Ravensdale is stuck in the marina again – this time due to an inner ear problem

Ravensdale (the white cruiser just left of centre) at Maryport Marina this week

We’ve been unable to take Ravensdale out on the water this week because Phil developed a medical problem that made it very unwise.

He started having strange dizzy spells and keeled over when he bent forward so he made a doctor’s appointment and was told it was an inner ear condition.

This has been happening on and off for much of this week.

We also had some fairly windy weather for the first part of the week and the rocking of the boat has affected him a lot more than usual so taking her out onto the Solway Firth here in Cumbria, UK, would definitely not have been a good idea.

Meanwhile, Ruby is having to wear an inflatable collar for a few days until a wound on her ear heals.


Phil’s dizzy spells

Phil relaxing at sea on a recent fishing trip

Vertigo that can cause you to keel over when you bend forwards is not a great thing to suffer from when you live on a boat.

The rocking motion caused by wind and swell becomes exaggerated and disorientating - there were times when Phil thought the boat was rocking quite violently when it was hardly moving at all.

There’s always a chance that you could fall forward into the water or fall and hit your head on something that could knock you out.

And that’s when the boat is safely moored up in the marina so taking her out onto the water would not be a great idea.

Some time ago Phil had some strange vertigo-like incidents and went to the doctor about them.

At that time, he was on medication that the doctor thought may have been causing these symptoms, so he stopped taking it and the problem cleared.

He hasn’t taken it since but started having the strange dizzy spells again this week and, on one occasion, he bent over to stroke Ruby in Ravensdale’s saloon and ended up sprawled on the floor.

That was the point at which he called the doctor, who said that, when he’d seen Phil previously, he thought it could have been Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) – an inner ear problem where specific head movement cause vertigo.

He was told to see if it went away on its own again. If not, there’s a manoeuvre they can do that will hopefully cure it, at least for the time being.

Since then, he’s had a few less serious occurrences so we’re hoping it’s not going to be a recurring problem.

He's been trying not to bend forward as that is what causes him problems, but keeps forgetting and, on one occasion, he was about to lean forward over the water to adjust a mooring rope. I spotted him just in time and shouted at him to stop and I would adjust it.

As it happened, there was only one day this week that would’ve been almost calm enough for us to consider taking Ravensdale out on the water, but it was out of the question anyway while Phil was suffering from dizzy spells.

Once they settle down, we'll be able to go out fishing again.


Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby happy to be back on the beach again

Ruby has been enjoying being able to go out for proper walks again this week, now she is no longer in season and therefore able to be around other dogs again.

She has been to the beach most days and had the opportunity to meet and play with other dogs.

She still refuses to go in water and, when her ball ended up in a small pool on the beach, she ran around the pool until Phil went and got it for her.

Phil had to push Ruby's ball closer to her when she refused to get wet

She got very mucky on the beach on Monday. Usually, she comes home covered in sand, which drops off when we dry her.

However, on Monday, her legs and belly were covered in mud and she had to be hosed down on the pontoons before we dried her, which was pretty annoying given that she'd had a shower the previous day.

Ruby with very muddy legs

We bought her a new toothbrush toy that has a central reservoir for dog toothpaste and rubber bristles that are supposed to clean her teeth when she chews it.

Ruby's new toothbrush toy that she has already bitten chunks off the base

However, it hasn’t proved to be much use as she started biting chunks off it within five minutes of being given it for the first time.

Ruby sitting on Ravensdale's aft deck

My latest attempt at a selfie with Ruby 😊

Last week, we took her to the vet because she was chewing her paws and she was given antibiotics for a nail bed infection.

The infection cleared up, but she keeps scratching her left ear until it bleeds.

The vet checked her ears when we took her back after the course of antibiotics and said there was nothing wrong with them.

The vet suggested putting Ruby on Piriton (chlorphenamine maleate) in case it was an allergy but that didn’t seem to help either as she scratched her ear until it was bleeding again.

