fuel filters on Ravensdale's port engine

This meant that we had to prime the filters by turning the engine over a few times until Phil found fuel in them.

The handle on the pump on the port engine was clear so that was simple to prime.

We also needed to replace the pre-filter cartridges on both engines as they were very dirty, so it looks as though it was a very good job we decided to do them now.

New cartridges were ordered on Tuesday.

Phil removing the bowl from the pre-filter on Ravensdale's starboard engine

Meanwhile, Phil stripped down the pre-filters and thoroughly cleaned them, so he’d be ready to fit the new cartridges as soon as they arrived.

One of the pre-filters before cleaning

Both pre-filters clean and drying

They turned up the following morning and Phil fitted them during the afternoon.

The pre-filters on both engines are very low down making it difficult to get a receptacle under the drainage tap so he’s planning on lifting these up in the near future.

He then turned to the fuel purifiers.

These don’t take cartridges so just needed to be drained and to have any air released from the top.

After he’d completed the work on each engine, he started it to check it was running OK to discover, unsurprisingly, that they were both running better than they had before he changed the filters.

The fuel pipe on the left previously ran across the top of the wheel on the manual pump

Phil then went back down into the engine room and rerouted the fuel pipe that was obstructing the pump handle on the starboard fuel filters so that job will be much easier next time he changes the filters.

He was so pleased when he’d completed the task.

There really is nothing like the satisfaction you get from doing a job yourself and the comfort of knowing that you’ll know how to do it the next time 😊


New VHF radio

Our old VHF radio on Ravensdale

We’ve had a few problems with the marina hearing our VHF radio transmissions on our fixed radio.

We can hear their calls clearly, but they often have to ask us to repeat ours.

We’ve been switching to our handheld radio whenever this has happened, but it wasn’t ideal.

A while back, we changed our VHF aerial in the hope that would cure the problem and it has been better, but still not right so we decided we’d have to bite the bullet and buy a new radio.

This was reinforced by the communication problems experienced when our friends were trying to rescue the yacht that broke down on the Solway Firth on Saturday afternoon.

Phil checked out various reviews and it seemed that the Standard Horizon GX2200E would be perfect for our purposes, so he ordered one online from Marine Superstore on Monday.

We decided against paying for next day delivery as we weren’t planning to take Ravensdale out of the marina for a few days and were amazed when it arrived the following day.

Our new VHF radio

Phil has been busy in the engine room this week so hasn’t had a chance to fit our new radio yet.

I’m guessing it will either be done over the weekend or early next week.


Why we’re glad we haven’t got a mast 😊

The crane the starlings used to sit on before it was removed

A flock of starlings used to spend a lot of their time perched on a tall crane on the boatyard next to the marina.

But the crane was recently sold and taken away (wishing I'd taken a photo of the starlings on it now ☹)

At this time of year, the starlings make a real mess of the boats, mainly the yachts, when they perch on the masts, rigging and spreaders after eating blackberries.

But this year, without the crane, they’re spending even more time on the yachts than usual and they are ending up covered in purple splodges.

Just a few of the starlings that spend a lot of time at our marina

The cruisers only get bombed occasionally when the birds relieve themselves in flight and, so far, we’ve been very lucky as Ravensdale hasn’t been hit once.

Whenever Phil gets our hose out to wash our boat or fill up with water, he’s been hosing down some of the yachts near us while their owners aren’t around to save their gel coat from being stained by the purple birds’ mess.


Locked in the car

Ravensdale likes to keep us on our toes by finding us plenty of jobs to do but our car is usually relatively trouble-free.

However, this week, she decided it was her turn to get a little TLC.

She refused to let Phil get out when we drove to the motor spares dealer in nearby Workington to collect new fuel filters for Ravensdale on Saturday.

The driver’s side door just wouldn’t open so Phil had to climb out of the passenger side, which isn’t easy for him as a knee-replacement operation on his left knee has left him with less flexibility than he would’ve liked.

He tried the door again before heading home, but it wouldn’t budge so he climbed back in the same way to drive back to the marina.

