Our first trip out on the water this year after almost two months stuck in the marina

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

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 😊

Ravensdale leaving Maryport Marina yesterday (Friday) morning

We left the marina at around 9.20am and headed up the coast towards Allonby Bay.

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.

Phil at the helm of Ravensdale

Ravensdale on her way to Phil's favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay

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.

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.

Phil with the codling he caught on this trip

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.

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.

Phil at the helm of Ravensdale on the way home

Ravensdale returning to Maryport

And we were back in the marina at around midday after just over two and a half hours out on the Solway Firth.

As we’d been meaning to top up Ravensdale’s diesel tank for some time, but the weather hadn’t been good, we decided to fill her up on the way back to our mooring.

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.

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

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

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.

Ruby playing with Ted, a cocker spaniel, we met while out walking

Swan family

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

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

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.

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour at high tide

Maryport Harbour

Another view of Maryport Harbour

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.

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).

Maryport Lighthouse

Sun breaking through stormy clouds

Maryport Basin

Maryport from the Solway Firth

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.

Big waves smashing against South Pier at Maryport

Wild water on the shore at Maryport

A huge wave crashing onto the shore at Maryport

Another big wave rolls along the pier

Weather watch

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.

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.

Our fourth Christmas afloat, Ruby’s operation and more boat maintenance

Ravensdale's Christmas lights reflected on the still water at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK

I can’t believe we’ve just spent our fourth Christmas on Ravensdale at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK.

That said, I’m not sure if it feels like longer or less time since we moved on board our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser 😊

I also can’t believe it’s almost a month since I last published a blog post, but my time seems to have been taken up with working full-time and dealing with orders for the calendars I had printed to raise money for our local inshore rescue team.


Christmas on Ravensdale

Ravensdale decorated for Christmas

Wet and windy weather meant we didn’t manage to get our Christmas lights up until much later than usual this year.

We put coloured fairy lights around the guard rails on the Saturday before Christmas but ran out of daylight before we could finish the job.

We had intended to add more lights on the flybridge the following day but didn’t get time to do it before the weather broke, so we decided to leave it as it was.

Some of the colourful lights on Ravensdale's aft deck

We couldn’t use the Christmas tree we had as Ruby sleeps where we put it last year and, at four-foot, it was too tall to put anywhere else on the boat so we bought a little three-foot tree and even then I had to bend the top over 😊

Christmas cards and our little Christmas tree in Ravensdale's saloon

The other liveaboards in our marina went away to stay with family for Christmas so Phil and I were the only ones here on our boat for Christmas.

And there was only one member of the marina staff on duty, so we invited Evan to join us for dinner, which we timed for just after he had closed the marina’s sea gate.

Phil managed to cook a full Christmas dinner on Ravensdale’s little stove, with the help of our air fryer and microwave so we had turkey with all the trimmings followed by Christmas pudding with brandy butter and cream.

It was so good that we’d eaten it all before I even thought about taking a photo 😊

The star and twinkling icicle lights in the window of Ravensdale's saloon

Ruby can be a bit of nuisance when people visit us on the boat as she wants to jump up at them and play with them.

I had tried to stop this by saving her Christmas presents until Evan arrived and, to an extent, it worked.

Ruby with the new treat ball that she destroyed in about 10 minutes 😊

Ruby with her new lickimat

I managed to distract her with her new toys and chews for a while, but, from time to time, she discovered he was still here and had another go at jumping up at him. Thankfully Evan likes dogs 😊

Ruby and I on Boxing Day

Charity calendars raise over £1,000

Me presenting the cheque to Maryport Inshore Rescue team

I was delighted to be able to present a cheque for £1,120 to members of the Maryport Inshore Rescue team last Sunday.

This was the profit from the sale of calendars featuring some of my photos of Maryport harbour, the shore and the town.

I sold the calendars for £10 each with every penny, other than the cost of printing, postage and packing, going to our local rescue team, which is independent of the RNLI and HM Coastguard.

