Frustration as Ravensdale is stuck in the marina during the calmest weather for months

Ravensdale reflected in the still water at Maryport Marina in Cumbria, UK

It’s driving us bonkers not being able to take Ravensdale out on the water during the longest spell of calm weather we’ve had in months.

Other boats went out fishing at the weekend, and on other days this week but we're still stuck in the marina.

I really hope we can get the exhaust for the port engine on our Neptunus 133 fixed soon so we can take her out onto the Solway Firth.

And I’m looking forward to taking Ruby, our new Staffordshire bull terrier puppy, out on the boat for the first time and want to make sure it’s on a really calm day so her first experience will be a good one.

Meanwhile, we’ve had some amazing sunsets here at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, over the past week.


Ravensdale’s exhaust problem

Looking down on Ravensdale's port engine - the exhaust elbow is top left

The exhaust elbow for Ravensdale’s port engine became detached from the flange on the turbocharger when Phil started it last month to move her to another mooring in the marina.

He removed it and we took it to a local engineer for welding.

We realised it wasn’t going to be a quick job, given that we took it to him just before Christmas, but we really want it back now so we can go out fishing when the weather's fine.

We went to see him earlier this week to see when he’s likely to be able to get around to it and he said he'd try to do it this week so hoping to hear from him very soon.

When Phil has refitted this exhaust elbow, he plans to take off the one on the starboard engine, which must be heading the same way.

I’m really hoping we might manage a trip or two out on the water first though, but we’ll see…

It's been so frustrating having to stay tied up in the marina when other boats are heading out fishing over the past week.

The only consolation is that no-one seems to be catching any worthwhile fish at the moment.

Fishing boat Este Belle passing Ravensdale on its way out of the marina

Fire safety check

One of the automatic extinguishers in the engine room

When we went to check on progress with our exhaust elbow, we met a man who was delivering new fire extinguishers to one of the fishing boats in the harbour.

We got chatting to him and explained that we’d replaced the extinguishers in the galley and saloon when we moved on board but hadn’t got around to changing the ones in Ravensdale's engine room.

We asked if he’d be willing to come and look at the engine room fire extinguishers and he came over to the marina as soon as he’d finished at the harbour.

And we were delighted to be told that the two fixed, automatic extinguishers down below were both fine and were of a sufficient size for our engine room.

The only one he said needed changing, if we wanted to replace it, was a small hand-held extinguisher just inside the door. It had a plastic cap, which would’ve melted in a fire, and all the writing on it was in German so we wouldn’t have been able to read the instructions anyway.

The fire extinguisher that had to go

Ruby is growing fast

Ruby at the top of the steps from Ravensdale's saloon down into the galley

Ruby chewing her cuddly toy

Ruby, our Staffordshire bull terrier puppy, is growing rapidly.

When we first got her she was eight weeks old and she weighed 4.5kg when we took her to the vet for her new puppy health check-up.

We haven’t had her weighed since, but she’s definitely a lot taller and chunkier than she was then.

I’m really looking forward to finding out how much she weighs when she goes back to the vet for her 12-week vaccination next week.

Ruby is also getting a lot more active.

She still sleeps quite a lot but, when she wakes up, she’s pretty full on and I’ll be glad when she learns not to bite everything, especially my hair. Ouch! 😊

She loves her stag antler that we recently bought her and spends hours chewing on it, which means she’s not trying to chew us, our clothes or the boat and it’s supposed to be good for her teeth too.

Ruby with her new stag antler chew

Ruby chewing the antler

We were advised to get it by a friend who has staffies and were very grateful for the advice as it seems to have reduced the amount of times she tries to bite other things.

We have crazy playtimes with her too in the hope of tiring her out a bit given that she doesn’t have a lot of room to run around indoors and we can’t let her out in the garden, for obvious reasons 😊  

Ruby’s new favourite game is indoor football with a full-size ball.

We bought her a couple of smaller balls – more suited to her size – but all she wants to do is to chew them, so we decided to try a bigger one.

Me trying to kick the ball to keep the game moving

Phil tackles Ruby from the galley steps

Ruby takes a break from attacking the ball

A few days previously, Phil had fished a football out of the water in the marina and it has been sitting on the pontoon by our boat, so I went out and got it.

I moved the coffee table and stools in the saloon back out of the way to create a larger play space.

Phil and I were at opposite ends of the saloon knocking the ball back and fore between us while Ruby tried to intercept it.

We let her get it fairly regularly so she didn't lose interest and she seemed to really enjoy it so it's a game we'll be playing on a regular basis.

Ruby trying to eat a full-size football in Ravensdale's saloon

She had a good go at chewing the big ball but couldn't quite get her mouth around it - yet 😊

Ruby had her second bath since she moved in with us on Sunday and she was definitely less impressed this time.