Typically, this happened just after the garage we use had closed so we couldn’t contact them about it until Monday when we were told to take it in on Tuesday and they’d get on to it asap.

So, we ended up carless again – she had to go into the garage for new rear brake discs a while back and, for the first time since I got rid of my car when I left work, we had to walk everywhere we wanted to go, which was no bad thing 😊

We were delighted to get a call from the garage yesterday (Thursday) but sadly it wasn’t to say they’d fixed the problem as they couldn’t find an obvious cause.

The door seems to be opening at the moment so we’ve brought her home to use while the garage orders a new door lock, which will hopefully be fitted next week.


Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby with her teddy

Ruby enjoyed watching Phil change Ravensdale’s filters this week.

She walked around the edge of the hole when we’d lifted the floor to expose one of the engines and peered down into the engine room to see what was going on.

Ruby watching Phil work in the engine room

Ruby checking out Ravensdale's port engine

She was less impressed when she dropped her favourite antler chew down into the engine room while Phil was working and had to wait for him to retrieve it for her when he’d finished.

Ruby was also pleased when we returned from a food shopping trip with a new red, beef-flavoured bone chew yesterday (Thursday).

She went through her usual new toy routine – creeping up on it, barking at it then jumping away from it over and over again until she decided it was safe to chew it.

She really is totally hilarious 😊

Ruby with her new chew

Ruby also cracks me up when I'm trying to type or work on photos and she wants me to hold what's left of her favourite antler chew while she's chewing it.

She keep putting it on my mouse hand or on the table next to it in an attempt to get me to do as she wants 😊

Ruby trying to get me to stop using my laptop

Ruby chewing her antler on the back of my hand

And she's really funny when we’re eating a snack she fancies, her favourites being anything involving cheese, especially cheese sandwiches or cheese and cream crackers.

She patiently sits and watches in the hope she might get a bit and, when we’re nearing the end of our food, she puts a paw on an arm or sometimes both paws on a shoulder to remind us that she’s there – as if we could ever forget 😊

Ruby patiently waiting for a bit of Phil's cheese and crackers

Ruby's patience is rewarded 😊

Meanwhile, she’s been enjoying her walks this week despite them being a bit restricted due to her being in season but I bet she can’t wait until it’s over so we can get back to normal and let her have a proper run off the lead again.


Missing parcel!

I have no idea why Royal Mail would deliver a parcel addressed to Phil with our address correctly displayed on the front to a business address on an industrial estate in Maryport.

I can’t see any similarity between Ravensdale at Maryport Marina and Chimney Sheep on the Solway Industrial Estate, but it seems to have caused some confusion 😊

Amazingly, it so happened that Miriam, a Facebook friend who I’d never met, works there and spotted our name on the parcel.

She messaged me to tell me it was at their premises, and we picked it up on our way to collect our car from the garage yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.

An added bonus was getting to meet my Facebook friend.

Many thanks for getting in touch, Miriam. It was good to meet you 😊



Photography

Just for a change, most of the photos I've taken this week are from our trip out on the Solway Firth on Ravensdale on Saturday 😊

Yacht Manatee on the Solway Firth

Sun breaking through heavy clouds over the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth with Andromeda in the basin

Cormorants on a navigation marker in the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth with the northern fells in the distance

Maryport charter fishing boat Venture West on the Solway Firth

Another view of Maryport from the Solway Firth with the northern fells behind

A yacht on the Solway Firth

The northern fells from the Solway Firth

I also got some lovely sunset shots of Maryport Basin and the marina while walking Ruby on Sunday evening.

Maryport Lighthouse at sunset

The Coastguard station on Maryport Basin

Maryport Marina at sunset

Maryport Marina at sunset

Another view of Maryport Marina at sunset

Weather watch

Today's (Friday) view through Ravensdale's windscreen

The weather really hasn’t been much to write home about this week.

The main theme for this week seems to have been rain followed by more rain ☹

Saturday was the best day of the past week. It was dry, sunny and very warm for the time of year but there was still a good breeze.

Maryport Marina on Saturday afternoon

The top temperature was 21C (70F) and the top average wind speed at St Bees Head, which is our nearest weather station, was 31mph, gusting 44mph.

