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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Phil's little dab |
Phil only caught one small dab and Evan had a crab and a dogfish.
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Evan with the crab he caught |
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Phil and Evan fishing as the sun goes down |
We returned to the marina at about 4.30pm, which was just after sunset.
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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! 😊
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Ravensdale on the Solway Firth. Photo by Terry Little |
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Ravensdale in Maryport Basin. Photo by Dave Welham |
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Ravensdale entering Maryport Marina. Photo by Dave Welham |
Water pump breaking down
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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.
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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
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The chain locker in Ravensdale's forward cabin |
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.
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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.
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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
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Some of the calendars I'm selling to raise money for Maryport Inshore Rescue |
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Ruby and I |
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Ruby gives me a kiss |
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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.
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Ruby laying on the warm side of her new bed |
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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.
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Ruby catching some winter sun on Ravensdale |
But she still likes to lay in the sun whenever she gets the chance.
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Baby Ruby watched by her Mum |
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! 😊
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Miriam after she'd stuck a Santa hat on the sheep |
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
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Maryport from the Solway Firth |
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Maryport from the basin |
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The north western fells from the Solway Firth |
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Fishing boat Serene pays us a visit |
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The sun dropping down over the Solway Firth |
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Maryport pier at sunset from the Solway Firth |
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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.
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Sunset over the Solway Firth from the shore at Maryport |
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Solway sunset |
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Maryport's north pier at sunset |
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Maryport Lighthouse |
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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.
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Maryport Marina with Ravensdale to the right of the image |
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A closer view of Ravensdale at Maryport Marina |
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Maryport Marina at sundown |
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A fishing boat returning to Maryport Marina just before sunset |
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Maryport Marina and the local Coastguard station |
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Maryport Lighthouse |
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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.
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Local children switching on the town's Christmas lights |
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Captain Hook and the Ice Princesses at the Christmas lights event |
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Excited youngsters meeting Santa |
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Some of Maryport's Christmas lights |
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Crowds gathered around a fairground ride in Senhouse Street |
Weather watch
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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