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Ravensdale leaving Maryport early yesterday (Friday) morning |
A brief weather window provided an opportunity to take Ravensdale out on the water yesterday (Friday) for the first time this year.
High winds have plagued this part of the UK for much of the past eight weeks and we had very high winds here in Maryport, Cumbria, again today (Saturday).
But yesterday was much calmer so I took the day off work and we headed out onto the Solway Firth for a fishing trip.
Meanwhile, I checked our records to discover that we took Ravensdale out on the water 37 times during 2019 – an average of once every 9.8 days – not quite the once a week we aim for but not too far off either 😊
First fishing trip of the year
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Calm conditions at Maryport Marina when we got up yesterday (Friday) morning |
The weather has been either wet or windy – usually both - most of the time for weeks, which has stopped us getting out on the water on our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser since November 18.
Over the past week, I could see that the only chance of weather calm enough for a trip out looked likely to be on Friday, but I’m currently working five days a week.
By Thursday, it became obvious that it was probably our only opportunity for at least another week, so I asked my boss for the day off.
When I first started my seasonal job at the factory she said she didn’t mind if I wanted to go out on the boat instead of going to work so I said we’d check the weather in the morning and let her know whether I’d be in or not.
I packed up all the movable stuff inside the boat on Thursday evening, so we’d be ready for a quick getaway if we decided to go.
Yesterday (Friday) morning, we got up at the same time I usually get up for work and I started getting ready while Phil went around to the pier to check the sea state. It was still dark, but he thought it looked OK.
We ate breakfast, fed Ruby and took her out then both went to check the sea in daylight. It wasn’t as calm as we’d hoped but not too bad, so we decided to go anyway.
I messaged my boss to say I was going fishing instead of going to work and she said she hoped we had a good time.
I really can’t believe I have a job, albeit temporary, that allows me to take the day off to go out on the boat if the weather is nice 😊
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Ravensdale leaving Maryport Marina yesterday (Friday) morning |
We left the marina at around 9.20am and headed up the coast towards Allonby Bay.
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Ravensdale leaving Maryport Basin and heading out onto the Solway Firth |
As we hadn’t run the engines for a while, Phil took the speed a little higher than our usual cruising speed of 8-9 knots and ran the engines at speeds of up to 11.4kn on the way there.
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Phil at the helm of Ravensdale |
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Ravensdale on her way to Phil's favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay |
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Ravensdale's wake with Maryport in the distance |
We dropped anchor and Phil set up three fishing rods in the hope of catching one of the larger cod that we’ve seen fishermen catching from the shore in this area in recent weeks.
Sadly, it was not to be.
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Phil setting up his fishing rods |
The water was bumpier than we’d hoped, but I guess it wasn’t really surprising given that it had been very windy on Thursday
Strong winds were also forecast for later yesterday afternoon, throughout the night and into today (Saturday), when the winds were expected to gust up to around 60mph.
The wind started to get up soon after we’d dropped anchor, but Phil persevered with the fishing for a while.
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Phil with the codling he caught on this trip |
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Me enjoying being back out on the water |
It seemed like ages before he even got a bite and the only fish he caught on this trip was one codling, which was thankfully big enough to keep and we ate it for supper with chips, peas and tartare sauce 😊
Ruby seemed quite happy in her cage so we left her there as she wouldn’t really have enjoyed staggering around the deck.
I always set an alarm on my phone for an hour before the marina gate is due to close, as it’s only open for about two and half hours either side of high tide.
However, we didn’t wait until the alarm went off to start packing up.
Ravensdale became stuck across the tide when it turned as the wind was too strong to allow her to swing around to face into the tide.
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Phil's last cast before we packed up to go home |
She was rolling a good bit and the wind was forecast to get stronger still, so we decided to stop fishing, lift the anchor and head for home.
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Phil at the helm of Ravensdale on the way home |
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Ravensdale returning to Maryport |
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Ravensdale heading back into Maryport Marina |
Phil stopped her in the basin on the way back to the marina so I could put mooring ropes on her starboard side and move some of the fenders across as we usually moor up on the port side, but the fuel filling cap is on the opposite side.
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Reg filling up Ravensdale's diesel tank while Phil chats to Evan |
Reg, the marina foreman, met us on the fuel pontoon and put 370 litres of diesel into the tank which topped her 1,200-litre tank back up to full again.
Phil then drove Ravensdale back down to the end of the marina by the sea gate and turned her around there so we could return to our current mooring and tie up on the port side, facing into the prevailing wind.
While he was doing this, I moved the mooring ropes and fenders back across and Reg met us on the pontoon to catch the ropes for us.
It may not have been the most successful fishing trip ever, but it was good to get out on the water again after so long, it gave Ravensdale’s two 300hp Volvo Penta engines a run and it provided our supper 😊
Missed opportunity
Ravensdale (left) at Maryport Marina on New Year's Eve. Photo by Fred Bell |
New Year’s Eve was a beautiful, calm and cold day and one of the few days in the past couple of months that we could’ve taken a trip out.
Many of the boats in the marina went out for a sail or to fish, but Ravensdale was stuck in the marina because I was at work.
When I saw the forecast, I considered asking my boss for the day off as she’d always said she didn’t mind it I wanted to go fishing instead of going to work.
However, I decided to work as I didn’t know how much longer my seasonal job would last and I wanted to put in as much time as I could while I had the chance.
I’m still glad I made the decision I made.
