Lift-out preparations and my 100th blog post

Ravensdale in the marina's hoist after we had her out for antifouling last year

We’re hoping Ravensdale can be lifted out of the water on Monday to enable us to pressure wash and antifoul her hull.

We’re also planning to have the stern glands around her prop shafts repacked.

The last time she was lifted in the marina’s boat hoist here at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, the straps caused damage to her fibreglass exhaust covers, which makes us a bit wary of going through this procedure again.

However, this time, we’re using the neighbouring boat yard’s hoist. It’s a different design with the boat supported by solid uprights so will hopefully not cause the same problems.

Meanwhile, Phil has been carrying out engine maintenance and gel coat repairs while I tackled one of my least favourite jobs – sorting and filing away the paperwork that seems to miraculously appear on our boat despite my best efforts to go paperless.

And I was amazed to discover that this is my 100^th blog post since we sold our house, bought our 43ft Neptunus 133 motor cruiser and moved on board in November 2016.

Preparing for lift-out

We’re getting ready to have Ravensdale lifted out of the water to antifoul her hull and to have her stern glands repacked.

We originally intended to get her out in the spring, then realised that she didn’t go back in the water after her last lift-out until June of last year, so we decided to wait until the autumn.

Ravensdale being relaunched after antifouling in June of last year

Ravensdale’s fibreglass exhaust covers, which protrude from the sides of her hull, have been damaged during previous lift outs.

And, last time, the one on the starboard side was broken while she was being lifted out of the water and had to be rebuilt while we were on the hard standing.

Fenders were placed under the exhaust covers in an attempt to protect them from the straps

If that happened while she was being lifted back into the water, we would have had real problems trying to mend it.

We looked at all sorts of solutions to this problem and were considering getting metal bridges made to fit over the exhaust covers so the straps on the marina hoist would not press against them.

However, these were going to be very heavy and pretty costly. We would also have had problems storing them.

While we were still trying to decide whether to get them made anyway, we discovered an alternative and considerably simpler solution.

The MPM North West boat yard right next to the marina has a different type of hoist that would be better able to cope with our boat, so we’ve arranged to get Ravensdale out on that for a few days while we carry out the antifouling work.

Fishing boat Alena on MPM's boat hoist

This involves coating the underwater area of the hull with a paint that inhibits the growth of barnacles and other marine organisms.

We ordered the paint earlier this week and it arrived a couple of days later, so we’re ready to go as soon as we’re able to use their hoist, which is currently being used by a fishing boat called Alena of Castletown on the Isle of Man.

Another view of fishing boat Alena on MPM's boat hoist

We’re also going to get Ravensdale’ stern glands repacked while she’s out of the water.

For the uninitiated (which definitely included me until I was introduced to the joys of boating 😊) a stern gland is the traditional method for keeping the propeller shaft watertight at the point where it passes through the boat’s hull.

The packed gland or stuffing box contains rings of soft packing material, which are placed around the shaft inside the gland nut.

The stern gland for Ravensdale's port prop shaft

As Ravensdale has two 300hp Volvo Penta engines and therefore two propellers, she also has two stern glands to be repacked.

We’re told it’s a fairly simple task, but we’ve decided to get someone who knows what they’re doing to do it this time. This will give us a chance to see whether it looks like a job we’d be happy to tackle ourselves in the future.

We will also check her anodes and replace them if necessary.

The Alena is supposed to be leaving MPM today (Friday) so we’re hoping that Ravensdale can be lifted out on Monday.

The plan is for her to be out of the water for as short a time as possible – hopefully no more than a few days.

Alternator belt

Phil discovered the alternator belt on the starboard engine had become a bit slack while carrying out his routine engine checks this week.

Phil tightening the alternator belt on Ravensdale's starboard engine

However, he was unable to tighten it because the head on the bolt and the nut that held it in place had become worn and the spanner would not grip on them properly.

He has now replaced them both and tightened the belt.

We’ve also ordered some more nuts and bolts of this size to keep as spares.

Gel coat repairs

Phil has also been repairing the gel coat where he’d previously filled a small crack in the superstructure with fibreglass.

Phil applying the gel coat filler

Phil sanding down the gel coat filler

And, while he had the gel coat filler out, he took the opportunity to fill some small holes and pitting in the gel coat in other areas.

Living in a goldfish bowl

We’ve decided that we need to put up blinds to give us a bit more privacy on Ravensdale.

