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.

Problems in Ravensdale's engine room…and our car is off the road

Phil disconnecting the old calorifier in Ravensdale's engine room after it developed a fault

This week has been one of those weeks that leaves us wondering what’s next as one thing after another has gone wrong.

First, Phil noticed we had diesel leaking from one of the taps on Ravensdale's diesel tank.

Then he discovered water apparently leaking from the bottom of the starboard engine on our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser.

As if that wasn’t enough, our car started making a horrible noise while we were out on a shopping trip on Tuesday and is now in the garage for repair so we’re carless until we get it back, hopefully on Monday.

And the cover that normally protects our dinghy’s outboard motor from the weather has disappeared – presumably blown away.

But we’re still smiling, honest 😊

Engine room problems        

Ravensdale's engine room

The first time we realised there was a problem was when the automatic bilge pump went off for no apparent reason just before we went to bed on Saturday night.

Phil went down into Ravensdale’s engine room to find out what was happening and had a nasty shock when he discovered water dripping from the bottom of her starboard engine, well, not just dripping, more of a slow but steady flow.

We had no idea what was causing it and thought it could be something fairly serious.

We knew the automatic bilge pump was well able to deal with the amount of water that was going into the bilges so decided to go to bed and investigate it properly in the morning.

We also noticed that the domestic water pump was going off when there was no water running from any of the taps on the boat.

Water leaking around the heat exchanger cap after the overflow pipe had been reattached

When Phil took a closer look, he discovered that the water was coming from the overflow by the heat exchanger cap, only the overflow pipe had come off, so the water was pouring over the side of the engine.

He put the pipe back on, but we had no idea why the water was overflowing all the time.

The old calorifier fixed to the inside of the hull alongside the starboard engine

Further investigations revealed that the problem was the calorifier – the heat exchanger which heats our domestic hot water indirectly by circulating it over a heating coil.

It turned out that there was a hole in the coil, which contains hot water from the engine. This meant that, when the engine was stopped and pressure was released, the domestic water, which was under pressure, was being forced into the engine's cooling system.

And we think this must have been happening over many months.

For a long time now, I’ve been questioning why the water wasn’t staying hot for as long as it used to after we’ve had the immersion heater switched on and also why the water wasn’t as hot as it used to be after we’d had the engines running.

I’d also been commenting on the amount of electricity we’ve been using over recent months, which has been more like our usual winter consumption than the amount we normally use in the summer.

All these things made sense when we discovered that our hot water had been flowing away, which meant the hot water tank was being topped up with cold water, so we were needing to heat it up more often.

It became obvious that we had no choice but to replace the calorifier, so we ordered a new one at a cost of almost £500.

We agreed that we shouldn’t take Ravensdale out again until the calorifier had been replaced.

Phil switching the pipes over as a temporary measure

The new calorifier

Meanwhile, Phil switched the water pipes to isolate the calorifier and the engine so no water was passing between them and this solved the problem so we were sure that the calorifier was the cause.

At least this meant the water was no longer overflowing from the starboard engine and we weren’t losing our hot water.

The new calorifier arrived on Tuesday and a friend offered to help fit it as Phil had hurt his back and thought climbing down into the narrow space to attempt the job on his own could make it worse.

When they went to fit it yesterday (Thursday), they discovered that the new tank was a good bit bigger than the old one despite Phil having measured the old tank and given the company the dimensions when he ordered it.

They decided that, although at 55 litres it was about 15 litres larger than the one they took out, it would still fit in the available space – thank goodness!

It wasn’t easy to get at but, between them, they managed to get the old tank out and the new one was fixed in place and connected up.

Phil removing the old calorifier

Phil about to take the old calorifier out onto the deck before fitting the new one

Phil and friend fitting the new, larger calorifier

So, our hot water system is now up and running properly again and Ravensdale is ready to take out on the water as soon as the weather permits.

The new calorifier fitted and ready for use

Phil now wants to drain the water out of the starboard engine and replace it with a new mixture of water and antifreeze as the antifreeze that was in it will have been very diluted by the water running into it from the calorifier – if there’s still any antifreeze left at all.

Meanwhile, I’m hoping the new larger tank will mean we’ll have more hot water and the fact it’s no longer overflowing and being topped up with cold water will mean it will stay hotter for longer.

The only downside could be that the larger tank will take longer to heat up.


Diesel leak

Diesel was leaking from the tap in the centre of this image

The day before Phil discovered the water coming from the engine, he'd seen a small amount of diesel leaking from the tap on the fuel tank and put a plastic tray underneath, as a temporary measure, to prevent the diesel running into the bilges.

He then tightened the nut on the tap, cleaned out the tray that had been underneath it and put it back so he could check whether the leak had stopped.

Phil cleaning up the tap after he had fixed the leak

He left it for a few hours then went down to check again and it was dry.

There was no sign of diesel leaking when he carried out further checks later the same day and over subsequent days so hopefully that leak has also been sorted.