While we were out on the water the average wind speed at St Bees Head was 13-30mph, gusting up to 40mph. It was certainly windier than we’d expected here but nothing like the speeds given here.

We had heavy rain overnight. It was still raining when we got up on Sunday morning and it kept it up until around mid-morning when it was cloudy with light showers. 

Sadly, I forgot to check the last 24-hours weather data for Sunday so I can’t provide the figures for temperature and average wind speed ☹

Maryport Marina on Sunday afternoon

It was bright and sunny first thing on Monday with increasing cloud cover as the day went on, but we still enjoyed sunny intervals. It started raining early evening and kept it up until we went to bed.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 22mph, gusting 30mph.

The same view of Maryport Marina on Monday morning

It continued to rain heavily overnight, but it had stopped by Tuesday morning.

We then had light rain from late morning followed by heavy rain later in the afternoon.

The top temperature was 17C (63F) and the top average wind speed was 15mph.

Heavy cloud at Maryport Marina on Wednesday

Wednesday was dry but cloudy and fairly breezy. The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 13mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) started wet. The rain cleared but we continued to have heavy showers until mid-afternoon. It then remained cloudy but thankfully there was no more rain.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 32mph.

Thursday morning at Maryport Marina

We had more rain overnight and, so far today (Friday), the weather has been cloudy with

heavy showers. The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 30mph.

Ravensdale to the rescue as we tow a broken down fishing boat into the marina

Ravensdale towing a fishing boat back into Maryport in Cumbria, UK, this afternoon (Friday)

We were called upon to help a fishing boat that had broken down just off Maryport Pier as we returned from a fishing trip this afternoon (Friday).

It was the first time this has happened to us in the almost three years we've been living on Ravensdale.

We were pleased to have been in the right place at the right time and very happy to have been able to help

A week of lovely calm weather has provided plenty of opportunities to take our 43ft motor cruiser out on the Solway Firth in Cumbria, UK.

However, we've only been out twice for several very good reasons.

Phil with biggest codling he caught on Monday

We didn’t see the point of going fishing again too soon when we'd caught enough fish for our needs on Monday and we had other jobs that needed doing on the boat.

We’ve also been busy moving our stuff into our new, larger storage container that is much closer to home than our previous storage facility.

So it was good to be able to get out on the water again today.


Today's fishing trip

Freebird tied onto Ravensdale

Today's (Friday) fishing trip ended very differently to what we'd expected when we were asked to help a friend who's fishing boat had broken down on it's way back to Maryport.

We were approaching the piers on our way back into Maryport Marina when we got call on our VHF radio from John to say he needed a tow.

We were very close to his boat, Freebird, and happy to assist.

Phil steered Ravensdale towards Freebird while I looked out a spare rope in case it was needed.

As we got nearer Freebird, which had John and two other people on board, they shouted that they had a rope ready.

When we were close enough, they threw me their rope. I caught it and hooked it onto the cleat on the port side of Ravensdale's aft deck.

Freebird ready to be towed

Phil set off for home at a slow and steady speed at around 3 knots and Freebird followed along behind us.

Freebird on her way home

As we passed through the basin, I did my usual preparations for returning to the marina - dropping out the fenders and preparing the docking sticks in case there is no one around to catch our ropes when we get back to the pontoon.

Ravensdale towing Freebird in through the marina gate

Phil carefully towed Freebird through the gate and around to the first hammerhead, which is where John said he wanted to tie up.

This would have been simple if the hammerhead had been empty, as had been the case when we both left the marina, but a visiting boat had arrived while we were out and was moored at the far end of it making it more difficult to get Freebird alongside the remaining mooring space.

Unfortunately, the only member of the marina staff on duty was busy on the marina's caravan site and therefore unable to come down and catch a rope so we were all very grateful when the folk on the visiting boat caught a rope and pulled Freebird in alongside their vessel.

After Monday's fishing trip, we decided to leave it until today before going out again and, during the week, the forecast was looking perfect for a nice calm trip out.

This morning it seemed a bit windier than we'd expected so we drove around to the pier to check the sea state.