We’re now trying an inflatable collar to give the wound a chance to heal as it could be the soreness and healing process that’s causing it to itch and creating a vicious circle.

She's being so good about wearing it. She didn't object to having it fitted and has just carried on with her life as if it's not there.

The only things we've had to change is moving her food and water bowls away from the wall because she couldn't get to them and giving her a helping hand up steps on the boat as the edge of her collar catches on the treads.

Amusingly, some people have mistaken it for a swimming ring and asked if we're teaching her to swim 😊

Hopefully, she'll only need to wear it for a few days until her ear heals up, then we're hoping she won’t scratch it and make it sore again.

Ruby in her new inflatable collar

Photography

I haven’t been out taking photos very much this week as I haven’t wanted to leave Phil on his own while he was having regular dizzy spells.

But I did get around to processing some of the photos I took on Friday of last week that I hadn’t had a chance to look at it before last week’s blog.

Maryport lighthouse at low tide

Silver Fern in Maryport Harbour

Colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour at high tide

A fishing boat and rusty trawler winch at Maryport Harbour

More fishing boats at high tide

Looking across Maryport Harbour at high tide

The view from Shipping Brow, Maryport, looking out towards the Solway Firth

Looking across the River Ellen towards Shipping Brow at Maryport

A sculpture of fishermen on the River Ellen at Marport

I’ve also taken a few photos while out walking Ruby on the beach.

Maryport beach with Maryport pier and the Scottish hills in the distance

Another view of Maryport beach

Clouds reflected in puddles on the shore in Maryport

Looking along Maryport shore towards Iggesund Paperboard mill

Fluffy clouds over Maryport beach

And I took photos of Maryport marina and across the basin on Sunday.

Christ Church at Maryport from across the basin

Another view across the basin at Maryport

Shipping Brow at Maryport from the other side of the basin

A calm evening at Maryport Marina

A wider view of Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK

Weather watch

It’s been a cool and fairly windy week with temperatures ranging from 11C-15C (52F-59F) and wind gusting up to 41mph.

Calm conditions at Maryport Marina last Friday evening

We had heavy rain overnight Friday into Saturday and it was fairly windy with average wind speeds up to 25mph, gusting 36mph.

There was light rain first thing on Saturday, which dried up fairly quickly. It was cloudy for the rest of the day becoming brighter during the afternoon.

The top temperature was 13C (55F) and the top average wind speed at St Bees Head – our nearest weather station - was 26mph, gusting 41mph, but it was definitely less than that here.

Sunday was dry, bright and breezy. It was cloudy in the morning with the sun coming out during the afternoon.

The temperature only reached 13C (55F) again and the top average wind speed was 16mph.

A sunny day on Maryport beach on Monday

Monday was dry, sunny and warm. It was fairly calm in the morning with the wind getting up late afternoon.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 13mph. 

Tuesday started sunny then clouded over but it stayed dry and windy throughout the day, brightening up again during the evening.

Golden light on Maryport Marina on Tuesday evening

The top temperature was 13C (55F) and the top average wind speed was 24mph, gusting 40mph.

It was pretty windy overnight Tuesday into Wednesday with the average wind speed reaching 23mph, gusting 34mph and the high winds continued throughout the day.

Grey cloud at Maryport Marina on Wednesday

Dry and overcast conditions in the morning gave way to light rain in the afternoon. The temperature reached 12C (54F) and the top wind speed was 26mph, gusting, 41mph.

Heavy rain overnight Wednesday into yesterday (Thursday) continued into yesterday morning.

The rain became lighter during the morning and it dried up late morning with a little light rain during the afternoon. The temperature only reached 11C (52F) and the top average wind speed was 19mph, gusting 33mph.

Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday) evening

And, today (Friday) started wet but dried up to give a bright and breezy day. The top temperature was 13C (55F) and the top average wind speed was 15mph.