A flight of cormorants and a fluther of jellyfish - wildlife in and around the marina

Cormorants nesting on a navigation mark in the Solway Firth

Ravensdale is looking ship-shape after her prolonged beauty treatment and at long last we've had time to enjoy watching the local wildlife.

It’s so good to be back on the water after 11 weeks on dry land.

We’ve been proper liveaboards again for almost a week now – although we still lived on board all the time Ravensdale was out on the hard-standing, but it really wasn’t the same.

I love being rocked to sleep at night, but hardly notice the rocking by day, except for when it’s blowing a hoolie of course J

Since we moored back alongside the pontoons, Phil has been busy washing and polishing the bits we couldn’t reach while out of the water, such as the transom, which was covered by the scaffolding steps, and the highest parts of the hull that were hard to get to from the ladders we were using.

Cleaning the transom

And it looks as though all our hard work has paid off.

Ravensdale is certainly looking much cleaner, tidier and shinier than she did before we started work on her at the end of February.

So much so that another boat owner here said she looked “almost like new”, which is quite a compliment given that she’s now over 30 years old.

We have also fitted the davits that I cleaned up while out of the water.

These are crane-like devices on the stern of a boat that are used for supporting, lowering and raising a smaller craft.

Securing them in place on their brackets on the transom was an interesting task, especially as we did it on a fairly windy day.

They are large and heavy, which made positioning them for the bolts to be slotted through the brackets extremely difficult.

Phil tied a mooring rope onto the first one and turned it around one of the supports for the bimini - the canvas cover that can be used to shade the aft deck. I was holding onto the other end, but it was impossible to stop the davit swinging while Phil was balanced on the bathing platform trying to get it to sit right on the brackets.

Fixing the davits

He decided it was better to tie the other end to the radar arch, leaving a bit of play in the rope to enable him to position it correctly.

I then handed him the stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers pointing out that he really couldn’t drop them or they would end up in the water and we had no spares. Thankfully he managed not to lose any and they are now securely in place.

Only question now is – do they stay or do they go?

If we keep them, they need new winches as, despite cleaning up the old ones that were all rusted up, they don’t work properly so will need replacing.

The shiny davits that are currently useless

But there is no point doing that unless we're sure that we intend to use them.

Before that decision can be made, we need to get a tender as we've sold the one that was on the boat when we bought it as it was not suitable for use in the sea.

The dinghy we were considering buying from another boat owner here turned out to have a slow puncture that we could not locate. It was also bulkier and heavier than we had wanted so we decided not to purchase it. So now the hunt is on for a new (or nearly new) one.

We have also checked the depth sounder by dropping a weight on a rope over the side of the boat. We then measured the rope and were delighted to find that the length coincided with the figures shown on the depth sounder.

We had a lovely treat yesterday when one of the other boat owners here offered us a trip out on his yacht.

I was at Lidl doing a bit of shopping when Phil called to say that if I could get back asap we could go out with him for a couple of hours. It’s a good 10 minute walk back, but I did it as fast as I could as I certainly didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity.

Maryport from the sea

For the first time in weeks, there was virtually no wind so there was no point in putting the sails up.

We motored out, then drifted around for a while before heading for a navigation mark which has become a popular nesting place for cormorants.

Phil takes the tiller for our trip out in the Solway Firth

Phil took the tiller for much of the time we were out. I got to take a turn when we were heading towards the navigation mark but handed it back to Phil before we got there so I could photograph the nesting birds.

The navigation mark covered in cormorant nests

He slowly steered the yacht around the mark twice so I could get a good view of them.

Just wish I had taken my long lens with me as I would have got a better view of the babies in their nests.

We both really enjoyed the experience.

I also got a chance to put my VHF radio training to good use when I was asked to radio the marina before we left and when we were about to come back in.

Hopefully next time we go out of the marina gate it will be in Ravensdale.

Meanwhile, back at the marina we’ve had some interesting marine visitors.

One day the place seemed to be teaming with jellyfish.

One of the jellyfish that arrived in the marina this week

Two jellyfish just below the surface near our boat

A mauve jellyfish beside the harbour wall

They were of varying sizes and either white or mauve in colour.

The following day they were gone.

Presumably the brackish water in the marina did not suit them and they left on the next tide.

Maryport Marina

Scrubbing, scraping and sanding

Scraping the trim tabs attached to Ravensdale's stern.

The weather has not been kind to us over the past few days.

