 |
Ravensdale returning home to Maryport in the dark |
We were so pleased when calm weather coincided with the time our marina’s sea gate was open on Saturday afternoon/evening.
We hadn’t been able to go out fishing for almost a fortnight due to high winds, so it was great to be able to throw off Ravensdale’s mooring ropes and head out onto the Solway Firth from Maryport in Cumbria, UK.
And it turned out to be the best cod session we’d had in the two years we’ve been taking our 43ft motor cruiser out fishing.
Meanwhile, I’ve been reclaiming much-needed space in our fridge.
And Ruby has managed to get out of having her spaying operation for a third consecutive week and we will now have to wait another two to three months before getting it done.
Saturday’s fishing trip
The forecast for calm conditions on Saturday afternoon and evening turned out to be correct.
And, as usual, we went around to check the sea state from the pier before making the final decision to go out and the water looked pretty calm, so we went back and got ready to go.
We left the marina at around 4.50pm and headed up to Phil’s favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay.
 |
Ravensdale heading towards the sea gate on the way out of Maryport Marina |
We dropped anchor and Phil set up the two new uptide rods that I gave him for his birthday.
 |
Phil baiting the hook on one of his new rods |
The weather was sunny, calm and warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a vest top until the temperature started to fall as the sun went down and I put on a hoodie to keep warm.
 |
Possibly the last time I'll get to wear shorts on a fishing trip this year |
There was very little wind or swell, which was good, but the fishing wasn’t great for the first hour or so.
Phil was catching dogfish after dogfish with just one codling to break the monotony, but it wasn’t big enough to keep and had to be put back in the water.
 |
Phil with the smaller codling that was returned to the water |
As high tide approached, he was on the verge of giving up and heading back to the marina, but I suggested we give it until high tide and then make a decision.
Meanwhile, we had a visit from the owner of one of the other fishing boats in the marina just to see how we were doing. He wasn’t out fishing, just giving the boat a sea trial after it had been restored.
 |
Serene paying Ravensdale a visit on the Solway Firth |
High tide arrived and nothing had changed so he decided to reel in his rods and pack them away.
The first one had a dogfish on it, which was thrown back, and he stowed his rod ready to go home.
The other one had a codling on it that was larger than the minimum size, so we decided to keep it.
 |
Phil with the first good-sized codling he caught on this trip |
I laughed and said: “I’m guessing you’re going to rebait the hook and put that one back out.”
Phil did exactly that and, within a matter of minutes, he pulled in another larger cod, followed by another until he had a total of five keepers all on the same rod, cast out on the same side of the boat.
And, for the first time ever, I decided not to photograph every fish he caught as they were all much the same 😊
 |
Phil with the next good codling he caught as the sun was going down |
 |
Phil with another nice codling caught at sunset |
At that point, Phil decided we had enough fish and packed his rod away.
We had another visit while Phil was fishing, this time it was from the owner of another fishing boat from the marina who was out fishing with his mate.
The pair dropped by to compare catches before heading off to see what else they could catch.
 |
Bruno Boy paying Ravensdale a visit on the Solway Firth |
While Phil was busy fishing, I took lots of photos of the sun going down.
 |
Phil fishing at sunset |
 |
The sun going down over Robin Rigg wind farm on the Solway Firth |
 |
The northern fells from the Solway Firth at sunset |
I also brought Ruby out on deck in her life jacket for a while, but she seemed keen to go back indoors so I let her in, and she settled on the seating in the saloon.
 |
Ruby relaxing in the saloon when she lost interest in fishing 😊 |
And she stayed there until it was time to go home when she went straight back in her cage without having to be told.
It was dark on the way home so I couldn’t get any decent photos of our approach to Maryport, but I took a couple of snaps with my mobile phone. The quality isn’t good but at least they give an indication of what it was like as we returned to the marina.
 |
Ravensdale returning to Maryport |
 |
Ravensdale entering Maryport Basin |
We were moored up by around 8.30pm after three hours and 40 minutes out on the Solway Firth during which time we travelled 5.5 nautical miles.
 |
Returning to Maryport Marina after dark |
We’ve now been out on the water on Ravensdale 68 times for a total of more than 250 hours since we left the marina for the first time on August 10, 2017.
We ate the first of the cod caught on this trip on Sunday evening and froze the rest, which will provide us with two more meals 😊
 |
Our delicious fish and chips supper |
Defrosting the fridge
 |
Me defrosting the fridge with my hairdryer |
Our fridge on Ravensdale has been getting very iced up at the back and I've been meaning to defrost it for some time but it's usually got too much food in it to contemplate getting it all out.
But it had been getting worse and worse so I decided to run down the contents and tackle the job this week and I'm very glad I did.
I put the remaining food in a cool box and left the door open with a plastic tray tucked under the front to catch the water.
I also propped the icebox open and left the fridge to defrost naturally for a while before tackling the remaining slab of ice at the back with my hairdryer.
I then cleaned the fridge out throughly before replacing its contents and going shopping to restock it properly.
It’s brilliant as we now have much more room for our food.
I definitely won’t let it build up that much before doing it next time.
Ruby of Ravensdale
 |
Ruby relaxing in the sun with her teddy on Ravensdale |
Ruby was fully recovered from her stomach upset by the weekend, so we put the carpet back down on Sunday and confirmed with the vets that she would be going in to be spayed yesterday (Thursday).
But she had other ideas and, despite the vet telling us that there was very little chance of her coming into season before the operation, she started on Wednesday evening.
 |
Ruby at the top of the galley steps |
That’s the third week in a row that she’s managed to escape surgery and we will now have to wait a few months before we can try again.