Ravensdale on the hammerhead showing the road on the far side of the water to her starboard side

We totally understand that people are fascinated by boats and like to stand and look at them – we’ve done it ourselves at various marinas.

However, it’s sometimes very obvious that they’re not really looking at the boats in general so much as peering straight into our boat, which is not so good.

They stand on the pavement alongside the road opposite our boat, lean on the railings and stare at our windows and, on occasions, we've seen them pointing at us at the same time.

Ravensdale from the pavement alongside the road to the beach

When folk are really blatant about it, we sometimes pull the curtains across as it really does feel like an invasion of our privacy.

I’ve threatened to make a big sign to hold up at the window when I see people staring in, but can’t think what the appropriate message would be (I know what I’d like to put, but I’m guessing it wouldn’t go down too well 😊)

The windows at which we're planning to put up blinds

I know that isn't really an option so we’ve decided to look for suitable blinds for the windows on the starboard side as that's the only side that causes a problem here.

Filing and shredding

Despite having chosen to “go paperless” on as many things as possible, we still seem to get a mountain of paper turn up on Ravensdale.

Filing is one of my least favourite jobs and this time I’d left it way too long before tackling it, which made it worse than ever.

But I really had to tackle it as I was running out of places to poke the many envelopes, receipts, leaflets, etc. that somehow find their way onto our boat.

So I banned myself from getting out my laptop on Wednesday until the job was completed.

The box I allocated for paperwork was practically full, so I had to sort through that and get rid of as much as I could before starting on the latest heap.

Me shredding paper in Ravensdale's dinette

I threw away as much as I could, shredding anything I considered to be personal and/or a security risk.

Shredding is so much more fun than filing papers away, so I saved that job until last 😊

And I am so glad it's done…until the next time ☹

My blog scores a century

Blog page views by country for the top 10 countries

I really can’t believe this is my 100^th blog post since we sold our house and bought a boat almost two years ago.

And, this week’s blog will take the total number of page views to over 150,000.

I started writing it just after we moved on board Ravensdale in November 2016 as a diary for ourselves and to let friends and family know how we were getting on with life afloat.

I didn’t even really consider how long I would carry on writing it, but it has become a habit and I can’t even imagine not writing it now.

I’m still totally amazed that it's read by so many people all over the world and am always delighted when people tell me they enjoy reading it.

The largest number of readers are in the US, followed by the UK, Canada and Australia.

Links to my most popular blog posts so far are below –

1. Switching off Ravensdale's engines at sea for the first time
2. Winter cruising joys and the misery caused by flooding bilges
3. Our new docking sticks prove a great success
4. Pros and cons of living on a boat
5. First year liveaboard lessons and Ravensdale's early Christmas present

Photography

I’ve been trying to get into the habit of taking my camera with me whenever I go out for a walk as I seem to have missed a lot of good photographic opportunities lately.

Most of the photos I’ve taken over the past week have been while out for short walks around the marina and the shore.

However, I did go around to the beach for the sole purpose of photographing the sunset on Saturday evening to discover I was too late as there was a thick bank of clouds on the horizon, so the best of the colour was well before sunset.

Sunset over Grasslot Shore, Maryport, on Saturday evening

Convinced I’d missed it and that the sun had gone for the day, I headed home to discover that it put in another appearance after I’d gone.

I think that was a first for me – I’m frequently late for things and occasionally arrive a bit early but I’ve never managed to do both at the same time before 😊

The only consolation was that I got some lovely photos of the reflections of the boats in the calm water at our marina an hour or so before sunset on Saturday evening.

Reflections in the still water at Maryport Marina

More reflections at Maryport Marina

The marina building at Maryport

Some of the small fishing boats at Maryport Marina with the hard standing in the background

And last night (Thursday) I went around to the beach earlier and stayed later and was rewarded with some much more satisfying sunset shots.

A pair of fishermen off out to dig for bait at low tide on Maryport beach

Sunset on the shore at Maryport

Another view of the sunset on Maryport beach

Reflections in the wet sand on the beach at Maryport just before sunset

Maryport pier just after sunset

Other photographic opportunities over the past week included walks along the shore and around the harbour last Friday and a walk around the harbour at high tide on Wednesday.

The Scottish hills on the far side of the Solway Firth

A dog that popped up over the wall by the coastal path while I was taking photos

Colourful fishing boats in Maryport

More fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

A closer view of some of the boats in Maryport Harbour

I also took a few photos during my search for a missing cygnet at low tide on Wednesday evening.

