Ravensdale is seaworthy again and ready for action

Ravensdale's engine room - the heat exchanger pipe that held things up is top left

Three weeks after we removed the heat exchanger and intercooler from Ravensdale’s port engine for cleaning, she’s now up and running again.

But Phil only completed the job yesterday (Thursday), so we haven’t had a chance to take her out to sea yet.

Meanwhile, he's been cleaning her decks and hull again to keep her shipshape.

Phil pressure-washing Ravensdale's foredeck

He has also replaced the window seals in the saloon and we’ve made a couple of purchases that will improve our liveaboard experience.

And otter watching - or rather watching for otters - has become our latest pastime.

Port engine heat exchanger is working again

Both Ravensdale’s engines are now in full working order so we can take her out to sea whenever we want.

She was out of commission while the heat exchanger and intercooler on her port engine were removed and cleaned.

Bad weather causing the boat to rock fairly violently delayed work in the engine room, then we had to wait for the parts to come back after we sent them away for cleaning.

We collected them and Phil refitted them over a week ago.

The perished seals that needed replacing

However, we then discovered that the seals attaching a pipe to the heat exchanger were perished causing a leak when the engine was running.

We ordered the parts, but the Easter break meant we had to wait longer than usual for delivery.

Phil fitted them yesterday (Thursday) and the engine is running perfectly while alongside.

We’re now waiting for good weather to coincide with the marina gates being open at a suitable time of day to take Ravensdale out into the Solway Firth to check both her 300hp Volvo Penta engines work equally well at sea.

Phil refitting the pipe to the heat exchanger

The same work was carried out to her starboard engine earlier this year to cure an overheating problem.

After that job was completed, we discovered the port engine was also running hotter than it should have been hence the latest project.

Replacing window seals

The Beast from the East at the end of February and beginning of March revealed a new problem of which we had been previously unaware.

We discovered the shelf along the top of the cupboards on the port side of the saloon was getting wet. On investigation, we could see fine snow blowing in down the join between the fixed window and the one that slides open.

We then realised that the seal on that window was so badly worn that a small gap had opened up and the northerly wind was blowing the snow in through it.

We were unable to find exactly the right seals so ordered the nearest we could find. Sadly, they didn’t fit properly, so Phil filled the gap with black Sikaflex. He then placed the bought seal on top of the sealant and we didn’t touch the window until it had set.

Phil filling the gap behind the window seal with sealant

Phil fitting the new window seal

He did the same thing with the matching window on the starboard side.

And both now seem to be working perfectly.

The windows still open and close and, unlike before, you cannot feel any draft if you hold a hand close to either of the seals when they're closed.

Hopefully, we won’t get any more snow coming in either 😊

Re-carpeting the galley

Phil fitting the new carpet

This week, we bought and fitted a new carpet in the galley to replace the old one that had become badly marked and was fraying at the edges.

It wasn’t in great condition when we bought the boat. We'd tried cleaning it with carpet cleaner, which improved the look of it a bit, but I always felt it let the boat down.

Recently, it was looking even worse, so we went and bought a remnant in a similar colour to the rest of the carpet on the boat.

Although the galley floor is a very small area, it's an awkward shape, so Phil cut the new carpet to fit using the one we'd removed as a template and he’s done a great job.

The newly fitted galley carpet

New aft deck furniture

All last summer, and the warmer sunnier days during the rest of the year, we’ve wished we had a table and chairs on Ravensdale’s aft deck.

And, at long last, we’ve got around to doing something about it.

Our local B&Q DIY store gives pensioners a 10% discount on Wednesdays, so I persuaded Phil to sign up for the scheme.

He was delighted when he was asked for proof that he was over 60, especially when he’s a good few years past that milestone birthday 😊

New table and chairs on Ravensdale's aft deck

Me enjoying a coffee on our new aft deck furniture

And, on Wednesday of this week, we bought a folding table and chairs made of acacia - a dense, durable hardwood that can withstand the elements and is often used in boat building. It's also a sustainable wood making it an eco-friendly choice.