We had a couple of beautiful days of sunshine after the boat was lifted out of the water last Friday, then the wind and rain arrived making it virtually impossible to get anything done outside.

Not only did the bad weather stop us getting on, but I’ve been unable to do anything much at all since Tuesday night into Wednesday morning when I developed a truly awful stomach upset.

I won’t go into detail, but really not what you want when living on a boat (or at any other time come to that).

Meanwhile, Phil has been pushing ahead with work that needed doing inside, like fitting a servicing kit to the loo that flushes straight out into the water. Obviously, this one is only used while at sea.

He has also been trying to find out why only one of Ravensdale’s two trim tabs is working.

For the uninitiated (which included me until I did the yachtmaster offshore course), trim tabs are movable flat plates connected to the stern of a boat, used to control the angle of the boat in the water without the need for constant manual adjustment of the controls.

The Darth Vader-style mask stops me breathing the antifoul dust

I became very well acquainted with our trim tabs after spending the best part of two days scraping and sanding them before I was struck down with the dreaded lurgy.

For some reason, the port trim tab moves when the controls on the console are operated, but the starboard one refuses to budge.

The hydraulics for the trim tabs are under our bed so Phil had to wait for me to be fit enough to get up before he could get under there to have a look.

And, having done so, we are still none the wiser.

The pipes all seem to contain hydraulic fluid and the motor can be heard operating when switched on, but the starboard trim tab still refuses to budge. It seems further investigation is required.

Checking the hydraulics on the trim tabs through an inspection panel under our bed

Earlier today it was blowing a gale at a time when there was a particularly high tide so we took a trip around to the lighthouse and then out along the prom to see what the waves were doing.

And we were glad we did as we got some fairly dramatic images. The sea was like a bubbling cauldron and enormous waves were crashing against the sea walls.

Waves crashing against the sea wall at Maryport promenade

I got caught by a couple that smashed into the wall close to where I was standing while taking photos. You would think I would have moved after the first one, but I’m not that sensible when it comes to getting the photo I want J

Phil scrubbing the fore deck

Since we got back, Phil has been out cleaning and scrubbing the deck, which is now looking lovely and white. Not sure how long it will stay that way, but it’s definitely looking good for now.

He has also been sanding the starboard side of the hull using 1000 grit wet and dry sandpaper to remove some black marks.

I’m taking today off as I’m still feeling a bit under the weather and want to recover properly before I start doing any hard physical work.

Our newly-arrived radio licences

And anyway it gives me a chance to catch up on my blog.

Almost forgot to mention that our RYA short range certificates permitting us to operate VHF radios turned up in the post this week so we’re all official on that front now.

The weather is supposed to improve over the next few days so I expect we'll both be out scrubbing, scraping and sanding in earnest again very soon...

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday – we have a pterodactyl in the marina!

A sunny day at Maryport Marina.

Having worked as a journalist and a communications officer for the NHS, communicating is something with which I am very comfortable.

But, when it came to communicating with a VHF radio, I was considerably less confident.

Phil and I were determined that we would both take any necessary courses/qualifications relating to our new liveaboard lifestyle so that we would be interchangeable where all things boat related were concerned.

So we both signed up for the day-long VHF radio course that had been arranged at Maryport Marina and were sent two copies of the RYA VHF Handbook to study beforehand.

My copy of the VHF Handbook

We had already arranged to go away for the fortnight before the course, but decided we would still be able to read the book and learn the necessary information while away.

We both worked hard at it and all our studying paid off at the weekend when we passed the VHF Short Range Certificate exam giving us the authority to operate our VHF radio.

All we have to do now is to wait for the certificate, which looks rather like a driving licence, to arrive.

Not so sure about the next planned course though as I know absolutely nothing about diesel engines, except that they can be very useful for getting around J

Seriously though, I once (a very long time ago) tried to work out how to top up the oil in my car by running the oil into the hole the dipstick came out of so I’m not sure I will ever be able to service a 300hp diesel engine let alone the two Volvo Pentas that we have on Ravensdale.

But I’m willing to give it a go.

We were going to go along to a pre-arranged diesel engine maintenance course, but have found someone who is willing to come and do the course on Ravensdale using our own engines so we're planning to go for that option.

Meanwhile, our freezer is still well and truly out of action after the electricity went off while we were away. We returned home to discover its contents had defrosted soon after we left and the boat was filled with the stench of rotting meat.

The freezer is banished to the aft deck while we attempt to stop it stinking

We have tried everything to get rid of the smell and nothing has worked.