It was borderline for us with a good breeze and a few white tops breaking on the waves but it didn't look as though there was a big swell so we decided to go.

Ravensdale leaving Maryport

We left the marina at around 1.40pm and headed out onto the Solway Firth, then up to the spot where Phil has been catching some good cod lately.

We dropped anchor and Phil set up his rods and immediately started catching dogfish after dogfish ☹

Phil setting up one of his fishing rods

We had our lunch and Phil carried on fishing but all he caught, other than lots of dogfish, were two codling, only one of which was big enough to keep.

Phil with the only decent-sized codling he caught on this trip

The fishing was so boring that Ruby gave up and went indoors after a short while out on deck and, a good half hour before we were due to pack up, she went in her cage as if she was saying: "That's it! I've had enough! Let's go home now." 😊

Ruby laying in her cage ready to go home

We returned to the marina at about 5.45pm after just over four hours out on the water.


Monday’s fishing trip

Lovely calm conditions tempted us out onto the Solway Firth on Monday.

We didn’t even bother to check the sea state before we went as we were pretty sure it was going to be fine and we were right.

Ravensdale leaving Maryport Marina

We left the marina at about 11.30am and headed to Phil’s favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay, which has now been dubbed the “cod hole” 😊

The weather was sunny, calm and mild for the time of year.

Ravensdale heading out onto the Solway Firth at Maryport in Cumbria, UK

Ravensdale leaving Maryport in beautiful weather

Phil set up his fishing rods while I got us both a cup of tea and I was about to get Ruby out of her cage when he had his first bite.

I stayed to see what he’d caught before going back in and it was his first dogfish of many.

I put Ruby’s life jacket on her and took her out on deck, but she didn’t seem to want to stay out there for long.

Ruby making herself comfortable in the saloon

After a quick sniff of Phil’s bait box, she went back indoors and stretched out on the couch in the saloon although she did come back outside when we were having our lunch in the hope she might get a bit and she wasn’t disappointed 😊

The first codling of the day was just under-sized so was put back in the water.

The first codling of the day, which was just too small to keep

Phil then started catching codling that were bigger than the minimum size and we kept four of them to eat. His last one was the biggest at 45cm.

The first good-sized codling Phil caught on this trip

Another of the decent-sized codling that we kept to eat

The dab Phil caught on this fishing trip

He also caught a dab that was also large enough to keep.

A short time after we dropped anchor, Venture West charter fishing boat came and dropped anchor within about 75 yards of us.

Venture West anchored next to Ravensdale

Some of the anglers on Venture West waving to us

They were so close to Ravensdale that we could compare catches without having to use the VHF radio.

Strangely, although they were so close to us and there were nine anglers on board, they didn’t catch a single codling.

Phil's catch in the laundry basket we use for fishing trips

A light breeze picked up while we were out, which became stronger as the time went on and the ride home was much choppier than the trip out.

Ravensdale heading home to Maryport

The view from Ravensdale's aft deck on the way home

We returned to the marina at around 3.30pm after four hours out on the water during which time we travelled 5.5 nautical miles.

Phil bringing Ravensdale into Maryport Marina

As soon as we were back Phil filleted the fish he had caught. We had two of the codling for supper and the rest went into the freezer.

The prepared cod fillets

Storage wars

We were delighted to discover a new 20ft storage container that was available for rent just a short way from the marina.

And, yesterday (Thursday) we hired a van and collected our stuff from the small storage unit we were renting 12 miles away from here – the closest one we could find when we moved on board almost three years ago.

The van we hired outside our old storage facility

We also collected a lot of the stuff from the storage facility at our marina and took it to the container.

Our new storage container

And, over the past week, we’ve been moving some of the things that were on board that really didn’t need to be here all the time into the storage container.

Some of our stuff in the new container

The next step is to spend some time in there going through the boxes, throwing away the things we really don’t want or need anymore and re-boxing, sorting and labelling the stuff we want to keep.

Our storage seems to have been so chaotic for so long that I’m really looking forward to winning our storage wars at long last 😊


New radio holder

The new box for our handheld VHF radio

Phil has made a little box to store our handheld VHF radio.