It was pouring with rain on Wednesday when we made the purchase, so we waited until yesterday (Thursday), when the sun came out, and assembled them on our aft deck in the sunshine.

It was great being able to sit out and have our coffee in a civilised fashion, rather than just perching on the aft deck lockers.

Caravan site reopens

The Harbourside Caravan Park next to Maryport Marina

The nearby caravan site, which is run by the marina and shares the marina facilities, opened for the 2018 season on Good Friday.

The first two camper vans arrived during the afternoon and it was very busy over the Easter weekend.

It can accommodate 10 caravans or campervans and was almost full on Saturday and Sunday.

We’re obviously pleased to see it doing well for the marina, but it means the toilets, showers and laundry are busier than during the winter months, which can be a bit of a pain.

The caravan park was created last year, but no new facilities were provided for it.

Ex trawler towed away

A former trawler that was moored up in Maryport Basin, just outside the marina gate, was towed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The boat, called Samenwerking, is the home of a couple and their four dogs.

Petronella alongside Samenwerking before towing the former trawler to Scotland

It was due to leave on the high tide around midday on Saturday, but it was too windy, so it left on the next high tide, just after midnight on Sunday morning.

We went down to the far end of the marina to watch it go – and to take photos, of course 😊

The two boats preparing to leave Maryport

The former trawler beside Maryport Pier on its way out into the Solway Firth

She is now settled in her new home at Palnackie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

Marina wildlife

We’re still waiting for the swans and the little black and white magpie duck to return to the marina.

However, a pair of mallards have been in looking for food, so I didn’t disappoint them 😊

The ducks that paid us a visit yesterday (Thursday) afternoon 

Meanwhile, we were delighted to spot a pair of otters playing in the marina on Tuesday evening.

We watched them through our binoculars from Ravensdale’s foredeck and I could clearly see that there were two of them.

They then moved around out of view, so I got my camera and we walked out along the next pontoon to look for them.

We were creeping along the pontoon as quietly as we could when there was a huge splash right next to me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Just as well I wasn’t too close to the edge or I might have ended up in the water with them 😊

I’m sure it was at least one of the otters, but we never saw them again.

We’re now keeping an eye out for them and I’m hoping to get a photo asap.

Photography - fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

Easter Sunday started out as a beautiful sunny day and I couldn't resist taking a walk around the harbour with my camera while Phil pressure-washed the boat.

I came home with literally hundreds of photos of the colourful fishing boats here. Sadly, I didn't manage to get all their names so I've had to use their numbers for the captions on some of them. 

Destiny - one of the fishing boat in Maryport Harbour

Silver Fern - another of the local fishing boats

Sincerity and Our James

Winsome and RI475

BH44 and CT20

MT123 and E50

Weather round-up

The past week has been generally a little warmer than previous weeks which, as usual, meant more rain, coupled with high winds.

But we’ve also had a couple of lovely sunny, spring-like days.

We had rain overnight Friday/Saturday and it was very windy on Saturday morning.

This coincided with a fairly high tide of 8.8m – the highest we’ve seen since we’ve been in Maryport, Cumbria, was just over 9.2m.

Maryport Marina at high tide on Saturday

Sunday was much calmer, with sunshine, blue skies and fluffy white clouds in the morning. However, it clouded over soon after lunchtime and a cold wind blew up later in the afternoon.

Fluffy white clouds over Maryport Harbour on Easter Sunday

The wind dropped off overnight but it remained quite cool. The lowest temperature recorded during the night was 2.2C (36F) at 6am.

Monday was cold, wet and windy. The boat was rocking well, particularly when the marina gate was open. The highest temperature recorded locally during the day was just 3.6C (38F), with an easterly wind averaging up to 22mph and gusting to 33mph.

I was going to cut Phil’s hair that day but had to put it off as the boat was rocking too much, so spent most of the day sorting through and processing photos I’d taken over the preceding days.

