Another major storm and the marina power cuts continue ☹

The sails on two yachts in our marina were ripped to shreds during Storm Gareth

Much of Britain was this week hit by Storm Gareth – the third named storm of the UK storm season and the second in less than a fortnight.

Gale force winds gusting up to almost 70mph battered the north west coast of England on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, with the worst of the wind and rain occurring overnight.

Thankfully, Ravensdale, our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser, was undamaged but several yachts in our marina at Maryport in Cumbria had their sails torn to shreds and the marina bike shelter lost half its roof.

Ravensdale totally unscathed after Storm Gareth

The power cuts here have continued over the past week, and the marina has so far been unable to discover the cause. It really is getting very annoying now.

Meanwhile, Ruby is still keeping us busy and making us laugh at her antics. She really is so funny 😊


Wild weather

Waves whipped up by the high winds at Maryport on Sunday

We had very windy weather along with sleet and wet snow last weekend.

And a yellow “be aware” severe weather warning for rain was issued for midnight Monday night until midday on Tuesday.

Extra stern rope added for the storm

At much the same time, a yellow warning for wind was issued for Tuesday into Wednesday. This storm was named Storm Gareth and we were warned to expect wind speeds of up to 65mph along western coasts.

Monday night into Tuesday was a very windy night with a lot of rain, but we knew there was worse to come so Phil checked all our mooring ropes and put on the extra ropes we always add for bad weather.

However, this time he did something a bit different – he ran a rope from the cleat on the starboard side of the aft deck out under the dodgers and across to a cleat further along the pontoon than the one to which the stern rope from the cleat on the port side is connected.

He hoped this would take some of the strain off the usual stern rope and it seemed to work well.

The wind really started to get up during the evening and Ravensdale was rocking quite a lot, so I put straps around the microwave and freezer. We usually only use these straps when we take our home out on the water.

Our microwave and freezer strapped for the storm

I also moved a few vulnerable items, such as the glass bowl containing a cactus garden on top of the freezer, that I thought may slide off and break if it was really rough.

And I was glad I’d taken precautions as Ravensdale was rocking and rolling all night with the occasional violent lurch as she was slammed up against the pontoon.

There was also a lot of noise from the wind howling around the boat, the creaking mooring ropes, splashing water and her fenders slapping against her hull, not to mention the wind whistling through the rigging and the clanging of the halyards on the nearby yachts.

But, once again, Ruby slept through it all.

Tuesday night into Wednesday morning was the time that we experienced the worst of the storm here in Maryport with the average wind speed reaching 49mph, gusting 69mph.

Our boat was rocking violently during the evening and throughout the night and we could see the other boats in the marina being thrown around by the strong wind.

Phil won’t allow me to get off the boat when it is that bad as he says it’s dangerous, so he takes Ruby out to do what she needs to do. He always wears his life jacket in such conditions, and I watch from the boat to make sure they don’t end up in the water.

The second sail damaged in the storm

The fore sails on two of the yachts in the marina were shredded during the night.

We saw the first one start to unfurl during the evening but there was nothing we could do about it as there were no staff on duty and, even if there had been, they wouldn’t have been allowed down onto the pontoons to do anything about it in such high winds.

By the morning, that sail was totally shredded – it looked like washing hanging on a line – and another sail had started to unfurl and was badly torn.

It’s horrible watching damage happening to other people’s boat and not being able to do anything about it, but it really wouldn’t have been safe for anyone to have been out there trying to save their sails.

It’s at times like this that I’m very glad we don’t have any sails 😊

Marina staff checking the boats after the storm

Thankfully, Ravensdale didn’t suffer any damage at all - even our TV aerial, which has been blown off during previous storms, was still in place after this one.

The owner of the most damaged sail took it down the following morning but the owner of the other yacht, which is very close to Ravensdale, is still saying it's too dangerous to remove and it's still flapping madly in the wind. To say the noise is driving us mad would be an understatement ☹

The damaged sail still flapping this morning (Friday) three days after the storm

The only other damage that I’m aware of at the marina, other than a tarpaulin that was ripped off a boat on the hard-standing, was that part of the roof of the marina’s bike shelter was ripped off by the high winds.

Our bikes in the damaged bike shelter at Maryport Marina

The previous named storms in the UK this year were Storm Erik on February 8 and 9 and Storm Freya on March 3 and 4.