The first time, we delayed it for a week because she had a tummy upset.
Last week, we postponed for a further week because she was still unwell.
We really thought it was happening this time and, Wednesday evening, she had a nice shower with her Dad in preparation for the operation she was supposed to have yesterday (Thursday).
 |
Ruby on Ravensdale |
But yesterday morning I called the vet first thing to say we were fairly sure she was just coming into season.
We took her to the vets just in case we were wrong, but the vet confirmed that she was, and the operation would now have to wait until six to eight weeks after this season ends.
Apparently, Ruby really knows how to get out of something she doesn’t want to do 😊
And now she’s getting even more cuddles than usual because I feel so sorry for her and because she smells so lovely after her shower. I just love the smell of her puppy shampoo.
She’s very snuggly at the moment, just as she was last time she was in season, but it hasn’t stopped her showing her dislike of my attempts to take a selfie with her. This little dog really cracks me up 😊
 |
One of my attempts at taking a selfie with Ruby |
We've bought her some doggy knickers for her season this time so we don't have to take the carpet up again and turn all the seat cushions up to stop her sitting on them.
She doesn't seem very impressed with them though. Perhaps she doesn't think black is her colour, even if they do match her collar 😊
 |
Ruby in her new doggy knickers |
We also replaced the doormat Ruby chewed a few months back.
 |
The chewed doormat on the aft deck just before it went in the bin |
We thought the irregular shape made it look rather artistic and was convinced that no-one else would have one quite like it, but we eventually decided that it was time to get a new one.
 |
Our new doormat at the foot of the steps from Ravensdale's saloon to the aft deck |
I wonder how long this will last. The one it replaced was the second mat she had chewed up. She definitely seems to have a thing about doormats 😊
As usual, she has enjoyed her walks but now they're rather restricted while she's in season as we really don't want her to get pregnant.
 |
Ruby having fun in the long grass |
 |
Ruby looking out to sea from the coastal path |
 |
Ruby on the shore at Maryport |
Photography
My favourite photos from this week are those taken while out on the Solway Firth on Saturday afternoon and evening.
 |
Maryport from the Solway Firth |
 |
Maryport from the Solway Firth |
 |
Maryport from the Solway Firth |
 |
Another view of Maryport from the Solway Firth |
 |
Maryport from the Solway Firth |
There was a lovely light when we left the marina during the late afternoon and calmer water meant I could get sharper images than is usually the case.
I always go for a much higher shutter speed than I would normally use on land in attempt to cope with the movement of the boat, however, most of the time it still doesn’t give me the results I would like.
The sunset on Saturday wasn’t the most spectacular I’d ever seen but it was still nice to see – and photograph, of course 😊
 |
The sun dropping down over Robin Rigg wind farm on the Solway Firth |
 |
The sun setting over the Scottish hills from the Solway Firth |
 |
Robin Rigg wind farm at sunset |
 |
Another view of sunset over Robin Rigg wind farm |
 |
The Isle of Man across the Solway Firth |
And, on Monday evening, the water in the marina was like a mirror so I took my camera for a quick walk around the pontoons to get some shots of the boat reflections.
 |
Reflections on the still water at Maryport Marina |
 |
Maryport Marina |
 |
Sunset at Maryport Marina |
 |
Maryport Marina reflections |
 |
More reflections at Maryport Marina |
This week's topic for the Practical Photographer magazine 52-week challenge is night time so I've been trying to take photos in the dark and I'm really not very good at it, but it was fun trying.
 |
Maryport Marina at night |
 |
Maryport Marina at night |
 |
Another view of Maryport Marina at night |
And I took a couple of accidental abstracts this week - one while trying to photograph the lights in the marina at night and I have absolutely no idea how or where I took the other one. I just found it among my photos when I put them on the laptop. It's very obviously an accidental shot, but I quite liked it so decided to keep it 😊
 |
Marina lights abstract |
 |
Totally random abstract that I have no idea what it is 😊 |
Weather watch
 |
Beautiful sunny weather at Maryport Marina on Saturday |
The past week started well with a dry, calm and sunny weekend.
Saturday was a lovely sunny day with very little wind, but I totally forgot to check the weather on the UK last 24 hours weather page on the Met Office website on Sunday so I couldn’t record the temperature or average wind speed ☹
Sunday was another dry and bright day with a little light rain during the morning. We had heavy rain during the late evening. The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 11mph.
 |
Maryport Marina on Sunday afternoon |
The heavy rain continued overnight, and it was was still spitting first thing on Monday morning, but this soon cleared to give a dry, bright day. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 17mph.
 |
Maryport Marina on Monday evening |
We had a dry, calm and sunny start to the day on Tuesday with more cloud developing as the day went on, but it remained bright.
It also became windier later in the day and the rain arrived mid-evening. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed during the day was 15mph, rising to 26mph, gusting 36mph, by 10pm.
The tail end of Hurricane Dorian brought unsettled weather overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
 |
Rain on Wednesday afternoon |
Wednesday started dry, bright and breezy start to the day after a windy night with a top overnight wind speed of 29mph, gusting 38mph.
The cloud cover increased during the afternoon with a little light rain late in the day.
The daytime temperature peaked at 16C (61F) and the average wind speed reached 25mph, gusting 36mph.
The end of Storm Gabrielle was supposed to be travelling north across the UK yesterday (Thursday) into today (Friday), but we didn’t experience any adverse weather that could’ve been linked to it in this area.
Yesterday (Thursday) started wet and miserable and it kept it up for most of the day. It stopped raining late afternoon and the sun came out at around 6pm.
The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 24mph, gusting 32mph.
 |
Clear blue sky over Maryport Marina this afternoon (Friday) |