We woke up to pouring rain on Tuesday morning, which continued until the afternoon. The sun then came out and the temperature rose to a much more pleasant 9.3C (49F), although it remained pretty windy, with average speeds of up to 21mph, gusting 31mph.

The view through Ravensdale's saloon window on Tuesday morning

Overnight Tuesday/Wednesday was a mild night, with temperatures only dropping to 5.7C (42F).

The strangest thing on Wednesday was the wind, which had been coming from the south overnight. Up until 3am, we had a southerly wind averaging up to 14mph and, by 11am, it had turned right around to a northerly wind. The highest average wind speed recorded during the day was 31mph, gusting to 41mph.

Overnight Wednesday into yesterday (Thursday) was much colder, with the temperature going down to 0.9C (33F), and the wind dropped considerably to 5mph by 6am.

This was followed by a beautiful sunny day with very little wind – just right for trying out our new table and chairs on Ravensdale’s aft deck.

Maryport in the sunshine yesterday (Thursday)

Last night was fairly mild, with the temperature dipping to 5.4C (39F) just before dawn.

This morning (Friday) and much

Taking our house fishing, the big thaw and a very high tide

Phil laying on Ravensdale's foredeck waiting for a bite

What a difference a few days can make to the weather!

Last week we had sub-zero temperatures, snow and high winds at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, and this week we’ve had sunshine and temperatures up to 7C (45F).

Me on Ravensdale at sea

And the best bit of all is that it’s been calm enough to take our home fishing 😊

We took Ravensdale out to sea for the third time this year on Monday and, although it wasn’t the sunniest day of the week, the wind speed was only 7-9mph so within our single figures rule.

We make no bones about it – for now we’re definitely fair-weather sailors (or rather cruisers) and only leave the marina when the wind speed is less than 10mph.

Taking Ravensdale fishing

The snow just about disappeared here over the weekend, although much of the UK still had a good depth of the white stuff and parts of the UK were again hit by snowstorms yesterday (Thursday).

I always keep a close eye on the weather forecast and was therefore aware that Monday was expected to be dry with very little wind.

The entrance to Maryport Marina

The marina gate, which is only open for about two to two and half hours either side of high tide, was also due to open at a good time for a trip out on Monday.

We were considering going for a little cruise, partly for fun, but also to give Ravensdale’s twin 300hp Volvo Penta engines a run and to help keep her hull clean.

We were still trying to make up our minds when a couple of guys with small fishing boats in the marina visited our boat on Sunday to let us know they were going out the following day and to ask if we wanted to join them.

We also needed to fill up with diesel as we’d used a good bit on heating over the cold snap, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and go fishing then visit the fuel pontoon on the way back to our berth.

We had some bait left in the freezer from the previous fishing trip but needed more, so we walked over to The Aquarium by Maryport Harbour to buy some black lugworm in their fishing bait shop then stopped off for coffee and cake at the Aquarium cafe.

The marina gate wasn’t due to open until about 11.15am on Monday so there was no need to rush around.

Our ornaments packed up ready to go to sea

Phil did the engine checks, opened the seacocks and untied the spring lines (ropes used to limit fore-and-aft movement while moored), leaving just the bow and stern mooring ropes tied to the pontoon cleats until we were ready to cast off.

Meanwhile, I went through my usual packing up ritual inside the boat – anything loose that could be thrown around if the boat starts to roll gets packed away in collapsible packing crates and the microwave and freezer are strapped down.

We had a choice of which fishing boat to follow as one was staying quite close to Maryport to fish for cod and the other was going a bit further afield in search of skate. Phil chose to go for cod and we dropped anchor near the relevant boat.

Ravensdale leaving Maryport for our fishing trip

Although we didn’t have bright sunshine, it was fairly pleasant outside and it didn’t rain while we were at sea, so we stretched out on the foredeck while waiting for the fish to bite.

It was surprisingly rocky, given that there was so little wind, but a lovely way to spend a winter Monday all the same. It definitely beats going to work 😊

My view while waiting for the fish to bite

Phil with the cod that had to be thrown back

After a couple of hours, we’d only caught one fish – a 12-inch cod that was too small to keep and had to be thrown back.