It used to be in a plastic container that hung from a hook near the helm. This was probably fine when it was new, but it was falling apart and looking tatty.

He recovered a piece of marine ply from the marina’s rubbish bins (with permission) thinking it would save us a few bob 😊

What he hadn’t realised was that there would be hidden costs involved.

The first thing we had to buy was wood glue as he couldn’t find the glue that we both knew we had somewhere – one of the joys of living on a boat 😊

Then, he had to buy some stain to get the colour of the little box as close as possible to the wood to which it was being attached.

But I’m fairly sure it was still a lot cheaper than buying a ready-made handset holder and he has the satisfaction of knowing that it was all his own work 😊



New rod holders

One of Phil's new rod holders

One of the new rod holders in use on our latest fishing trip

The new rod holders Phil bought himself recently have turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.

They looked as though they were going to be perfect for his new fishing rods but they don't stay upright.

Any pressure on the line, even the tide is enough to pull the rod over.

He has tried putting a split pin through one of them (he only had one spare of a suitable size).

This seems to have helped, but he's still not happy with it so it looks as though they will have to be replaced asap ☹








Defrosting the freezer

Our freezer after it had been defrosted and cleaned

I was so pleased with the extra space in the fridge after defrosting it last week, so I decided to give our little freezer the same treatment this week.

I transferred the contents into a cool box with a couple of ice blocks, switched off the freezer and switched it off until it started to thaw before knocking off the worst of the ice with a plastic spatula.

As soon as the ice had gone, I gave it a thorough clean and put it back on for a while so it would cool down properly before restocking it.



Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby lounging on the couch in the saloon on Ravensdale

One of Ruby’s favourite places to sleep during the day is tucked in behind me while I’m sat at the dining table using my laptop.

She snuggles into the space between my back and the back of the seat and sleeps there quite happily until I have to move.

Ruby squeezed in behind my back

Meanwhile, she seems to have got used to wearing her knickers and can frequently be seen posing in them on the couch in the saloon 😊

Another photo of Ruby posing on the couch in her knickers

Ruby's new knickers in clear packaging

Phil has also taught her to “assume the position” while we put her knickers on her.

She puts her front feet up on the second step of the steps from the saloon to the aft deck and stays there while we take them off as she goes out for walks and put them back on afterwards.

It’s comical to watch, but I really think a photo of that would be a step too far (no pun intended 😊). My poor baby needs a little bit of privacy 😊

And it’s just as well she isn’t easily embarrassed as the spare pair of knickers that we ordered because the pet shop only had one pair of her size in stock turned up in a clear plastic wrapper 😊

I’m not quite sure why she needed the large size as I don’t think she’s particularly big for a staffie and the size charts for the knickers give medium as the size for staffies, but they were much too small for her.

I just wish we’d thought of getting them for her during her first season as it means we can all carry on as normal without having to take up the carpet and protect the seat cushions…and there’s no cleaning up to do, which is brilliant.

Ruby sitting on one of the lockers on Ravensdale's aft deck

Ruby doesn’t like Phil’s new rod holders any more than he does – she barked at them for the first couple of days but seems to have accepted them as part of the ytttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttthnffixtures and fittings now 😊

Ruby obviously decided that she should be allowed to write her own section in my blog now.

I left my laptop for a couple of minutes to do something in the galley and, when I got back, I found her with her front feet on the keyboard and she’d made the alteration above 😊😊😊

Sadly I didn't get a photo of her doing this as my first thought was to get her off my keyboard.

And she still hates having her photo taken. She can be fast asleep but the second I point a camera at her she immediately wakes up and gives me the evil eye 😊

Ruby fast asleep

Ruby a second later when she realised I was taking photos of her

Chelaris visits the marina

Chelaris arriving at Maryport Marina

Maryport fishing boat Chelaris arrived in the marina yesterday afternoon and tied up on the wall opposite Ravensdale while waiting to be lifted out of the water.

Chelaris passing Ravensdale

As soon as the boat hoist was set up, she went into the hoist which was pulled up the slipway for work to be carried out at the boatyard next to the marina.