It's currently consigned to the aft deck with a fridge and freezer deoderiser inside in the hope it can be saved, but it’s looking less and less likely that it will ever be allowed back indoors.

The properties around Maryport Harbour bathed in evening sunshine

The weather has become very spring-like over the last couple of days, which gave me the chance to do a bit of handwashing and to dry it on the washing line we have rigged up over the aft deck.

Sunny weather and a good breeze provided great drying weather

It has given us a welcome taste of what living on board is going to be like during the warmer weather to come – hopefully J

And I came face to face with the marina’s very own pterodactyl tonight.

Giant bird footprints on the pontoon

Earlier today, I spotted some rather large bird footprints on the pontoon near our boat and photographed them with a 10p piece to give an indication of their size.

I showed them to Phil, who knows far more about birds than I do, and he said they had been left by a heron.

We have often heard one squawking as it flies off, which can be a scary sound in the dark, and I always refer to it as the marina pterodactyl, but I had no idea it had such big feet J

And tonight, as I was walking up to the marina facilities, I suddenly realised it was standing on the pontoon about 15ft in front of me.

I immediately stopped and got my phone out in the hope of getting a photo, but sadly it squawked and flew off before I could snap it.

Three months into our new liveaboard life and we’re still smiling

The sun sets over Maryport Marina.

We now have our Yachtmaster Offshore certificates and are booked for the VHF radio course early next month.

Our Yachtmaster Offshore certificates

The Yachtmaster theory course was pretty full on, but at least doing it that way has enabled us to finish it before we are ready to go to sea, in the spring/summer, which was all part of the plan when we decided to move onto a boat at the start of the winter.

Definitely not part of the plan was being without heating for a month during the coldest part of the year.

Our heater, which kept us so warm during our first two months on board, packed up on January 5.

Initially, we hoped the existing Eberspacher 7 heater could be fixed, but we were told it was beyond repair as the parts were no longer available so we ordered a new Webasto 5 heater on January 11.

We were told the heater had to be ordered from Germany and would take about a week to arrive in the UK. However, a series of delays, including the courier losing the first one that was sent, mean we are still without heat more than a month later.

But we received a call today to say it is now in Carlisle and is due to be fitted tomorrow so hopefully this time tomorrow evening, we will be sitting in a nice warm boat.

Phil checks our electricity consumption

We’ve been very fortunate that the weather has been relatively mild for the time of year, but we have still spent a lot of extra money on electricity and gas in attempt to stop the temperature on board from dropping too low.

Most of the time we have succeeded in this, but we did get up one morning to find the temperature in the main saloon was just 7C.

Now our coursework is over we still have various projects to carry out on the boat, but we are also hoping to find time for more leisure pursuits, such as walking, cycling, fishing and exploring the Lake District.

So far the nearest we have come to fishing is watching other people fish off the pier at Maryport during a Sunday morning walk on the beach.

For once, I took my proper camera with me, rather than taking snaps on my phone, which is what I usually end up doing.

Fishing on the pier at Maryport

The weather wasn’t great for scenic photography, but it made for some moody skies that looked pretty impressive over Iggesund Paperboard’s Workington Mill and the wind turbines that surround it.

Workington Mill from Maryport Pier

We’ve managed to get a few jobs done on the boat in between our studies.

Phil replaces the anchor light

Phil spent hours balanced on a rail on the fly bridge while trying to change the anchor light on a pole on the radar arch.

It was freezing cold and I was feeling really guilty as I had suggested doing that particular task that day, unaware it would take so long because he couldn’t see into the light fitting and had to use a mirror to fit it and to do all the electrical connections.

I stayed on the aft deck to give him moral support, passing him tools and even got him a cushion to reduce the pressure on his chest while leaning against the radar arch, but there was little more I could do.

The funniest part was when a friend later pointed out that we could have dropped the radar arch to carry out the work so Phil’s balancing act was totally unnecessary, which thankfully he found really funny.

We also replaced two more ropes with new ones so we now have a full set of new navy mooring ropes.

And Phil ended up fishing for litter in the marina after bits of plastic and other rubbish started blowing into the water from the building site above us, where a new touring caravan park is under construction.  

Phil's fishing trip

Not quite the type of fishing he had been hoping for, but I’m sure we’ll make up for that very soon.

We had been planning to go tomorrow morning, but that will not be happening now as the heater is supposed to be arriving first thing.

Maybe we will get to go fishing on Thursday or Friday...