We considered moving to another location, but had been in touch with the other fishing boats out that day and it seemed no one was catching anything worth having so we decided to head home and save our diesel for another day.

On our return to the marina, we went straight to the fuel pontoon to top up Ravensdale’s 1,200 litre tank. It took almost 700 litres!

Phil then drove Ravensdale down to the far end of the marina for a practice run, turning her on her own length at either end before returning to our berth.

Although we didn’t catch any fish worth keeping, one of the other fishermen caught a slightly larger cod that he gutted and brought home, but didn’t want so he gave it to us and it contributed to a delicious fish pie.

Phil with his new fish measuring stick

Phil has since made a measuring stick marked with the lengths at which various fish species can be kept. These are laid down by the UK government via DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). For cod, the minimum size is 35cm (13.7 inches).

The aftermath of the Beast from the East

The arrival of Siberian weather, dubbed the Beast from the East, overnight on Tuesday February 27 into Wednesday February 28 brought snowstorms and temperatures down to -6C.

There was still a good bit of snow lying in the Maryport area of Cumbria last Friday, but very little left along the coast. However, we encountered some very slippery conditions when we decided to take a walk to our local Lidl store for a few odds and ends of groceries.

The last of the snow on the ramp at Maryport Marina

We didn’t really need to go, but it was a chance to get some exercise as well as more wine and chocolate for the weekend as we’d accidentally eaten our weekend goodies during the week 😊

We don’t normally buy them until Friday because we know we can’t be trusted, but shopped early in case we got snowed in. We now know that was a mistake 😊.

And we discovered it was a good job we’d already stocked up on the basics as there was no bread or milk and very little fruit or veg left in the store because the delivery lorries had been unable to reach Maryport.

The snow on the path to Lidl had been compacted by people walking on it. It had then frozen over so staying upright was difficult at times. Luckily, we managed to get there and back without either of us taking a tumble.

Meanwhile, the marina snowman was slowly melting away and collapsing over to one side. By Sunday, he looked rather deformed and decidedly creepy 😊

The demise of the marina snowman

Very high tide

We had one of the highest tides of the year in Maryport last weekend.

There was a difference of almost 9m (29ft 6ins) between the high and the low tides on Saturday - 9.2m at 12.15pm and 0.3m at 7.11pm.

Maryport Marina at high tide on Friday

Our pontoon almost level with the car park at the very high tide

I always find it amazing how different the marina, the harbour and the area around the basin and River Ellen look when the water comes up almost to the top of the harbour walls and I can never resist the chance to go out and take photos.

On previous occasions, I’ve captured images of waves crashing up against the sea walls and spilling over onto the promenade, but the northerly wind on Saturday meant the waves were coming from a different direction to those caused by the usual west to south-westerly winds.

Maryport lighthouse at high tide

Unfortunately, it was dark by the time the very low tide arrived or I would’ve been out taking photos for comparison purposes.

Feathered friends

There are often quite a lot of pigeons in the area around the marina and one pair has been nesting in one of the drainage pipes that comes down through the harbour wall near our boat.

We came back from taking photos of the high tide on Saturday to find them totally bewildered by the disappearance of the hole they use as an entrance.

They were sitting on the edge of the wall above the hole, flying up and down the wall frantically trying to find the way in, but they had to wait for the water level in the marina to drop before they could go home.

One of the pigeons searching for the hole

The pigeons waiting for the water level to drop

As soon as it was below the level of the hole, they were back inside.

Pigeon hole - one of the pigeons happily back in its home 

We still can’t work out how they manage to stay in there as, whenever it rains, the water runs off the road and down through the pipe into the marina.

The swans that have been visiting the marina since long before we moved on board our 43ft seagoing cruiser 16 months ago have been back looking for food again this week.

Another berth holder, who is away from the marina at the moment, used to feed them whenever they appeared, sometimes up to five times a day, and they seemed to be really missing him.

