Rain stops play and causes more problems on Ravensdale

Wet and windy weather heralds the return of the "typical British summer"

I hate rain!

Yes, I know we need it, but it gets very depressing when it falls out of the sky almost constantly, which is what it feels like we’ve had here in Maryport, Cumbria, UK, over the past week.

The persistent precipitation has meant the hosepipe ban that was due to come into force here on Sunday has been lifted.

But, for us, it has meant more leaks to fix and the frequent downpours, coupled with high winds, have stopped us taking Ravensdale out on the water ☹

Phil inspecting the wastewater pump

Our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser had been watertight since we moved onboard in November 2016.

But the long, hot, dry spell during May, June and the first few weeks of July followed by heavy rain seems to have resulted in one leak after another.

And, that wasn’t the only way water has caused problems for us this week.

The wastewater pump under the floor in the aft cabin became blocked and stopped working, which meant the water from the washbasin in the en suite heads was pouring into the bilges.

On a brighter note, the bad weather has meant that – after a long break – I’ve been getting on with my first attempt at writing a fictional novel and have very nearly finished the first draft.

More leaks! 

Just when we thought we’d sorted the leaking windows on Ravensdale, another one developed a slight leak during the heavy rain overnight last Friday into Saturday.

I discovered water had dripped onto the top of my laptop which sits on the shelf behind the dining table under the window along the back of the dinette.

There wasn’t much water coming in, but any ingress of rain is too much so Phil ran transparent sealer around the top of the window and we’ve had no further water getting in at that point since then.

Phil sealing along the top of the leaking window

Phil drilling a new drainage hole

However, yesterday (Thursday) morning, we discovered water on the floor of the en-suite shower in the aft cabin when it hadn’t been used for months because we use the showers in the marina’s toilet and shower block.

Initially, we thought it had come up through the drain hole when the waste water pump stopped working, but Phil discovered it was running down the wall beneath the steps that lead up to the door on the aft deck.

There was no obvious cause, but he thought it could be due to water building up in the channel in which the heavy metal door slides.

The door is fitted at an angle but looks as though it was designed to be installed upright as the drainage holes in the bottom of the channel are in the middle of what would be the bottom if it were vertical.

As it has been installed at an angle, water can sit in the channel below the drainage holes.

One of the new drainage holes 

When it actually stopped raining yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, Phil drilled drainage holes at the lowest point in the channel at each end of the door and in the middle.

He also cleaned out the channel and, when it dries out, he’s going to try applying sealant along the back, where it meets the frame, in case water is getting in that way.

Oh well, there are worse places for water to be coming in.

At least, there’s nothing for it to spoil or damage in the shower and it will just run away down the drain.

Wally the whale gulper

I heard a strange sound when I pulled the plug out of the wash basin in the en suite heads in the aft cabin on Tuesday morning.

It sounded as though water was going straight into the bilges, so I suggested that Phil might like to take a look.

We then realised that we hadn’t heard Wally working for a while. Wally is my name for the whale gulper 220 water pump that clears the waste water from the wash basin and shower at that end of the boat 😊

Phil lifted the inspection panel in the floor at the foot of the bed to discover that the pump had stopped working and the tank had overflowed into the bilges.

The whale gulper wastewater pump

He found the pump to be clogged up so cleaned it out and pumped out the water that was in the bilges.

He then ran a hose pipe into the water tank, which Wally emptied several times without any problems before Phil cleaned and dried the bilges.

Another job done and all before coffee time 😊

"No fishing allowed"

We’ve been unable to take Ravensdale out fishing this week due to high winds, but probably wouldn’t have wanted to do so anyway when it was raining.

When we’re using diesel to go out on the water, it helps if it’s also fun and fishing in the rain has no appeal for me – Phil may disagree 😊

Meanwhile, it’s so frustrating to see lots of large grey mullet swimming around in the marina and not being able to catch them.

One of the grey mullet in the marina

There’s a “no fishing” rule in the marina and, when we asked why this was, we were told it was due to fears that lost fishing line could become tangled around boat props.

Curtain hooks

Our bedroom curtains were still letting in too much light despite me replacing the existing thin lining material that was on the back of them with blackout fabric.

They were much better than before, but light was pouring in under the curtains and down the sides where they hung away from the walls.