Car brake problems

Our car started making a horrible noise while braking on the way back from a trip from our marina at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, to nearby Workington to get antifreeze for Ravensdale’s starboard engine and some food shopping on Tuesday afternoon.

Phil looked at the rear wheels when we stopped and discovered that a chunk of the surface on the disk on the offside rear brake had apparently dropped off.

The following day, we walked to a local garage to see when they’d be able to fix it for us and we were told to bring it in on Monday.

However, when Phil said we wouldn’t be driving it again until the work was done, the owner told us to drop it off at the garage that day and they would do it asap.

So, we’re hoping we may get it back today (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday) morning but it’s more likely that it won’t get done until Monday as he told us they were very busy.

We’ve also asked them to MOT the car while it’s at the garage as it was due to go in for the test next week anyway.


Missing outboard cover

Ravensdale's outboard cover in place during the trawler race. Photo by Lee Wise

The cover was definitely on our outboard when we took Ravensdale out during the trawler race on August 3 and when Phil used the dinghy to retrieve a deck brush he dropped in the marina a few days later.

However, it has now disappeared so we can only think it must have come loose and blown away.

We’ve yet to decide whether to order another ready-made cover or get some Sunbrella fabric and make one to match the cover I made for Ravensdale’s windlass.

The cover I made for Ravensdale's windlass

Ruby of Ravensdale

Phil throwing a ball for Ruby to fetch

I’m never sure whether Ruby’s favourite part of the day is going out for walks, playing with her toys, especially when she can persuade one of us to play with her, when she’s cuddling up with us or when she’s eating because she certainly likes her food 😊

The scary drink carton that made Ruby bark 😊

But she seems to dislike littering as much as we do.

On Wednesday evening, I heard her barking on the aft deck and went outside to see what she was barking at.

It wasn’t dogs or people walking along the road alongside the marina or even someone hoisting the sails on their yacht, which always makes her bark, but not this time.

It was nothing as obvious as that. This time she was barking at a really scary empty KFC drink container floating past our boat 😊

She really does crack me up at times 😊

But then she probably thinks I’m a bit crazy too, especially when I try to take selfies with her as I did on our last trip out on Ravensdale.

Ruby and I in our matching life jackets

Me cuddling up to Ruby on the seating in Ravensdale's saloon

Earlier this week, I was thinking that I call her by so many different names that it must be really hard for her to know when I’m talking to her.

Ruby waiting for Phil to throw her ball

So, I decided to list them and discovered that she has at least 20 other names as there are probably more that I forgot while writing them down.

These are the ones that sprang to mind – Roo, Rooby Roo, Rooby Doo, Little Roo, Little Red Roobster, The Roobster, Ruby Shark, Baby, Baby Girl, Pretty Girl, Puppy Girl, Puppy Pig, Piglet, Pretty Puppy, Pretty Face, Sweetheart, Sweetiepie, Cutiepie, Beauty and Little One.

But if I really want her to do something and she appears to be ignoring me she’s called “Oi! Ruby!” in the sternest voice I can manage 😊

As usual, she’s enjoyed her walks over the past week, especially when she gets to play fetch or meet and play with other dogs.

She particularly enjoyed playing with a nine-month-old cocker spaniel, called Jerry, that she met while I was walking her yesterday (Thursday).

Ruby and Jerry

Surprisingly, she also seemed keen to play with Tom, the first cat she’d ever seen, when we met him and his owner near the marina yesterday. Tom didn’t run away, but he didn't look over impressed when Ruby tried to play with him.

And, yes, it did amuse me that Ruby got to play with Tom and Jerry on the same outing 😊

Ruby tries to play with Tom

She also had a great time with Rio, an eight-month-old staffie, she met when Phil and I took her out for another walk yesterday afternoon.

Ruby meets Rio

Ruby was able to sit and watch while Phil was swapping the pipes on the calorifier in Ravensdale's engine room.

Ruby checking out the engine room from the saloon

However, we had to put her in her cage while he and our friend were taking out the old one and fitting the new one as there would have been no room for her and she could've fallen down the hole into the engine room.

I took her out half-way through so she could stretch her legs then she went back in her cage until the job was done and all we heard from her were a few quiet whines to let us know that she wasn't very impressed 😊

Ruby watching from her cage while the new calorifier was being fitted

Swans

This year's cygnets visiting the marina for the first time

The pair of swans that used to be regular visitors to the marina turned up with their new family for the first time on Monday.

The cygnets eating the food I gave them

They returned in search of food on Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday (Thursday), so it looks as though they have made visiting the marina part of their routine.

Meanwhile, the cygnet from last year's brood that has been a regular visitor at the marina in recent weeks became stuck in the mud in the harbour on Monday.

A member of one of our local Facebook groups posted that four girls had been seen throwing stones at it while it was trapped by the mud, stating that police had been informed. Locals were horrified to hear of such cruelty.

Ruby was due to go out so I took her for a walk around to the harbour to see if I could find the cygnet as I wanted to see if it had been injured and to try to get it help if necessary.