I didn’t find the cygnet, but I did find a man collecting peeler crabs from tubes buried in the mud in Maryport Basin and a heron fishing outside the marina gate.

Fisherman collecting peeler crabs from his traps in Maryport Basin

A heron fishing in Maryport Basin

Swans reunited

Feeding the swans in Maryport Marina

The swan family has been returning for regular feeds, but on Wednesday evening one of the cygnets was missing.

I was more than a bit concerned when I saw that there were only two cygnets waiting with their parents for food.

Only two cygnets turned up at feeding time

I fed them, then walked down to see if the other one had got shut out when the marina gate closed.

I didn’t see it but met a couple who told me they’d seen it waiting outside the gate a short time before I arrived.

Thankfully, they’re getting really big now and hopefully better able to look after themselves than when they were smaller as the gate is closed for at least seven hours between tides.

The food we've been feeding the swan family

Another berth holder here went up the River Ellen to see if he could see the missing cygnet on Wednesday evening, without success.

However, he messaged me yesterday (Thursday) morning to say all three cygnets were happily eating weed with their parents on the river so all’s well that ends well (now there’s a saying I haven’t heard or even thought of in a long time 😊).

Meanwhile, the floating swan and duck food we inherited from the swan man, who died earlier this year, has almost gone so we’re going to have to buy some ourselves very soon.

We looked up the food he was buying them and discovered it was quite expensive so we’re looking for a cheaper alternative that will hopefully be just as good.

Passers-by

There have been a number of boats passing Ravensdale in Maryport Marina this week on their way in or out of the marina.

Fishing boat Alena arriving at Maryport Marina

Solway Adventurer passing Ravensdale

These have included the fishing boat Alena that is currently on the MPM boat hoist and Solway Adventurer, a charity boat offering sailing trips on the Solway Firth for disabled and elderly people and disadvantaged children.

A small fishing boat returning to Maryport Marina after a fishing trip

A yacht going out for a sail

Weather watch

The past week has been fairly windy particularly on Tuesday, overnight Tuesday into Wednesday and during the day on Wednesday.

And, sadly, the one day that would’ve been calm enough to take the boat out onto the water we didn’t realise early enough to get ready to go out soon after the marina gate opened.

Last Friday was a blustery day in the wake of Storm Bronagh with a mixture of sunshine and showers. There was then a calmer period late afternoon before the wind blew up again during the evening.

Calmer conditions in Maryport Harbour when the wind dropped late on Friday afternoon

It remained fairly windy overnight with average wind speeds of up to 28mph, gusting 40mph.

Saturday was cloudy with sunny intervals and a top temperature of 11.6C (53F). The highest average wind speed recorded locally was 18mph.

Calm water at Maryport Marina on Saturday evening

The wind dropped considerably during the evening and we woke up to a very calm start to the day on Sunday.

If we’d realised it was going to be so calm, we would probably have considered getting up early and taking the boat out. However, the wind got up a bit around lunchtime while we would have still been out on the Solway Firth so perhaps it was just as well we didn’t go.

A calm and sunny start to the day at Maryport Marina on Sunday

The top average wind speed during the day was 23mph, gusting 30mph, and the temperature peaked at 11.8C (53F).

Monday started dry, bright and breezy. There was a little bit of rain early afternoon, but it soon cleared to leave a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The temperature reached 13.1C (56F) and the top average wind speed was 17mph.

Tuesday also started dry and bright followed by cloud with sunny intervals. It wasn’t very windy first thing, but the wind speed increased dramatically as the day went on. The temperature peaked at 12.7C (55F) and the top wind speed was 31mph, gusting 38mph, at 6pm.

Cloud and sunny intervals over Maryport on Tuesday afternoon

Tuesday night into Wednesday was a very windy night. In fact, the boat was being thrown around more than during some of the recent named storms, particularly when the marina gate was opened for the high tide.

The highest wind speed recorded overnight at St Bees Head was 26mph, gusting 38mph, but it seemed a lot stronger here.

Wednesday started grey and miserable and still very windy. It brightened up a bit during the day, but the sun never managed to break through the thick cloud. The temperature peaked at 15.3C (59.5F). The average wind speed reached 24mph, gusting 33mph, at 10am decreasing as the day went on.