Light shining out from under the bedroom curtains

One of the elastic loops on its hook

We didn’t fancy permanently attaching them at the bottom of the curtains, so I tried a simple idea that seems to have worked.

I sewed elastic loops level with the top of the hem on each curtain far enough in from the ends to pull them fairly tight when they’re stretched over hooks in the walls on either side.

The hooks were placed higher than the point at which the curtain hung when loose to pull them in under the portlights and the knobs that fasten them, which protrude into the room.

The loops are on the back of the curtains so are not visible when the curtains are open and the hooks are neat and unobtrusive.

The curtain hooked up blocking out the light

As I said, a very simple fix but it seems to have reduced the amount of light that comes in around them to a level which no longer wakes us at sunrise.

Rescuing our bikes

During a brief dry spell on Monday, Phil set about cleaning our bikes with oxcalic acid.

Phil painting his bike with oxcalic acid

All the time we were living in houses on dry land, our bikes have been safely stored in sheds or garages.

When we moved onto our boat, there was no way of storing them out of the weather and here we have the added problem of salt in the air.

Unfortunately, the marina’s bike shelter is open to the prevailing winds and both bikes had succumbed to quite a lot of rust.

Phil came to the conclusion that we either had to get them sorted or take them to the tip.

We’d already tried cleaning them with all sorts of products without success, so the oxcalic acid was a bit of a last resort.

It made a big improvement, but the gears on Phil’s bike refused to work so we’ve taken it in for a service.

The plan is to do the same with mine, then get out and use them more even if they don’t look as good as they did before.

Marina hoist breaks down

The marina’s boat hoist broke down while lifting our neighbour’s boat out of the water on Tuesday.

The MPM boat hoist comes to the rescue of the marina's hoist

MPM boat yard’s hoist was brought in to help. Fortunately, the boatyard is right next to the maina, at the top of the slipway, so it didn't have far to come.

The problem occurred just weeks after the marina hoist had been out of action for its annual service.

Reg, the marina foreman, later explained that it was due to a broken hose, which they were able to get fixed the same day.

Feeding time at Ravensdale

The swans arrived for food again when the marina gate opened on Monday morning and returned to the boat for a couple of feeds again while they were here.

However, they forgot to leave before the gate closed again as the tide was going out, which meant they were stuck in the marina for at least another seven hours.

The swan family feeding by Ravensdale's bow

When night time fell, they went over and laid on the marina slipway until the gate opened again and they could make good their escape.

I looked out to see them on the slipway on several occasions and one of the adults always appeared to be on sentry duty while the rest of the family slept.

One adult swan stays awake while the others sleep on the marina slipway

They paid us regular visits over the next few days but were unable to get in when the gate was kept closed on a couple of occasions due to a big swell.

They were back looking for food when the gate opened yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.

One of the cygnets

And it looks as though I’m going to have to mug up on the life cycle and habits of the mute swan as passers-by, who see me feeding them, frequently ask questions to which I don’t know the answer, or at least not yet…

Missing our garden…or maybe not 😊

One of the things I thought we would really miss when we decided on a life afloat was having a garden.

Gardening had always been a big hobby for both of us and we’ve landscaped many gardens, but never stayed in the houses long enough to see them come to fruition.

Weed seeds near the marina

However, when I see all the weed seeds that are flying around here at this time of year, I’m very glad that none of them will be settling in our garden, giving us hours of back-breaking weeding ahead.

Also, the long, dry spell we’ve had in recent months has had gardeners tearing their hair out and praying for rain for their precious lawns and plants.

We had no such worries as the only plants we have to look after are our houseplants (or rather boatplants), which demand very little care and attention.

I’m pretty sure Phil doesn’t miss cutting the grass, especially as some of the gardens we’ve had in the past were a good size and therefore pretty time-consuming on the mowing front.

And, as he always says: “We may not have a garden, but we’ve got a blooming great pond.” 😊

Ravensdale sitting on our lovely big pond

Me deadheading the flowers in the marina's planters

Meanwhile, we got a chance to brush up on our gardening skills yesterday (Thursday) when we offered to deadhead the bedding plants in the pots outside the marina facilities to keep them flowering for longer.

My first foray into fiction

Writing a fictional novel is a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be.