Chelaris heading into the boat hoist

Chelaris on her way up the slipway

Swans and cygnets

The cygnets with one of their parents paddling past Ravensdale

The family of swans, the other pair and a single swan, all of which are fairly frequent visitors, have called around for food on a number of occasions this week.

But the real problem comes when any of the others turn up at the same time as the cygnets and their parents.

Last Friday evening, we saw the family of swans on the marina slipway with the male swan a short distance from the female and cygnets. He had the lone swan pinned against the wall and was pecking at its head.

He then chased it up the slipway around a campervan that was parked at the top of the slipway across the concrete area at the top of the slipway and along the road towards the west gate where he trapped it in a corner.

The male swan chasing the interloper across the top of the marina slipway

The lone swan being scared off

The chase continues

The lone swan being chased down towards the west gate

I really wish I'd had my camera with me as the quality of the photos I took with my phone is not great, but at least it enabled me to capture the action.


Early Christmas

Christmas decorations for sale in Maryport's B&M store on Wednesday

It seems Christmas has arrived even earlier than usual this year ☹  

Is it just me or is mid-September really too early to see Christmas decorations for sale in the shops?

We just couldn’t believe it when we went into our local B&M store to see an aisle dedicated to Christmas stuff, including tinsel, baubles and Xmas stockings.

There were also Christmas selection boxes in the confectionery aisle.


Photography

One of the fishing boats from the marina leaving Maryport Basin

As usual, a lot of this week's photos were taken while out on the Solway Firth on Monday and today (Friday).

Fishing boat Argonaut on the Solway Firth

The northern fells from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth on Monday

The same view taken today (Friday)

Maryport from the Solway Firth

The entrance to Maryport Basin from the Solway Firth

I also took my camera for a walk up to The Settlement, where I went to see an exhibition of the work of local artists on Saturday afternoon.

Looking out towards the Solway Firth from The Settlement

Looking along the River Ellen towards the Solway Firth from The Settlement

Looking over the rooftops to Maryport Lighthouse and the Solway Firth

And I couldn't resist taking some photos around the harbour on the way there and again on the way back to the marina.

Ellenfoot Bridge over Maryport Harbour

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

More fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

I also took my camera along while walking Ruby around the harbour on Wednesday evening.

Evening light on Maryport Harbour

Maryport Harbour bathed in golden evening light

Another view of Maryport Harbour

She doesn't mind me tying her lead to the railings next to me briefly while I take photos as she gets a treat when I untie her if she sat quietly while waiting.


Weather watch

The weather has been so much better this week than in previous weeks but it’s definitely getting cooler at night now.

Blue sky and white clouds over Maryport Harbour on Saturday

Saturday was dry, bright and sunny but it was still pretty windy.

The top temperature was 16C (61F) and the top average wind speed was 22mph, gusting 32mph.

Sunday was dry and bright but not particularly sunny and less windy than the previous day. The sun came out late afternoon and it was very calm in the evening.

The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 11mph.

Monday started dry, bright, sunny and calm, but the cloud increased during the afternoon and the wind got up a bit.

The top temperature was 14C (57F). The top average wind speed was 21mph and the wind speed while we were out on the Solway Firth was 6-13mph.

Looking out to the Solway Firth from Maryport on Tuesday afternoon

Tuesday was another dry, sunny and fairly calm day with a top temperature of 15C (59F) and the average wind speed peaked at 11mph.

A sunny end to the day on Wednesday evening

We had a dry and calm start to the day on Wednesday. There was a mixture of sunshine and cloud during the morning with the amount of cloud decreasing at the day went on.
Wednesday night into yesterday (Thursday) was a much cooler night than previous nights with the temperature going down to 9C. The temperature in the boat was only 13C when we got up.

Clear blue sky at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

Yesterday, the weather was dry, sunny and calm with a top temperature of 16C (61F) and a top average wind speed of 9mph.

A misty start to the day at Maryport Marina this morning (Friday)

And, today (Friday) the weather was dry and sunny with an early morning mist. It was fairly calm for much of the day with a good breeze at times. The temperature reached 19C (66F) with a top average wind speed of 16mph.