However, it was harder to believe I’d made the right choice when I saw a Facebook post of our boat in the marina with a clear blue sky and flat calm water while I was sat in a factory with no windows eating my packed lunch ☹
Our fourth New Year on Ravensdale
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Ravensdale's Christmas decorations stayed up until Saturday, January 4 |
We saw in the New Year on Ravensdale with a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates and Netflix.
I’m sure it’s not everyone’s idea of celebrating the start of a new year and, in this case, a new decade, but it suited us just fine.
It also meant I got to see in the New Year with Ruby even if she did fall asleep long before the big event.
At the end of each year, I always wonder what we’ll be doing this time next year.
When I asked myself that question on New Year’s Eve 2015, I had no idea we’d be selling our house and buying a boat, which enabled me to retire from my job as a daily journalist in October of the following year.
On each subsequent New Year’s Eve, I’ve wondered if we’ll still be living on Ravensdale next year and, if so, where she’ll be moored.
I certainly never imagined that we’d still be at Maryport Marina more than four years after we bought our boat here and decided to “stay for a while before moving on”.
And, this time last year, I never even considered that I’d be working in a local factory and loving every minute of it.
Now I’m wondering if we’ll still be in Maryport this time next year.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Ruby of Ravensdale
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Ruby in her favourite spot in Ravensdale's saloon |
One of the highlights of last year for me was watching Ruby grow from the timid little puppy we brought home with us just before Christmas 2018 into the beautiful, loving, friendly dog she is today.
I really can’t imagine life without her now. She’s great company, so much fun and I love her to bits.
She’s been having some lovely walks and runs on the beach with Phil while I’ve been at work and I’ve enjoyed joining them on walks at the weekend.
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Ruby playing with Ted, a cocker spaniel, we met while out walking |
Swan family
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The two adult swans and one cygnet on a recent visit to the marina |
The swan family appear to have lost a cygnet.
There were two adults and two young ones but there has only been one cygnet with its parents on recent visits to the marina.
Phil tells me he saw the cygnets with their parents on the Solway Firth shortly before Christmas, but there hasn’t been any sign of it since, which is very sad.
In the news
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The newspaper cutting about my fund-raising effort for Maryport Inshore Rescue |
My fund-raising effort for Maryport Inshore Rescue made it into our local newspaper - the Times and and Star.
The photo of me handing over the £1,120 cheque to the team was printed along with an article stating that it had helped to pay for repairs to the rescue boat after it was damaged while rescuing a fishing boat in the Solway Firth last month.
I have to say, it seemed really weird appearing in a newspaper rather than writing it 😊
Photography
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Looking back at Maryport as we headed out onto the Solway Firth yesterday (Friday) |
I haven’t had a lot of chance to take photos again, partly due to work but also due to the horrible weather when I have been at home.
I took a few photos around the harbour with my mobile phone on the Friday afternoon after Christmas.
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Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour at high tide |
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Maryport Harbour |
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Another view of Maryport Harbour |
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Fishing boats reflected in the still water at Maryport Harbour |
I grabbed a quick shot of the beautiful sunrise that I spotted out of the window while getting ready for work on Friday, January 3.
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Sunrise over Maryport Marina on Friday, January 3 |
As usual, I took some quite a few photos while we were out on the Solway Firth yesterday (Friday).
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Maryport Lighthouse |
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Sun breaking through stormy clouds |
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Maryport Basin |
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Maryport from the Solway Firth |
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Sun reflected in the Solway Firth |
And I took my camera around to the shore around high tide today (Saturday) to capture the big waves whipped up by the high winds.
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Big waves smashing against South Pier at Maryport |
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Wild water on the shore at Maryport |
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A huge wave crashing onto the shore at Maryport |
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Another big wave rolls along the pier |
Weather watch
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The windswept view from Maryport's South Pier at high tide today (Saturday) |
Wind and rain have definitely been the predominant features of the weather over the past fortnight - followed by more wind and more rain.
I’m told there were occasional breaks in the clouds when the sun put in a brief appearance, but I didn’t get to witness these ☹
The worst of the weather was over the weekend of December 27-28 and Thursday, January 2 when the wind was gusting up to 44mph. There was also a lot of heavy rain.
On Monday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 7, we had high winds with gusts of up to 50mph with torrential rain at times.
Overnight Tuesday, January 7 into Wednesday, January 8 was a windy night with average wind speeds of up to 25mph, gusting 34mph.
One of the best days was New Year’s Eve when temperatures dropped to 0C (32F) in the early morning and there was frost on the pontoons first thing.
This was followed by a dry, bright, calm and cold day.
The top temperature was 7C (45F) and the top average wind speed was 16mph at St Bees Head – our nearest weather station - but it was definitely much calmer than that here.
And yesterday (Friday) it was dry, cloudy and calm first thing.
The wind got up as the morning went on and the sun came out for a while around lunchtime.
The wind continued to build during the afternoon and evening with heavy rain after dark.
The top temperature was 7C (45F) and the top average wind speed during the day was 24mph, gusting 33mph.
Overnight last night, the wind speed reached 34mph with gusts of up to 49mph and today (Saturday) was even windier with average wind speeds up to 40mph, gusting 56mph.
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Me wearing my lifejacket on the pontoons during a period of high wind today (Saturday) |
It was so windy that we put on our lifejackets every time we left Ravensdale and went out onto the pontoons.
As the wind began to subside late afternoon, we had a downpour of heavy rain.