I’ve spent all of my adult life, except for the time I spent at home caring for my children when they were small, writing for a living as a journalist and as a communications officer with a health board.

I spent many years working from home and have never had a problem with being distracted from my work – admittedly that was before I lived on a boat and there seem to be more distractions here than there were in a house 😊

Me trying to finish the first draft of my book on yet another wet day

Anyway, I really thought my background would make writing a book a doddle.

I relished the idea of being able to make it up as I went along, rather than having to stick to the facts (and, yes, this journalist really did stick to the facts 😊)

But it has proved to be so much harder than I expected.

I had what I thought was a good idea for the plot of a psychological thriller and thoroughly enjoyed the research involved and the satisfaction of finishing another chapter.

I set off at a good pace and got more than three-quarters of the way through it before I ran out of steam.

This was partly due to the glorious sunshine that made it very hard to want to stay inside writing when I really didn’t have to, but mainly due to realising how difficult it is to write an ending.

I now have five possible endings and I think I’m going to have to write them all before I decide which one works best.

And, if that doesn’t work, I'll go back to the beginning and read it all again in the hope it will become obvious which ending I should use. 

Or I may do that while working on the next draft. 

Sunsets and dramatic skies

I took my camera out for a walk along the shore and around the marina just before the rain started on Friday evening.

Wildflowers on the coastal path at Maryport

Sun breaking through the clouds over the Solway Firth

The light on the ground wasn’t great, but I managed to get a few shots of some dramatic clouds and the last rays of sunshine breaking through between them.

And, on Monday night, I popped out with my camera when I saw the sky start to colour up a bit in the hope of getting some nice sunset photos.

What I got was a very different sunset to those we've seen during the long spell of warm, dry weather we've had here in Maryport this summer.

The Solway Firth is well known for its colourful sunsets, which can be truly stunning.

Tuesday night's sunset was considerably less colourful but, what it lacked in colour, it made up for with dramatic cloud formations.

And the heavy rain over the previous few days left a number of large puddles that provided some good reflections.

Reflections in a puddle on Maryport pier at sunset

Another view of Monday night's sunset at Maryport

Wet and windy weather

I think we were totally spoilt by the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying at Maryport in Cumbria for most of the summer.

We should be used to wet and windy weather at this time of year, but the warm, sunny days and equally balmy nights had lulled us into a false sense of security and duped us into believing we were living in a much more temperate climate.

So, the wind and rain over the past week was something of a rude awakening.

Maryport last Friday - the last day of fine weather before the rain arrived

We had heavy rain overnight Friday into Saturday and it was still tipping it down, albeit very calm, when we got up. The rain stopped and the wind blew up during the morning, but it was pouring again by lunchtime and the rest of the day was punctuated by heavy showers.

The highest temperature was 17C (63F) at 7am and the top average wind speed was 31mph, gusting 46mph, at 1pm.

Soggy Sunday at Maryport Marina

We had more rain overnight and throughout the day on Sunday when the top temperature was 16.1C (61F) and the highest average wind speed was 28mph, gusting 41mph.

Monday started wet before changing to a mixture of sunshine and showers, but it remained very windy until the evening with a top average wind speed of 21mph, gusting 30mph. The highest temperature recorded locally was 17.3C (63F).

A brief period of calm weather on Monday evening

It looked as though Tuesday was going to buck the trend when we woke up to dry and fairly bright conditions, but the cloud soon started to build and it remained overcast throughout the afternoon.

The top temperature was 17C (63F) and the top average wind speed reached 26mph, gusting 37mph.

The marina gate was left closed at lunchtime on Tuesday due to the weather and a big swell, but Ravensdale was still rocking well during the afternoon.

Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday continued windy with lots of creaking from our mooring ropes. The top night-time wind speed was 23mph, gusting 34mph.

Wednesday started dry and fairly bright, but it soon clouded over and started raining mid-afternoon. The high winds continued all day with a top average speed of 19mph, gusting 33mph, and the highest daytime temperature recorded locally was 16.5C (62F).

Wet Wednesday at Maryport Marina

It was raining first thing yesterday (Thursday) and remained wet until around lunchtime when the rain stopped but it stayed overcast. The top daytime temperature was 16C (61F) with the average wind speed peaking at 16mph.