More power cuts

The electricity bollard next to Ravensdale

The cuts in our shore power here at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, have continued this week.

It really is getting very annoying now and pretty worrying as it could go off during the night and we wouldn’t know anything about it until the morning by which time the food in the freezer could have started to thaw.

The lighting, fridge, heater, etc, on Ravensdale are 24V so they continue to work but would run the batteries down if the shore power went off and was no longer charging them.

And, less importantly but also pretty annoying, is that we keep losing films and programmes we’re trying to watch or record on the TV.

All in all, it’s a total pain ☹

Over the past week, the power went off at just before midday on Saturday, twice on Sunday afternoon, around lunchtime on Monday, three times on Tuesday, the first being at just after 8am and the last one just after 8pm, and around 8am on Wednesday.

We didn't lose our supply at all yesterday (Thursday) and so far today (Friday), which was great, but we just can’t trust it anymore and keep waiting for it to go off again.

I really hope they get this situation sorted soon.

That said, the marina staff have restored the power very quickly when we've pointed out that the power has gone off. They now leave one of the pontoon lights on permanently so the staff can see when it goes off and the marina foreman has said to ring him if we have any problems.

The electricity box on the ramp where the fuse for the pontoon power supply keeps blowing

Apparently, the contractor who was supposed to come and check the system to see if they could find the fault last Friday was unable to do so because of bad weather.

The weather continued to be very windy and, at times very wet, this week but it was a bit better today so the marina had someone in working on it. Fingers crossed that it won't happen again.


Damaged dehumidifier

One of our dehumidifiers in Ravensdale's saloon

Our two Maeco dehumidifiers are totally invaluable on Ravensdale as they do a great job of keeping her as dry as possible.

For some reason, we seem to have had more condensation over recent months than we remember experiencing in our previous winters on board, so we’ve had the dehumidifiers running more often.

They always clear the condensation although it sometimes means we have to leave them on for longer than we would’ve liked. It also means we’re spending a bit more on electricity at the moment ☹

Time to switch on the dehumidifier - condensation on one of Ravensdale's port windows

Sadly, the water container in one of our dehumidifiers broke during rough conditions at sea.

The plastic drawer that collects the water cracked when it fell off the shelf by our bed onto the floor while the boat was being thrown around on the Solway Firth a few months back.

Phil has twice tried to repair it, but water was still leaking out of the dehumidifier onto the shelf and I was forever having to mop it up so I decided the time had come to see if it could be replaced.

I called the manufacturer to see if they sold the drawer as a spare part and was very pleased to discover we could just replace the container rather than having to buy a new dehumidifier as it’s still working well.


Ruby

Ruby trying to get into the tiny bit of sunshine that was shining in through a window on Ravensdale

Ruby is growing rapidly and getting much more independent.

She’s now four and a half months old and weighed 12.3kg when I got on the scales with her yesterday (Thursday).

Phil carrying our "big baby"

And we had to buy her a new collar because the one she had when we first got her seemed too narrow for her stocky little body. It still fitted but was so thin that it looked as though it would be more suitable for a cat.

So, we went to the pet shop and bought her a new red one to match her red lead.

Ruby modelling her new red collar

Ruby now jumps up on the seating in the saloon whenever she wants – especially when the sun’s shining on that part of the boat.

Ruby heading down the steps to the aft cabin

I think she’s realised that waiting for one of us to lift her up there takes too long and that she might as well do it herself now.

That said, in the evening, she sometimes waits to be lifted to places we know she’s quite capable of getting on her own. We assume it’s because she’s feeling a bit tired and, of course, we oblige 😊

She can also now get up and down the steps to the aft cabin.

I have mixed feelings about this as it was the only place in the boat that it was safe to leave things knowing that she couldn’t get them, but she looks really cute climbing up and down the steps 😊

We usually keep the door to the aft cabin closed during the day and, when it's shut, she only just has room to turn around and go back up again so she may not try to do it too often when we're not down there.

But every time we go down there, she’s hot on our heels. If we don’t want company, we have to shut the door behind us now.

Ruby climbing back up the steep steps from the aft cabin

And she’s been busy topping up her tan whenever the sun has come out this week. If there’s the tiniest shaft of sunlight coming into the boat, she will find it and lay in it, however uncomfortable the little patch of sun happens to be.

Ruby sunbathing in the saloon

Ruby’s interested in everything we do and likes to get involved.

