Lumpy sea, sandpipers and a starfish

Our new red ensign on its first outing on Ravensdale

Ravensdale was proudly flying the red ensign when we took her out to play in Solway Firth at the weekend.

My operation and windy weather have prevented us going out on our 43ft motor cruiser for the past few weeks.

I was told not to lift anything heavy for two weeks after undergoing surgery to remove my gall bladder last month and I didn’t think throwing ropes would be a good idea either so we decided to stay put until the fortnight was up.

We then had to wait for a calm day as we have no desire to take Ravensdale out in bad weather when there's no need to do so.

The weather forecast was good for last Sunday – sunny intervals, very little chance of rain and, most important of all, the wind was due to be in single figures.

And, for once, the forecasters actually got it right J

It was good to get out to sea again and it enabled us to fly our new red ensign on our new flagpole for the first time.

Leaving Maryport basin and heading out into the Solway Firth

I love living on our boat, even when we don’t leave the marina, but there’s nothing quite like travelling through the waves.

And there was no shortage of waves on Sunday. Considering the lack of wind, we were rather surprised to discover there was such a big swell.

Me taking a turn at Ravensdale's helm

Phil at the helm

Making a cup of tea at sea was much more difficult than on previous occasions and I discovered that a round teapot isn’t ideal in this situation. It has a flat bottom, but that didn’t stop it rolling around the bench in the galley, thankfully before I’d filled it with tea.

I even had to hold the kettle onto the top of the gas stove to stop it falling off while we were rocking around on the waves.

And I dug out some non-slip matting to stand the teapot and mugs on to stop them sliding around while I waited for the tea to brew.

Making tea while at sea  (the cactus garden was in the sink for safekeeping)

This was also the first outing on which we’ve had company.

Friends, who have a smaller motor cruiser in Maryport Marina, took their boat out into the Solway Firth at the same time. Theirs is faster than ours and they took great pleasure in coming up behind us, slowing down alongside and then shooting off ahead of us.

Meanwhile, I took lots of photos of their boat while they were taking photos of ours.

Friends following us in their motor cruiser

I had hoped to have the photos of Ravensdale to use in my blog this week, but don’t have them yet so will include them in the first blog post after they arrive.

The GPS showing 16 knots 

Phil did a bit of an experiment with our speed and the tide while at sea and discovered that, with the throttles set in the same position, Ravensdale was doing about 12.5 knots against the tide and 16 knots with the tide.

When we returned to the marina it was good to see that the weed that was beginning to grow just below the waterline around Ravensdale’s bow had been washed away as I really didn’t want her to become a bearded lady J

Ravensdale heading back into Maryport Marina

We’ve also purchased a new toy this week.

The strong winds over the past couple of weeks left us wishing we could measure the wind speed so we bought ourselves an anemometer.

The highest speed we’ve recorded with it so far is 20mph, but I think we will soon be getting much higher readings when the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia reaches us on Monday.

Phil measuring the wind speed on our aft deck

Phil had his first attempt at beach fishing on the shore at Maryport in the past week while I went for a walk with my camera.

Phil waiting for a fish to take his bait on Maryport beach

I spent ages watching the sandpipers along the waterline near the pier and took dozens of photos and a couple of videos of them, but none came out as well as I’d hoped.

Sandpipers on the shore at Maryport

A closer view of some of the sandpipers

And we had a new marine visitor to the marina this week. We found a starfish clinging to the harbour wall. It's the first one we've seen since we've been here.

I couldn’t get a photo of it in situ so used a kid’s fishing net we bought to catch shrimps in the marina and scooped it up so I could get a closer look. It was returned to the water asap as I didn’t want to harm it in any way.

The starfish in our fishing net

The starfish and a small crab that got caught with it

The underside of the starfish

I've also been wandering around Maryport taking photos as usual, sometimes with my camera and sometimes with my phone. 