He told us to use the food he stored on his boat to feed them whenever we saw them, so I’ve been doing as he asked.

Me feeding the swans in Maryport Marina

But I’ve now discovered that other people here are also feeding them, including a member of staff and at least one other berth holder, so perhaps they aren't as hungry as I thought they were 😊

Mic, one of the marina staff, feeding the swans

Variable weather

We’ve had a real mixed bag of weather over the past week from the freezing conditions last weekend to warmer day-time temperatures in recent days.

It was cold and windy overnight Friday/Saturday - nowhere near as cold as the previous nights, but still quite windy.

On Saturday morning, there were light snow flurries and still a very chilly wind.

Overnight Saturday/Sunday the lowest temperature recorded locally was -0.9C (34F) at 8pm and the wind had dropped so there was less rocking, creaking of ropes and sploshing of water going on which made for a much quieter night for us.

Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday were mainly dry and bright by day with temperatures up to around 6C (43F).

Wednesday was quite windy with a beautiful sunset in the evening.

Maryport Harbour

Maryport lighthouse

Maryport Harbour

Another view of Maryport Harbour

Maryport Marina at sunset

Yesterday was mainly dry and bright and much calmer, with a wind speed of just 1mph first thing increasing to 15mph later in the day.

And today (Friday) is another calm sunny day with temperatures expected to go up to about 7C (45F). Perhaps spring really is just around the corner at long last...

Maryport lighthouse in the sunshine yesterday

A Siberian blast from the Beast from the East and a mini earthquake



Snow blowing across Maryport Marina

Sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow and a mini earthquake have made for an unusual week in west Cumbria, UK.

The weather system, dubbed the Beast from the East, arrived overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday bringing temperatures down to -6C (21F) that felt more like -12C (10F) with the wind chill factor.

And on Wednesday morning local people in Maryport and surrounding areas reported feeling their homes move as a mini quake registering 3.2 on the Richter scale caused their windows and doors to rattle just after 7.30am.

We later learned that it was the largest earthquake in Cumbria since 2010.

Unsurprisingly, we didn’t feel the quake on our 43ft seagoing cruiser Ravensdale, but we certainly felt the effects of the Beast from the East.

The Beast from the East



Storm clouds gathering over Maryport heralding the arrival of "the Beast"



Despite the early warnings of the snow storm about to hit the UK from Siberia, we didn’t really expect to see much of an impact here as every severe weather warning for snow we’ve seen since we moved on board Ravensdale almost 16 months ago has failed to reach us.

And local people told us that they hadn’t seen any significant snowfall here for around seven to eight years.

You could say we prepared for the worst, but expected the best - except that we like snow, so no snow wasn’t really going to be the best outcome for us 😊

We filled up our water tank before the temperatures dropped so low that the supply to the pontoons was turned off to stop it freezing in the pipes. We realised that, if the forecast was correct, it could be off for days or even longer.

We also went shopping earlier than usual this week to make sure we had enough food on board to not need to shop again for a good week, if necessary.

We knew we had plenty of diesel in the tank to keep our Webasto Airtop Evo 55 diesel 24V running day and night if necessary.

The heater, which is designed for use in trucks, vans and mobile homes, is super-efficient and keeps us lovely and warm on board.

And we dug out our merino wool thermal underwear that was bought as a mountain base layer when we spent our spare time out walking in the Scottish mountains.

Happy that we’d done everything we could to prepare for whatever was heading our way, we settled down for the night on Tuesday and awoke the following morning to a white world 😊



The view from one of Ravensdale's windows on Wednesday morning

Despite leaving the heater on the economy setting overnight, it was still pretty chilly inside the boat and I soon discovered that the sliding door, which is the only access to the boat, and the sliding window on the port side were frozen shut.



Ravensdale's door was frozen shut on Wednesday morning

I checked the starboard window and discovered that still opened so at least we could climb out of the window if necessary. Thankfully it wasn’t necessary as Phil managed to get the door to open with a bit of brute force.