And, so far, today (Friday) the weather has been...yes, you guessed right - wet. It was spitting first thing and now it's pouring with rain ☹ 

Sleeping more soundly thanks to our new high water alarm and blackout curtains

The new high water alarm in Ravensdale's engine room bilges

Fitting a high water alarm in Ravensdale’s engine room means we will now be alerted if a significant amount of water collects in her bilges.

The move was part of the response to our horrible experience earlier this year when the stern gland on the port prop shaft of our Neptunus 133 developed a nasty leak.

This led to a rising water level in the bilges, which we only discovered by chance.

We fitted an automatic bilge pump soon after the incident and will now sleep more soundly thanks to our new high water alarm.

Lining our bedroom curtains with blackout fabric has also helped to stop the early morning sun waking us earlier than we would like.

Meanwhile, the swan family returned to Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK, yesterday (Thursday) in search of food.

High water alarm

Phil has this week fitted the high water alarm we ordered a couple of weeks ago to make sure we didn’t experience a repeat of the situation we faced when Ravensdale’s port stern gland sprang a leak.

The leaking stern gland on Ravensdale's port prop shaft

At that stage, both our bilge pumps had to be manually switched on and we discovered the problem by chance late at night.

As that was the first time we’d experienced a leaking stern gland, we needed assistance with sorting the problem and couldn’t summon help until the morning, so Phil had to get up every two hours to manually switch on the bilge pump in the engine room.

The following morning a local man, who keeps his family’s fleet of fishing boats running, came along and sorted the problem. He helpfully explained what he was doing and showed us how to do it ourselves.

All that was needed was to tighten the bolts on the stern gland a little to compress the packing.

We immediately fitted an automatic bilge pump and, more recently, ordered the high water alarm as a “belt and braces” solution.

This means that, if we get a leaking stern gland again, not only will we have an alarm to warn us of rising water in the engine room and an automatic pump to clear the water, we will also be able to stop the leak ourselves.

We’re also going to have a look at whether the stern glands need repacking the next time we get Ravensdale out of the water.

Phil connecting up the cables to the high water alarm

Phil fitted the float switch for the alarm in the engine room bilges and connected up cables to the light and loud speaker above the console in the saloon.

He has set it higher than the level at which the automatic bilge pump kicks in, so it will hopefully only alert us to a real high water situation.

Put that light out!

Phil came up with a novel solution to the problem of light streaming through the portlights in our bedroom and waking us up well before sunrise.

The curtains that were on Ravensdale when we bought her were not thick enough to block the light so, as a temporary fix, he stretched the waistband of his black running tights around one portlight and fastened his cycling tights on the other one.

Our unusual blackout blinds

This looked hilarious as it meant there were two pairs of legs hanging out below the curtains on the port side of the boat, which faces east when we're moored up, but it worked so we’ve been doing it every night since.

Meanwhile, we ordered some blackout fabric and this week I got around to using it to replace the linings on the bedroom curtains.

I unpicked the old cotton linings (which have been saved as cloths for use in the engine room), cut new linings from the blackout fabric, used the sewing machine to sew them along the tops and down the sides of the curtains then hemmed them by hand.

Me sewing the hem on the bedroom curtains

The curtains are only very short but feel much heavier with their new linings and hang better than they did before.

As for cutting out the light, they are a partial success. No light comes through the curtains now, but light still gets in beneath them where they hang away from the wall.

I’m either going to have to fix them back to the wall in some way or find another way to cover the portlights to stop the light getting in.

But at least the work I’ve done so far has achieved enough to mean we no longer have to have two pairs of legs hanging out from under the curtains every night 😊

Where have all the fishies gone?

We seem to be going through a quiet spot on the fishing front in the Solway Firth at Maryport, Cumbira, UK, at the moment.

And one man who runs a local fishing club suggested the lack of mackerel could be because there were more jellyfish about than usual.

One of the jellyfish we saw on a recent fishing trip

We don’t know if this is the reason, but we only caught one dogfish on our fishing trip last week, despite trying various baits and fishing methods, and other fishermen are reporting an equally dry period.

We haven’t been out fishing for more than a week now, partly due to the marina gate opening times coinciding with the windier parts of the day and partly because of the lack of fish.

We’re hoping things will pick up again soon and that our next fishing trip will be more successful.