The swan trapped in the mud at the harbour

We found the bird behind a boat at the far end of the harbour and it seemed to be OK. We later heard that it was swimming around quite happily when the tide came in but it hasn't been back in the marina since then.


(EDIT -  I've just heard that the girls were trying to throw stones into the mud near the swan to help it get out rather than throwing them at the bird and that they stopped when an adult told them this would not help it. Apparently, they were devastated to see the comments about their stone-throwing efforts on Facebook)


Amusing boat name 😊

Good Dog at Maryport Marina

The boat name that had me puzzled - for a while 😊

I was amused by the name of a motorsailer that visited Maryport Marina on Sunday and stayed overnight.

When I saw it was called “Good Dog”, I thought it a really strange name for a boat and wondered why anyone would give their boat such a name.

The visiting vessel stayed overnight Sunday and left again on Monday morning by which time the penny had dropped.

It was a Nauticat and I guess whoever named her had a sense of humour when they came up with the idea of calling a Nauticat “Good Dog”.

It took me a while to work it out, but I got there in the end 😊


Fire alarm

Fire alarm sign at Maryport Marina

I’ve been meaning to share this for some time now because it makes me laugh every time I go in or out of the outside door to the toilet and shower block here at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK.

The sign above the fire alarm button just inside the door says: “This is a FIRE ALARM. Please do not press. Thank you.”

So, if we discover a fire in the toilet and shower block, what are we supposed to do?

OK, I know the answer to that one really, just thought it amusing that we’re being told not to press it 😊

I also know why the sign was put there. It appeared after someone pressed it because they thought they needed to do so to open the door from the inside. Instead, they set off the fire alarm.

In fairness to the person responsible, we have to push buttons to get out of the marina’s main gate and out of the ladies and gents toilet and shower areas into the corridor to the outside door.

So, I guess, it would be an easy mistake to make - if you didn’t notice that it was red and had a little picture of a house on fire on it 😊


Photography

My camera seems to be working again – at least for the time being.

It’s only let me down a couple of times and, on both occasions, taking the battery out and putting it back in again has done the trick.

I took it with me when I took Ruby for a walk around the harbour and basin on Monday evening.

Heavy clouds over Maryport Harbour

Colourful fishing nets at Maryport Harbour

Maryport Harbour at low tide

Maryport Basin at low tide

And I took a few photos, including some of a couple of lads riding their motorbikes along the shore, while we were out walking Ruby on Tuesday afternoon.

Motorcyclists on the shore at Maryport with Iggesund paperboard mill in the background

Maryport Pier with the Scottish hills in the distance

Maryport Lighthouse from the path on the landward side of the sea wall

A closer view of one of the motorcyclists on the wet sand

And I couldn't resist taking a couple of snaps of the heavy clouds over the marina on Tuesday evening.

Threatening clouds over Maryport Marina

Another image of the dark clouds on Tuesday evening

Lights reflected in the water at Maryport Marina

Weather watch

The weekend weather was atrocious and made me very glad that I’m now retired 😊

We had heavy rain and fairly strong winds overnight Friday into Saturday with a top average wind speed of 24mph, gusting 37mph.

This was followed by a very wet day on Saturday with brief breaks in the rain.

The top temperature was 17C (63F) and the top average wind speed was 23mph, gusting 34mph.

Rain clouds over Maryport Marina on Sunday

On Sunday, we had heavy rain and high winds averaging up to 26mph and gusting up to 39mph overnight followed by light rain during the morning.

It dried up a bit during the afternoon, although the showers were never far away.

The temperature only reached 14C (57F) with a top average wind speed of 29mph, gusting 38mph.

It was fairly windy overnight Sunday in Monday with average wind speeds of up to 25mph, gusting 32mph.

And, on Monday, we awoke to a bright sunny day with very little wind for the first time in days.

Blue sky and white clouds over Maryport Marina on Monday

Rain was forecast for the afternoon, but we only got a few light showers and the top temperature was 16C (61F) with a top average wind speed of 14mph.

Tuesday started dry, bright and sunny and stayed dry and sunny with a little more cloud later in the afternoon. The top temperature was 16C (61F) and the top average wind speed was 15mph.

Maryport Marina on Tuesday morning

We had rain during the night and first thing on Wednesday. It then dried up for the rest of the morning followed by light rain during the afternoon. The top temperature was 16C (61F) and the top average wind speed was 22mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) we awoke to a nice morning after a wet and windy night with an average wind speed of up to 32mph, gusting 41mph. The day was mainly dry and bright with a little light rain late morning and a good wind.

Dry, bright weather at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday) afternoon 

The top temperature was 17C (63F) and the average wind speed was 36mph, gusting 46mph, first thing, dropping to 22mph, gusting 31mph, during the afternoon.

And, so far today (Friday) the weather has been wet and miserable.

It poured with rain from the time we got up until early afternoon and still looks as though it could start again at any time.

It has also been a very windy day. The top temperature was 16C (61F) and the top average wind speed was 33mph, gusting 47mph.

Wet and windy weather this morning (Friday) at Maryport Marina