I was eager to get out and take photographs of the snow, so we decided to have a cooked breakfast at The Aquarium by Maryport harbour, which seems to be becoming our second home as we frequently end up walking over there for breakfast, coffee and cake or lunch.



The Aquarium at Maryport in Cumbria, UK

 

Inside The Aquarium on the harbourside in Maryport

After breakfast, I went for a walk with my camera, stopping to chat to the folk I met who were out walking their dogs, playing with their kids in the snow or, like me, taking photographs.



Maryport harbour looking beautiful in the snow

 

Snow covered docks at Maryport harbour

 

Youngsters playing in the snow near Maryport harbour

 

Sunshine and snow at Maryport harbour

 

A child sledging on a snowy slope near the harbour

Much of the time, the sun was shining but, from time to time, it clouded over and started snowing again.



Phil bringing us another jerrycan of water

As we expected, the very low temperatures have left us without a water supply on the pontoons, so Phil has been making regular trips up to the marina facilities to fill a jerrycan and bringing it back to keep our water tank topped up. We’ve also been trying to use less water to make what we have got last longer.

Overnight Wednesday into Thursday was another very cold night with temperatures down to -5.6C (22F) and average wind speeds of up to 19mph, gusting up to 32mph.

And "the Beast" continued to bite yesterday (Thursday)



A snowman that appeared in the marina overnight on Wednesday

The temperature didn’t get above -1.1C (30F) during the day. We also had high winds, with average wind speeds of up to 32mph and gusts of up to 48mph recorded at nearby St Bee’s Head.

There were a number of heavy snow showers throughout the day and lying snow was being blown around by the strong winds.

Phil volunteered to shovel the snow off our pontoon, which is about 80m long. The snow had been compacted where people had walked on it so it was a time-consuming task but he didn't mind at all. In fact, the snow shovels he and marina staff used were the ones we brought with us from our previous life in Scotland and gave to the marina.



Phil clearing the snow from the pontoon leading to Ravensdale in the snow

He then spread salt on it and last night it was the least snowy pontoon in the marina, other than the ramp, which the marina staff keep clear and salted.



Ravensdale in the snow

Overnight last night was less cold, with temperatures only going down to -0.3C, but it was very windy, so there was a lot of rocking and a lot of noise from creaking ropes, fenders knocking against the hull and wind whistling through the rigging of the nearby yachts.

Today (Friday) remains very windy, but there has been no more snow and the temperature has risen to 0C (32F) so I think "the Beast" has almost run his course.

And it’s looking unlikely that Storm Emma, which is affecting the south of England and Wales at the moment, will make it this far north.

I realise that many people reading this will be experiencing much worse weather and colder temperatures than we have here so I really hope you're all managing to stay safe and keep warm.

The calm before the storm

Maryport enjoyed sunshine, clear blue skies and very little wind on Friday of last week and over the weekend.



Sunshine and clear blue skies over Maryport shore on Sunday

However, although the sun felt warm by day, temperatures were pretty cold at night - down to around -1C and the marina had a coating of ice on the water in the mornings, some of which remained throughout the three-day period.

We were awoken on Monday morning by loud scraping noises. This coincided with the opening of the marina gate - as the tide came in it broke up the ice pushing it up against Ravensdale’s hull.

It was also very cold overnight on Monday with snow flurries, including one quite heavy snow shower, during the morning, but it didn’t last.

The swans that frequently visit the marina turned up searching for food

The berth holder who usually feeds them is away from the marina at the moment, but we bumped into him recently and he said we could feed them the floating duck and swan food stored on his boat.

They looked so hungry that I gave them a couple of scoops of food and they gobbled it up in no time, polishing it off before the seagulls turned up in force in an attempt to steal it.



Feeding time for the swans at Maryport Marina

Cleaning our bikes



Treating the rust on the forks on Phil's bike

We made the most of the good weather last weekend to start trying to rescue our bikes that had begun to succumb to the salt in the air here.

We keep them in the marina bike shed, which is unfortunately open to the prevailing wind.