The man who issued the warning about jellyfish said they had been using four rods with different feathers at different depths but didn’t catch a single mackerel.

He wrote: “Billions of jellyfish on the sounder and the feathers and anchor chain covered with their stinging tentacles – not surprisin’ the mackerel R stayin’ away.”

And he suggested that gloves should be warn when handling anchor ropes and chains in case their venomous tentacles have become caught up in them.

We have a windlass to bring in the anchor chain, but if ever have to handle it for any reason, we’ll take his advice as we really don’t want to suffer jellyfish stings.

Rescue of stranded children

Emergency service vehicles rushed to Maryport shore on Sunday afternoon with blue lights flashing and sirens wailing.

Emergency vehicles parked by Maryport pier

We were about to leave the marina for a walk along the shore when we saw and heard three police vehicles and a fire engine heading along the road beside the marina towards the lighthouse.

As we walked along the path by the sea wall, we could see the emergency vehicles parked by south pier.

An ambulance also arrived at the scene.

We later heard that two children, who clambered onto rocks by the end of the pier at low tide, became cut off by the rising tide.

Maryport Coastguard Rescue Team issued a statement saying two casualties were removed from the water by Cumbria Police.

It said the casualties were checked over and placed in a police van to keep warm until the ambulance arrived.

The ambulance arrives at Maryport pier

The mother of one of the youngsters later posted on Facebook that her daughter and friend were rescued from the water by “a fabulous police officer”.

We were very pleased to hear that both children were safe and well.

Unusual Facebook request that nearly killed me 😊

I recently received a request on Facebook from someone who lives in Nottingham asking me to take a photo of the house in Maryport where his Nan used to live showing its proximity to the sea.

He said he used to spend his school holidays there as a child and asked me to take the photo from a certain location showing his Nan’s old house and the sea so he could show it to his partner.

I had no idea who he was but could see no reason not to do as he’d asked as it wasn’t really going to be a chore – or so I thought.

When I got there, I discovered that his Nan’s house was in the middle of a terrace on the opposite side of the road from the sea and the green he wanted the photo taken from was beyond the end of the terrace on the same side of the road as the house.

I decided the solution was to take four photos from different angles, including a panoramic image from the green showing the end of the terrace and the sea as I didn’t have a wide enough lens to get it all in one shot.

The row of terraced houses I was asked to photograph

They aren’t the most artistic photos I’ve ever taken, but he seemed to be happy with them, which made my day 😊

The worst part of the exercise was that I tried to take the photos on the way to a hair appointment with little time to spare.

To check I was in the right place, I asked one person I met if I was on the right street. He wasn’t sure and knocked on the door of a woman living nearby to ask for more information.

I then had to explain what I was doing.

The householder wanted to know who the name of the man's Nan, but I didn’t know the answer to that one.

She started to tell me some of the history of the street and normally I would have been interested to listen but had to make my excuses as I was getting late.

After hurriedly taking the photos, I realised I had just four minutes to get up to the town for my appointment.

Another shot of the terraced house showing its proximity to the sea

I decided a long zigzag flight of steps, known as Market Steps, would be the quickest route and nearly gave myself a heart attack trying to hurry up 108 steps – that’s if I didn’t lose count when I felt as though I was dying and ended up having to haul myself up the last 20 or so steps using the handrail.

I was just two minutes late getting to the hairdressers, but I was puffing and blowing like a steam train 😊

Market Steps at Maryport

I went back to have another look at the steep steps and to take some photos of them on Tuesday.

This time, I paced myself and was in less of a state when I reached the top, but it's definitely not something to hurry or to tackle on a very warm day.

I counted the steps again and there are definitely 108 of them.

I'm considering doing them regularly as a form of exercise but have a feeling that would result in one of three outcomes - I'll either fall and break my neck, have a heart attack as a result of the exertion or end up very fit.

The trouble is that I'm not sure which is the most likely outcome so the jury's out on that one at the moment 😊

View from the top of Market Steps

Another shot of the view from the top of the 108 steps

Photographing Maryport

As usual the marina and harbour proved popular subjects for my photographic outings this week, partly because I totally love boats and partly because they're quite literally on my doorstep 😊

Maryport Harbour at low tide

But I also enjoy taking photos around the town in Maryport and took advantage of a walk up to town for a hair appointment last Friday afternoon to get some more street scenes.