Maryport lighthouse sunset

Maryport lighthouse from the pier

The coastal walk along the seafront at Maryport

Maryport Marina

Ellenfoot Bridge at Maryport

A fishing party on the beach at Maryport

  

A pair of pigeons at Maryport Marina

Dogfish, herons, shorts and post-op walks

The dogfish that found its way into our crab net

I had expected to be out of circulation for a week or two after the operation to remove my gall bladder, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

My consultant’s instructions that I should do three 30 minute walks a day have got me out and about more than ever over the past week.

Other than that, life on board Ravensdale has been much the same as usual.

Meanwhile, summer seems to have returned to Maryport.  

Having worn shorts all summer, I put them away for the winter after my op as the weather seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

However, after a few days of wearing leggings – the only things that felt comfortable on my tummy immediately after my op – the sun came out again and I decided that I’d recovered sufficiently to wear shorts again.

Some days, it’s been so warm that I’ve been able to sit out on the aft deck and read a magazine in my shorts and a vest top without feeling the slightest bit cold.

The best catch in our prawn and crab net this week was a good sized dogfish.

Phil was surprised at the weight of the net when he started pulling it up from the bottom of the marina and we were both amazed to see the dogfish curled around inside it.

Phil lifted it out carefully so I could get a photo of it then returned it to the water.

It seems most of the fish being caught on the pier at the moment are dogfish so I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised that one found its way into the marina.

The dogfish in the net

Phil posing for a photo with the dogfish before returning it to the water

The heron on top of one of the piles

I’ve also been trying to get a decent photograph of the heron that has taken to sitting on one of the metal piles that support the pontoons in the marina.

He seems to take up his position on a pile down by the marina gate most evenings as the light starts to fade, which makes it more difficult to get a good shot of him.

Another heron regularly sits on the slipway at the other end of the marina. I guess, between them, they've got the area covered J

My three walks a day have included, walking along the beach and out along the pier, around the harbour, up to town and shopping trips.

The only trouble with walks around the harbour is that we get tempted to stop for coffee and cake at The Aquarium and I’m not convinced that the consultant intended me to increase my cake intake when he said I needed to get out and walk regularly J

I also suggested a trip out one day so I would still get my walks, but in a different location so we paid visits to Allonby (five miles up the coast), where we walked along the beach, and Siloth (seven and half miles further on), where we had lunch and walked along the promenade.

Dog walkers on the beach at Allonby

The promenade at Siloth

It was a very misty day so not great for photos, but I took some anyway. I felt they worked better as black and white images.

I’ve also taken many more photos in and around Maryport, but the changing weather and light means that they're different every time.

Grafitti in an old building by Maryport lighthouse

Close up of the graffiti with a view to the town of Maryport

Marport looking peaceful at nightfall

The sun shining through the mist over Grasslot Shore at Maryport

A man checking his crab pots at low tide in Maryport Basin

A small fishing boat heading into Maryport

Fishing on Maryport Pier

Sunset over Maryport Marina

The heron sitting on the pile at the far end of the marina

Phil has been on many of the walks with me, but sometimes he stays behind if he has something he wants to get on with on board – such as washing the boat and maintenance in the engine room.

Washing Ravensdale's fore deck

Recuperating on a rocking boat after abdominal surgery

One of my post op walks on Maryport beach - less than 48 hours after surgery

I have to confess that I was a little bit apprehensive about returning to Ravensdale immediately after surgery.

However, I needn’t have worried at all. It’s really no different to recuperating in a house.

Climbing on and off our 43ft cruiser is no problem, thanks to the big sturdy metal steps the previous owner left for us.

A bag of fruit left as a gift on our big chunky steps

And the rocking of the boat is a very comforting feeling, especially when under the influence of heavy duty painkillers J

I went into West Cumberland Hospital at Whitehaven in Cumbria at 8am on Tuesday morning to have my gall bladder removed by keyhole surgery at the day case unit.

I had previously warned hospital staff that I’d been very slow to come around after earlier operations so they put me first on the list.