The cover of my Maryport calendar for 2020

It is totally reliant on donations and sponsorship to keep this life-saving operation running.

When I decided to produce the calendar, I was only going to order 25 and hoped I might be able to raise as much as £100 for the inshore rescue team.

It proved far more popular than I expected, and I ended up having four batches printed and selling a total of 226 calendars.

We obviously have a personal reason for supporting our inshore rescue team.

We hope we will never need to call on them for help but it’s good to know they’re there if we do need them.

Another image of Maryport Inshore Rescue boat at this year's trawler race

Posting the cheque presentation on Facebook, the team’s operations manager Michael Messenger wrote: “We would like to thank Sue and everyone who bought the calendars for this amazing amount of money.

“It’s very much appreciated and really does make a huge difference.

“As an independent organisation, fundraising is absolutely vital so thank you all once again.”



Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby looking sorry for herself after her operation

We took Ruby to the vet to have her spayed on Tuesday, December 3 and this time they were able to go ahead with the operation.

This was our fourth attempt to have her neutered. The first time, she became unwell with a tummy upset the night before.

It was put off for a week, but she still had a bad stomach so it was put off for another a week by which time she’d started her second season so we had to wait another couple of months as it needs to be done mid-cycle.

And this time Ruby was fit and well and able to have the operation that will prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Ruby having a cuddle with Phil after her op

She loves going to the veterinary surgery so that wasn’t a problem and she happily went off into a back room with the vet when we left her there at around 10.15am.

We got a call to say she’d had the op and everything had gone well at about 2.30pm and went to collect her straight away.

She was a little drowsy when we brought her home in her little romper suit that stopped her from licking and chewing the wound on her tummy.

She whined a lot during the first evening but slept well and seemed much brighter the following day.

The most difficult part was stopping her climbing up and down the boarding steps and all the steps inside the boat. We lifted her wherever she wanted to go being very careful not to lift her under her tummy.

We also tried to keep her quiet and stop her leaping around for two weeks, as the vet had recommended, but she was back to her usual self after a couple of days and it was practically impossible to stop her jumping.

Ruby looking cute in her romper suit

Ruby trying to persuade Phil to share his food

We checked this with the vet, who said to let Ruby do whatever she was happy doing and she had no trouble at all after the op.

She went for her final post-operative check-up about 10 days after surgery and the vet was pleased with the way it had healed up.

We’re both very glad it is over and done and Ruby is fine now.

I'd been a bit bothered about whether living on a boat would make her recovery more difficult, but it wasn’t really a problem at all.

Ruby with a stick she found on one of her walks

Since she got over the operation, Ruby has had lots of lovely walks with Phil while I’ve been at work, with runs on the beach whenever the weather and the number of other dog walkers permits.

Ruby waiting for me to take a photo of the harbour

She has also accompanied me on walks around the harbour with my camera and still waits patiently while I take photos.


Servicing the pump on the black water tank 

The pump on Ravensdale's holding tank

The pump on our black water tank didn't seem to be working properly the last time we took Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth.

Phil took a look at it when we got back and discovered that one of the valves wasn't working so he ordered a service pack and serviced the pump while I was at work.

Everything seems to be OK now but we won't be able to try it until the next time we take our boat out on the water.




New TV aerial

Ravensdale's new TV aerial fitted on her radar arch

Our old TV aerial hasn't been working properly for some time.

We were getting frequent interruptions to the signal and turning the aerial around didn't help.

Phil checked the coaxial socket discovered that water had got into it causing it to rust.

So he ordered a new aerial and fitted it while I was at work.

We're now getting a much better signal and more channels than we had before.


My return to the world of work

Me ready for my work Christmas do

I’ve been working full-time at Chimney Sheep for the last couple of weeks because we’ve been so busy filling orders for draught excluders for chimneys and boot insoles made of sheep’s wool, among other items.