Looking down Shipping Brow towards the Solway Firth

On Sunday evening, there were some great reflections in the water that were just crying out to be snapped.

Reflections at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK

The marina building in Maryport

A short walk along the shore to the lighthouse and back along the side of the marina on Monday afternoon provided more photographic opportunities. These included a man collecting peeler crabs for fishing bait from plastic pipes he'd buried in the mud in Maryport Basin.

Two people and a dog enjoying a sunny day on Maryport beach

A man collecting peeler crabs in Maryport Basin

There was also a beautiful sunset on Monday evening. I was of two minds as to whether to go out and photograph it and eventually decided, just in time, that it was too good to miss.

Maryport lighthouse at sunset

And a walk up to town for a bit of shopping on Tuesday was another excuse to try to get some different shots around the town.

Fleming Square at Maryport

It was on this trip that I discovered the impressive architecture we have here in Maryport.

There are some lovely old buildings, monuments and sculptures around the town.

Crosby Street in Maryport

Senhouse Street in Maryport

Shipping Brow in Maryport

These, together with the shore, the harbour and the marina make the north Cumbrian town a photographer’s paradise IMHO 😊

Marina wildlife

We saw the swan family in the marina for the first time in nearly a fortnight yesterday (Thursday).

And they headed towards me as soon as I rattled their tub of floating duck and swan food.

I was really pleased to see that the three cygnets are still alive and seem to be thriving as they were much bigger than the last time we saw them.

Me feeding the swan family

The swan family waiting for another feed

The cygnets enjoying their food

Although a bumper crop of jellyfish are being blamed for the poor mackerel fishing so far this summer, we’ve seen far fewer in the marina than were around by this time last year.

Until yesterday (Thursday), the odd ones I’d seen always seemed to appear when I didn’t have my camera with me.

I tried to take a couple of snaps with my mobile phone, but it really doesn’t take good photos especially if I try to zoom in on something.

A compass jellyfish at Maryport Marina

Thankfully, I discovered one close to Ravensdale yesterday and it stayed long enough for me to fetch my camera and take a few photos of it.

Meanwhile it looks as though the pigeons nesting in the drainage hole in the harbour wall near Ravensdale may have produced two young.

There have been four pigeons going in and out of the hole this week – the usual pair and two others that look smaller and slimmer. One is also much darker in colour than its usual inhabitants.

One of the new arrivals

The other new inhabitant of the drainage hole

They look like young birds so I’m hoping it means the pair that have been trying to breed in the hole since the spring finally managed to raise a brood.

More sunny summer weather

The warm summer weather continues making us wonder if we really are in the north of England.

This just doesn’t happen here or at least it hasn’t for many years, not that I'm complaining 😊

The only down side to the weather over the past week is that the wind speed has been 10mph or more at the times when the marina gate was open so we haven't been able to take Ravensdale out to play on the water.

Saturday was sunny and warm with a top temperature of 20C and a top average wind speed of 10mph.

Sunny intervals on Sunday at Maryport Marina

Sunday started a bit cloudy. The clouds continued throughout the morning with sunny intervals, but it got very warm when the sun came out during the afternoon with the mercury rising to 22C (72F) and average winds speeds of up to 13mph.

Monday morning was a little overcast, but it soon got warm again even though it was a bit cloudier than of late. The highest daytime temperature recorded locally was 19.1C (66F).

The top temperature on Tuesday was 19.7C (67F) with the average wind speed peaking at 13mph. It felt very warm again, particularly up in the town, but the sea breeze made it feel more comfortable in the marina.

Another sunny day at Maryport Marina on Tuesday

Wednesday was another bright and sunny day with a good breeze. The temperature reached 19.7C (67F) with a top average wind speed of 11mph.

Just for a change, yesterday (Thursday) was warm and sunny 😊 The highest temperature recorded at St Bees Head was 19.3C (67F), but it felt much warmer here despite the wind, which peaked at 10mph.

Sun-baked grasses on the shore at Maryport on Thursday

Today (Friday) started wet with a short spell of heavy rain – the first real rain for weeks. The weather brightened up as the day went on with a top temperature of 16.6C (62F).