The procedure, which involved making four small holes in my abdomen, took just under an hour. It was carried out between about 10am and 11am and I was back on the ward by 12.45pm.

A selfie taken soon after I returned to the ward

I had been unsure whether to go ahead with the operation as I had not had any problems with my gallstones since two very unpleasant flare ups in March and April.

But I am now very glad I did.

After the operation, I was told that my gall bladder had been inflamed and could have caused me a lot of trouble if I had kept it.

I was back on board soon after 8pm the same day and tucked into a normal evening meal.

I’d been warned that people who’ve had this operation often feel nauseous afterwards and I was given medication to take if this happened.

However, despite a very rocky first night, I haven’t felt in the slightest bit nauseous.

I was told I needed to go out for three gentle 30 minute walks a day starting the day after my op to prevent blood clots forming so just 24 hours after I was on the operating table I was walking along the pier amazed that I was feeling so well.

It is now just three days since the op and I can carry on with most of what I would do on a normal day. I’m just not allowed to lift anything heavy and I’m avoiding getting things in and out of the very low drawers in the galley, which involves a lot of serious bending.

I also get quite tired after my walks so am making the most of the opportunity to lounge around in the saloon reading and snoozing.

One of the best things about recovering from an op on a boat is that, even when I’m indoors, it feels like being outdoors.

In a house, I would’ve been surrounded by walls, whereas here there are windows on all four sides of the saloon so I can prop myself up on the sofa with my feet up and still see everything that’s going on around us.

The big windows in the saloon that bring the outdoors in

Yesterday (Thursday) was dry and fairly warm so we were able to leave the door and windows open to allow lots of fresh air to circulate.

And, when the sun came out yesterday afternoon, I sat out on the aft deck to have a coffee.

Today (Friday) it was dry first thing so we walked into town to get a bit of shopping, stopping for coffee and cake at The Aquarium cafe, but it’s now raining so I guess I’m going to get wet on my next two walks today.

I’m hoping to start reducing the painkillers tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how I feel then.

As well as looking after me, Phil is also finding time to keep on top of Ravensdale’s needs.

On Monday, he noticed that the water level in two of our four batteries was very low.

Ravensdale's battery bank

The two that are most accessible are sealed and we thought all four were the same, but he discovered that the two hidden away at the back were not.

He topped them up with a few litres of deionised water and tested them with a hydrometer, which gave a reading like pure water.

We really thought we were going to have to buy two new ones, but he retested them yesterday and they were reading a full charge so we’re now hopeful that they may be OK.

While down in the engine room, Phil noticed that there was more water in the bilges than usual and set about finding the cause.

He discovered that the outlet pipe from the Whale Gulper waste water pump, which gets rid of the water from the shower and the washbasin in the en suite head for our bedroom, was leaking.

Loose connections on a sensor on the starboard engine

It seems the jubilee clip holding it on had worn a hole in the pipe and the water had been pumping out into the bilges under our bed and running through into the engine room.

The fuse in the pump had since blown, which meant it stopped working completely and all the water from the shower and washbasin was going straight into the bilges.

Phil used a hand pump to remove the water and carried about eight buckets full of water up out of our bedroom.

He has shortened the pipe for now, with the intention of replacing it soon, and the fuse has been replaced so hopefully the problem has been sorted.

Phil working in the engine room

Phil also spent some time in the engine room tightening up loose connections and carrying out the regular engine checks.

Starlings on rigging

We won’t be taking Ravensdale out to sea for a couple of weeks as I won’t be able to throw ropes for a while, but he's making sure that she will be ready to go when I am.

While out walking, we spotted these starlings on one of the yachts in the marina and it made me very glad that we don’t have a mast and rigging.

At this time of year, the birds have been feasting on blackberries and their droppings cause nasty purple stains on white gelcoat.

We may get the occasional bombing, but at least we don’t have as many perches as the yachts J