She helped Phil clean the windows on Wednesday after Storm Gareth and to wash the aft deck yesterday (Thursday) although I don’t really think she was much help on either occasion 😊

Ruby watching Phil clean the windows on Ravensdale

And she hasn’t enjoyed the weather we’ve had over the last week or so, but we’ve managed to take her down to the beach for a run every day but one when the weather was just too horrible to even contemplate it.

Ruby with a stick she found on the beach

Ruby waiting for Phil to throw the stick

Phil throwing a treat in an attempt to persuade Ruby to go in the water

Ruby following Phil along the wet sand on the beach

Ruby on the beach

Phil and Ruby watching the waves

Ruby refusing to cross the water so Phil had to go back and carry her across

She really hates the wind and rain and pretends to be asleep or tries to hide when it’s obvious we’re going to try to take her outside when the weather is doing its worst.

Her favourite hiding places being her crate or under the dining room table, so we always know where to find her.

Thankfully, she still seems to enjoy being in her crate.

We only close the door at night, while at sea and if we have to go out without her for short periods.

At other times, the door is wide open, and she often goes in there for a nap or a bit of quiet time.

Sometimes we leave her loose on the boat if we pop out very briefly without her, particularly if we know she’s really tired, and we always find her in her bed in her cage when we get back, which I think is really sweet.

But, while we're around, she's equally happy sleeping on the seating in the saloon or the dinette so she's easily pleased. 

Ruby snuggled up among the cushions and her toys on the seating in the saloon

She enjoyed being able to sit out on the aft deck while we had coffee out there yesterday morning (Thursday).

Ruby enjoying the sunshine on the aft deck

A quick phone pic of Ruby's kiss mark

And finally, never kiss a white-furred dog wearing lipstick – sounds like something your mother might have warned you against 😊

Seriously though, poor old Ruby often ends up with red marks on the white areas of her coat and Phil even thought she’d hurt herself when he spotted one of these on Saturday.

I now know why she always tries to lick my lipstick off my lips. I thought she liked the taste of it, but perhaps she’s trying to prevent me messing up her coat 😊




Wildlife

It seems that the swans take it in turns to visit the marina – sometimes the pair of adult swans come in, sometimes two of the three cygnets and sometimes the other cygnet comes alone.

And, on one occasion, there was a single adult swan swimming around the marina.

The single cygnet came into the marina for food on Saturday morning and the two youngsters turned up in the afternoon.

Cygnets waiting for food near Ravensdale on Sunday

The two cygnets were back again on Sunday and, on Monday, one cygnet and the pair of adult swans were in the marina, but the parents kept chasing the cygnet away.

The adult swans waiting to be fed on Monday

There was one adult swan in the marina on Tuesday – presumably the interloper that the adult pair chased away last week.

A lone cygnet hiding under the marina ramp on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the single cygnet arrived in the morning and the pair of cygnets were here in the afternoon, and yesterday (Thursday) the two cygnets were back again.

A crow followed us along the beach on Monday evening and was very grateful for the bits of cocktail sausage we threw for it.

The crow with one of Ruby's sausage treats

Ruby was less impressed as they were supposed to be her treats and she made a couple of attempts at chasing it away, but it just kept coming back for more.

It was obviously more interested in the bits of sausage than it was scared of a puppy.

We think it was probably the same crow that was happy to eat the puppy treats we threw for it while walking Ruby on the beach a couple of weeks ago.

The crow waiting for us to throw it some puppy treats

The crow joined us again during Ruby’s beach walk on Wednesday afternoon, yesterday (Thursday) and this morning when it was joined by another crow. Both eagerly gobbled up any treats we threw in their direction.


Photography

The stormy weather has provided some good photo opportunities this week.

My only disappointment was that the worst of Storm Gareth was during the night, so it was too dark to get any photos of it.

However, I got some shots of the stormy sea on the shore here at Maryport on Sunday.

A big wave whipped up by strong winds heading for the rocks on Maryport beach

Another large wave heading for the shore with the snow-capped Scottish hills in the distance

Wild waves crashing onto the beach at Maryport

Big waves by Marypot Pier

I also took photos on Ruby’s beach walks every day this week, but some didn’t come out too well, especially the ones I took on Tuesday during the tail end of Storm Gareth.

Shortly before we got back, I discovered that all my photos looked like they’d been taken through Vaseline (other products are available 😊) as I’d forgotten to clean the lens after I got sea spray on it the previous day.