Wednesday - a grey day at Maryport Harbour

Yesterday (Thursday) started dry, bright and windy, with the wind speed dropping off as the day went on. It clouded over during the afternoon, but the sun came out early evening. The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 19mph.

Sunny evening at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

And, so far, today (Friday) the weather has been absolutely beautiful after our coldest night for months - the temperature went down to 3.7C (39F). This morning is sunny and there's virtually no wind so we're off out fishing on the Solway Firth 😊

The devastation of a UK marina encourages us to take urgent action

Ravensdale on the Solway Firth

This week I’ve been preparing for the worst by uploading all our important documents to the cloud.

Watching videos of boats that sank when Storm Emma destroyed a UK marina made me decide it was time to ensure our paperwork would survive if something like that ever happened to us.

More than 80 boats sank or were damaged and pontoons were torn from their anchorages when hurricane-force winds battered Holyhead Marina in North Wales earlier this month.

Some of these vessels had been people’s homes.

This video showing drone footage of the devastation was published last Sunday - Holyhead Storm Emma

It was horrible to watch and very scary to think that it could happen to us. My heart goes out to everyone involved.

Safeguarding our important documents

Soon after we moved on board our 43ft seagoing cruiser Ravensdale at Maryport Marina in Cumbria I made sure all our important documents were in one place and easy to grab in an emergency.

But I had been meaning to make sure we had a back-up plan and the destruction of Holyhead Marina galvanised me into action, so I spent Wednesday afternoon scanning all our important documents. 

Me sorting the scanned documents into the relevant folders

I then sorted them into folders named “boat” (boat insurance, boat registration, ships’ radio licence and our short wave radio certificates), “car” (car registration document and car insurance) and “personal” (including our birth certificates, marriage certificate, driving licences, passports and life insurance policies) and uploaded them all to the cloud.

God forbid we will ever need them.

However, if anything happens to Ravensdale and we’re unable to save the hard copies of our important paperwork, then at least we will still have access to all the relevant information to enable us to start getting our lives sorted out again.


BOAT – Bring Out Another Thousand

Not long after we bought Ravensdale and moved on board in November 2016 someone told us that BOAT stood for Bring Out Another Thousand.

They were not wrong and this week has once again proved the accuracy of this acronym.

We had been having problems with our generator for some time. It never started the first time and needed repeated attempts with rest periods in between before it would fire up. This was annoying, but at least it did always go.

However, more recently, it has cut out while running and refused to restart so we decided the time had come to replace it with a new, hopefully more reliable one.

This week we ordered a Honda EU22i 2.2KW petrol inverter generator and it arrived a couple of days later. It runs like a dream and is really quiet.

Phil checking out the new generator on Ravendale's aft deck

A much smaller purchase was a bargain tool sharpening station from our local Lidl supermarket that Phil has already found useful for sharpening his drill bits.

Phil sharpening a drill bit

While doing so, he also sharpened all our kitchen knives and scissors so it’s definitely going to earn its keep.

Keeping Ravensdale clean

In our previous shore-based life, Phil always kept our cars lovely and clean.

Now, he lavishes his love and attention on Ravensdale.

As soon as she starts to look a little grubby, he’s out there with the boat wash scrubbing her decks and hosing her down.

Phil washing off the boat wash on Ravensdale's foredeck

Meanwhile, our car has to fend for herself, but we’ve found our new method of keeping her clean is working quite well.

We park her facing in different directions depending on whether her front or back end is most in need of a wash and, so far, the rain is doing a great job 😊

Farewell to “The Swan Man”

Last Saturday, we learnt that one of the other liveaboards here, who used to feed the swans that are regular visitors to the marina, sadly passed away the previous day.

Phil Lee, also known as “The Swan Man”, was very knowledgeable about Mute Swans and fed the pair that frequently turned up at the marina up to five times a day.

I am planning to attend his funeral on Monday and spent some time this week looking out photographs of him feeding the swans for use at the service.

Phil Lee with the swans at Maryport Marina

I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that he was away from the marina for a while and that he’d asked me to feed the swans with the floating duck and swan food he kept on his boat if I saw them looking hungry.

I’ve fed them on a number of occasions and more recently discovered that other people had also been feeding them.

Me feeding the swans at Maryport Marina

After his death, the marina moved his boat and I’ve taken over his supply of food intending to carry on where he left off.

The only problem being that I’ve only seen the swans once since then.