The chrome on the forks and all the other metal bits had become very rusty so we treated them with a rust remover and used a wire brush and wire wool to clean it off.

We then gave them a good wash.

They will need more attention and probably a full service, but at least we’ve made a start on them with the intention of getting out on them in the spring.



Phil scrubbing our bikes before I hosed them off

The parrot and the octopus

Another unusual event during the past week was our Sunday afternoon walk along the coastal path above the shore to Maryport lighthouse in glorious sunshine.

As usual, we got chatting to some of the people fishing from the pier, but this time we also bumped into a guy with a small blue parrot sitting on his shoulder.



Ben the fisherman with his parrot Gerald

The fisherman, who introduced himself as Ben, said he'd brought his pet blue Quaker parrot Gerald with him because the bird would get lonely if he was left home alone.

Ben was happy to have his photo taken with Gerald.

He also let Phil and I hold the parrot for a little while.



Gerald the blue Quaker parrot sitting on my shoulder

Gerald pooped on Phil’s fleece, but thankfully didn’t leave any little presents on my favourite woolly jumper 😊.

We also met a guy called Paul, who is an aquarist at the Aquarium in Maryport.

He was trying to retrieve a net he’d been using to catch crabs to feed to the Aquarium’s octopus.



The spider crab we caught in our prawn pot last month

We told him we caught lots of shore crabs with the prawn net we drop down from our boat in the marina and he asked us to keep them for the octopus.

And, if we catch any more spider crabs, he wants them to include in the displays at the Aquarium.

I love Maryport! Where else could you go for a short walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon and end up with a parrot sitting on your shoulder and agreeing to help feed an octopus? 😊

It made my day. Random experiences like this are one of the joys of our new lifestyle. And, yes, I know, I’m easily pleased 😊

Mending the bimini cover

Ravensdale’s bimini was still up after we'd opened it to check it last week.

I’d been planning to patch the bimini cover, which had become damaged where the straps that secure it in place had rubbed through the fabric, on Monday, then it started snowing and we decided the bimini needed be packed away asap.

We folded it up and were about to put the damaged cover back on and take it off to repair it on the next fine day when it stopped snowing again, so I decided to try to get it done there and then.

Sewing the Sunbrella fabric patches onto the bimini cover was a lot easier than repairing the flybridge cover had been as there was less fabric to manoeuvre through the sewing machine.



Me sewing patches onto the cover for Ravensdale's bimini

I found the easiest way to do this was to sew both ends and one side in one go, then stop before moving the cover along to sew the fourth side.

This meant I could always have the narrow ends of the cover under the machine, making it much easier to work than trying to push the full bulk of the cover through the machine to stitch all four sides in one go.

And we managed to get the bimini packed away in its cover before the real snow arrived.



The bimini wrapped up in its newly repaired cover

Mystery pattern on aft locker



Flower design formed by generator exhaust

On Sunday, I discovered an unusual pattern on the port locker on Ravensdale’s aft deck.

It looked as though someone had carefully drawn a flower on the white gelcoat.

At first, I was totally baffled as to how it got there, then I realised that Phil had started the generator in front of it and the intricate flower pattern had been created by its exhaust. It was so pretty that I just had to photograph it.

Photography fest

I have taken more than a thousand photos this week so will definitely have to start deleting the worst of them – correction, most of them 😊 – very soon or I will run out of space on my laptop.

Meanwhile, here are a few more shots from this week’s photography walks.



Maryport pier viewed through an old groyne on the beach

 

The Aquarium from across Maryport harbour at sunset

 

Sunset across the Solway Firth from Maryport shore

  

Sunset over Maryport Marina

 

Maryport Marina in the snow

 

Ice on the water at Maryport Marina

 

Bridge over the River Ellen leading into Maryport town centre

 

Ellen Footbridge at Maryport harbour in the snow

 

Maryport's Maritime Museum and statue depicting the town's fishing heritage



Maryport pier at sunset with snow approaching from across the Solway Firth