Sadly, it looked as though there would have been some good images of the rough sea and of Ruby, but they all should've been deleted ☹

One of the few photos I kept from Tuesday

Maryport beach looking towards the pier

Another shot from further along the beach on a grey day

The seagulls always seem to turn out in force for a rough sea

Reflections in the wet sand on the shore at Maryport

Maryport beach this morning (Friday)

I took a few photos of Whitehaven Marina when we visited on Monday to go to the chandlery.

Whitehaven Marina

Another view of Whitehaven Marina

The sea lock at Whitehaven Marina

Fishing boats at Whitehaven Marina

More fishing boats at Whitehaven Marina

And my hunt for suitable subjects for abstract and close-up images continues.

Rusty detail on the old dock gate mechanism at Maryport Harbour

Another view of the dock gate mechanism

A wider view of the same part of the dock gate mechanism

Detail from a rock pool on the beach at Maryport

Rope on a trawler winch at Maryport Harbour

Curved railings against the converging lines of stonework behind them

Weather watch

It’s been another wet and windy week in Maryport this week and, although the rain has let up from time to time, there has been no respite from the wind.

The main weather event this week was Storm Gareth overnight Tuesday into Wednesday and during Wednesday morning.

We had heavy rain overnight Friday into Saturday and drizzle first thing on Saturday morning together with a cold wind.

The clouds thinned and the sun came out during the morning.

Sunshine at Maryport Marina on Saturday morning

There was a shower of heavy rain and sleet mid-afternoon then the sun came out again.

The top temperature was 6.9C (44F) and the top average wind speed was 31mph, gusting 46mph.

Sunday was a very cold and windy day.

Hailstones at Maryport Marina on Sunday

Closer view of the hailstones on our steps and the pontoon

It was really wet and windy first thing with sleet and wet snow. It then stopped raining for a while during the morning but became even windier with a hail shower just after lunchtime.

All the boats were rocking and rolling around and, it was so rough that Phil put on his life jacket to go out onto the pontoons. The wind eased off a little mid-afternoon, so we managed to take Ruby out for a walk, but not on the beach.

The top temperature was 5.1C (41F) and the top average wind speed was 41mph, gusting 64mph.

There was more wind and rain overnight Sunday into Monday, but it was dry and bright by the time we got up and stayed that way throughout the day, but it was still pretty breezy.

The temperature reached 7.2C (45F) with a top average wind speed of 25mph, gusting 32mph. The wind got up and there was some heavy rain for a while during the evening.

Overnight Monday/Tuesday was another very wet and windy night with a top average wind speed of 39mph, gusting 54mph.

It was dry and bright but very windy during Tuesday morning and the wind got stronger as the day went on.

Blue sky on the shore at Maryport before the wind and rain arrived on Tuesday afternoon

It was cloudy with sunny intervals during the morning. The cloud thickened during the afternoon and the rain arrived when the wind really got up at around 5pm.

The top daytime temperature was 7.4C (45F) and the average wind speed reached 34mph, gusting 43mph, at 5pm.

Tuesday night through to Wednesday morning was the windiest night of the past week thanks to Storm Gareth. We also had heavy rain overnight.

The top average wind speed overnight was 49mph, gusting 69mph, at 3-4am.

It was dry but still very windy first thing on Wednesday and stayed windy throughout the day with the wind speed falling as the day went on.

Grey and windy conditions on the shore at Maryport on Wednesday

The top daytime average wind speed was 39mph, gusting 56mph at 10-11am.

It was dry for most of the day with a top temperature of 7.7C (46F) and a little bit of rain during the afternoon.

Overnight Wednesday into yesterday (Thursday) morning was another windy night with a top average wind speed of 46mph, gusting 63mph.

It was raining first thing, then cleared up to give blue sky, white clouds and sunshine. We even managed to sit out on the aft deck to have our morning coffee, but it clouded over, and we had a little light rain around lunchtime.

Me having coffee on Ravensdale's aft deck yesterday (Thursday) morning

The wind got up again during the afternoon with the average wind speed reaching 34mph, gusting 59mph. The top temperature was 8.5C (47F).

And, today (Friday), the weather has been a mixture of sunshine and showers but still pretty windy. The top temperature was 8.9C (48F) and the top average wind speed was 32mph, gusting 46mph.