They appeared first thing in the morning and I selfishly decided to have my own breakfast before feeding them and, by the time I’d finished, they’d gone.

To say I felt guilty would be an understatement and I promised myself that in future I would feed them as soon as I saw them. Sadly, I’m still waiting for them to return…

Photography feedback

I’ve been out indulging myself in one of my favourite hobbies – photography - again this week.

I’m still finding plenty of photo opportunities in my adopted hometown and enjoy posting them on a local Facebook group.

Maryport in the sunshine

Maryport lighthouse with the Scottish hills on the other side of the Solway Firth

The entrance to Maryport Harbour from Maryport basin

Shipping Brow at Maryport

And I was delighted when I got a message from a local artist whose work I admire asking if he could use my photos of Maryport as reference material.

I told him I'd be honoured for him to use any of my photos and am considering going to his next pen and watercolour wash class to learn how to turn my images into works of art - well, paintings. I think “works of art” would be a long way down the road 😊

I also liked a comment a local man left on one of my photos of the Iggesund Paperboard mill at nearby Workington, which can be seen in many of my photos of the coastline.

He said he'd told his granddaughter that it was a cloud factory and the wind turbines were fans to blow the clouds into the right place 😊

A lone fisherman on the shore at Maryport and the "cloud factory"

A redshank in Maryport basin

Meanwhile, I’m becoming very aware that I could do with a longer lens for my camera as my attempts at getting photos of some of the wildlife here have not been so good, like this photo of a redshank in Maryport basin.

I only really took the photo so I could identify it when I got back to the boat, but I was rather disappointed by the quality of the image.

Warmer weather, but not for long…

Last Friday was a beautiful sunny day when Ravensdale’s large windows really came into their own.

We were able to turn the heating off first thing in the morning and the boat stayed lovely and warm all day. The indoor thermometer went up to 34C (93F) in the sun and dropped to 23C (73F) when we moved it to a shadier spot. We didn’t need to put the heating back on until the evening.

Maryport Marina in the sunshine

It was warmer outside on Saturday with temperatures up to almost 11C (52F) but, as so often happens when the weather warms up, it rained for most of the day.

Sunday was sunny and calm and, on Monday we had a mixture of sunshine and clouds with temperatures up to 8.2C (47F).

Tuesday was another lovely sunny day with temperatures up to 6.9C (44F), but there was still a cool wind. The sunset looked promising, but it was not as good as I’d hoped.

Looking across Maryport basin to the old lighthouse

Overnight temperatures only dropped to 3.4C (38F) and we had lovely start to the day on Wednesday complete with a beautiful sunrise. I so wish I’d planned ahead and got up early to capture it, but had to make do with a quick snap taken from Ravensdale’s window.

Wednesday morning's sunrise at Maryport Marina

A closer view of the beautiful sunrise

Wednesday was a much windier day than we had experienced lately with southeasterly winds averaging up to 36mph and gusting to 51mph, but it was relatively warm with temperatures up to 10.3C (50.5F).

Ice cream van on South Quay, Maryport

I saw an ice cream van in Maryport for the first time this year on Wednesday, so I guess that means spring really is on its way 😊

Overnight Wednesday into yesterday (Thursday) there was a good blow with wind speeds up to 36mph, gusting 53mph, and it was fairly warm with a lowest temperature of 6.3C (43F) recorded at 7am.

It was wet and windy first thing yesterday. The rain dried up by lunchtime, but it remained fairly windy with average wind speeds up to 26mph and gusts up to 41mph. The highest daytime temperature was 8.9C (48F) at 3pm and the sunset was considerably better than on Tuesday evening, but still not as colourful as I'd hoped it would be.

Sunset over the shore at Maryport

Maryport lighthouse at sunset with the town in the distance

We had a relatively warm night last night with temperatures only dipping to 6.7C (44F) and this morning it is 8.2C (47F), but it’s not going to last.

The forecast is for much colder weather starting overnight tonight (Friday/Saturday) when the Beast from the East is due to return bringing snow and ice to large areas of the UK.

Here, we’re expecting temperatures down to -2C (28F) in the early hours of tomorrow (Saturday) and only reaching about 2C (36F) during the day. The forecast is for easterly winds of up to 29mph with gusts up to 40mph.

Very similar weather is expected on Sunday, remaining cold for the start of next week so it looks as though we'll have to wait a bit longer for spring to arrive…