Getting up early in the morning to go to work is never easy at this time of year but it helps that I enjoy my work when I get there.

At first, I was coming home with a backache after being on my feet for most of the day, but my body seems to have got used to it now and my back is fine.

And I’ve enjoyed the Christmas celebrations at work.

On Friday, December 13, I went along to our work’s Christmas do at Shill’s Restaurant in nearby Cockermouth, where there was a lovely atmosphere and the food was delicious.

The following Friday, a local caterer delivered a festive spread at lunchtime, courtesy of a wholesaler we supply in the US.

And, later that afternoon, Santa and the Grinch turned up at the factory with presents for all of us. Thanks to the same wholesaler.

Our work Christmas do at Shill's Restaurant in Cockermouth

Santa and the Grinch distributing presents at my workplace

Our boss gave us a paid day off on Christmas Eve and left a lovely present for each of us under the Christmas tree in the warehouse.



My new mobile phone

The first photo I took with my new phone - taken without flash in a dark room

I now have a Google Pixel 3a that takes much better photos than my old phone, which was a Huawei P10 lite.

I always struggle with changing my phone but I’m getting used to it now with a little bit of help from my younger work colleagues 😊

The photos are so much better than I was getting with my old phone, which means there’s no excuse for missing a photo of anything.


Photography

My photography opportunities have obviously been curtailed by the amount of time I’ve spent at work as it is dark when I get home in the afternoon.

However, I’ve still managed to get out with my camera whenever I get the chance and my mobile phone is always on hand if I don't have my camera with me.

Here’s a selection of some of the photos I’ve taken over the past month…

Maryport shore looking towards south pier with the Scottish hills in the distance

Looking in the opposite direction along the shore

Waves rolling along the pier at Maryport

Reflections on the still water in Maryport Harbour

A calm day at Maryport Harbour

Maryport Basin at sunset

Stormy skies over Maryport's south pier

Choppy water in the harbour at Maryport

Another view of the harbour on a windy day

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour on Christmas Day

Colourful fishing boats in the harbour

More colourful fishing boats in the harbour

Reflections on the still water at Maryport Marina

More reflections at Maryport Marina

Stormy weather

Big waves whipped up by high winds on the shore at Maryport on December 8 

As this blog post covers a longer period than usual, I decided against recording the weather for each individual day.

However, we’ve had a lot of very wet and windy weather over the past month, so I really haven’t missed much by working full-time.

Ironically, the weather was considerably worse before and after Storm Atiyah - the first named storm of the UK storm season - than it was during the storm itself.

The strong winds associated with the storm, which swept across western Ireland, Wales, south-west England and the south coast during the evening of Sunday, December 8 into Monday, December 9, hardly affected us in the north-west.

But either side of this we had winds gusting up to almost 50mph.

Ice on the water at Maryport Marina on Saturday, November 30

We’ve had a few very cold spells, with ice on the water in the marina and on the pontoons.

Early in December, overnight temperatures fell below zero and we had to put anti-slip snow grips on our shoes so we could walk safely on the pontoons, but the cold snap was short-lived and it wasn’t long before the milder wet and windy weather returned.

Sunshine and an almost clear blue sky at Maryport Marina on Christmas Day

Christmas Day was the first good weather we’d had for weeks – the sun shone, there was very little wind and it was fairly mild with a top temperature of 6C (43F).

But Boxing Day (yesterday – Thursday) was grey and damp again with heavy rain late morning and around lunchtime.

Heavy cloud over Maryport Marina before the rain arrived yesterday (Thursday)

And, so far today (Friday) the weather has been calm, but wet.


Happy New Year!

I hope everyone reading this had a very merry Christmas and that you have a very happy and prosperous New Year.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.

However, if I did, it would be to get back to writing a weekly blog post again as I like keeping a record of what we’ve been up to onboard and hopefully some of you enjoy reading it too 😊