Ruby having a bath in the wash basin

She didn’t actually fight Phil while he was trying to shampoo her in the washbasin in the en-suite heads in the aft cabin, but she did make it clear that she wasn’t very happy about the experience.

Being dried, however, is a very different matter. She totally loves it, but it would be a lot easier if she didn’t keep trying to bite the towel.

Phil drying Ruby after her bath

She still enjoys her walks on the pontoons and meeting people and the occasional dog around the marina.

Phil and Ruby heading back to Ravensdale after a walk on the pontoons

She likes exploring Ravensdale’s decks when we take her for little walks around the boat on her lead.

Ruby on the foredeck above the dinette

Ruby sliding down the cover over the window in the forward cabin

Ruby follows Phil around to the aft deck

And she’s learnt to sit before getting a treat. She also sits at the foot of the steps when she’s been out for a walk on the pontoons and waits for Phil or I to pick her up and carry her back onto the boat.

Monday was the first windy night since Ruby has been on board, so it was the first time she’d experienced any real rocking and the sound of creaking mooring ropes, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.

She slept really well from around 11pm to 7.30am and Phil let her out of her cage before she started crying to let us know she was awake.

Ruby by her cage in Ravensdale's saloon

Ruby cuddling up to me on our bed

And she has slept right through the night every night for the past week, except for one when she woke up at around 5.30am so Phil took her out to do what she needed to do and put her back in her cage and she settled down again very quickly.

She also seems happy enough to go in her cage when we need to go out without her for short periods during the day.

We always said we would never allow a dog on our bed and we've stuck to it with previous pets, but Ruby has been allowed to break the rule. The way we see it a boat is small enough as it is without stopping her going into part of it.

So Phil gets up and takes her out for a walk first thing then brings her back to have a cuddle on the bed with me and I totally love my morning puppy cuddles.

And, yes, we are well aware that we could live to regret letting her do this as she gets older 😊


Secondary glazing update

The dinette window that we're using as a test for secondary glazing

The secondary glazing Phil installed on the long, narrow window behind the table in the dinette last month is working well.

He cut multi-wall polycarbonate sheet to fit the window and attached it to the frame with double-sided sticky tape.

It traps a bit of condensation because it isn’t airtight.

However, it's dramatically reduced the amount of cold air coming in through that window so we’re seriously considering doing more windows, especially some of the smaller ones that don’t open.


Photography

An action shot of Ruby playing with her cuddly toy

Unsurprisingly, I’ve taken loads of photos of Ruby again 😊

I’ve also taken my camera out and about with me on most days over the past week.

Me taking photos down on the shore at Maryport on Wednesday evening. Photo by Dave Welham

On Saturday, I took it for a walk along shore here in Maryport, but the weather wasn’t the best so my photos were really disappointing and not worth sharing.

The weather wasn’t great for photography again on Sunday, but I took a few shots of the pier and lighthouse in the mist.

Maryport lighthouse with the town in the distance through the mist

Fishermen on Maryport pier in misty conditions

On Monday, I popped over to the harbour and then over to the River Ellen.

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour on Monday afternoon

View across the River Ellen towards the town

Tuesday’s sunset over the Solway Firth was well worth photographing.

Solway Firth sunset on Tuesday

Tuesday's sunset on the shore at Maryport

Looking along the shore from Maryport towards the Iggesund paperboard factory at Workington

Colourful sky through grasses at Maryport

Sunset reflected in the wet sand at Maryport

There was a lovely golden light just before sunset on Wednesday.

Shipping Brow at Maryport in the golden afternoon sunshine

Maryport town reflected in the still water in Maryport Basin

Reflections of Strand Street in Maryport

Reflection of Maryport Christ Church on North Quay

The paperboard factory at Workington reflected in the Solway Firth at sunset on Wednesday

A fisherman on Maryport beach at sunset

The old groyne on Maryport beach at sunset

And yesterday (Thursday) I went for a short walk along the shore towards Flimby – the opposite direction to my usual walk down to the pier and lighthouse.

View across the shore towards Maryport pier

Another view along the shore towards the pier with the Scottish hills in the distance

Light breaking through the clouds in a stormy sky over the Solway Firth

Weather watch

We’ve had some pretty calm conditions here at Maryport over the past week, with just a couple of days of windier weather.

It has also been relatively mild for the time of year.

Saturday was dry and calm but overcast all day, with a top temperature of 6.2C (43F) and average wind speeds of 2-14mph.

Sunday was calm, overcast and grey, with thick cloud and mist. There was dampness in the air throughout the day, followed by rain during the evening. The temperature reached 7.9C (46F) and the top average wind speed was 8mph.

Grey conditions at Maryport Marina on Sunday

Overnight Sunday into Monday was the first windy night for weeks. The top average wind speed overnight was 16mph, gusting 29mph.

It was grey and damp first thing on Monday, but the cloud thinned giving way to sunny intervals during the afternoon.

The top temperature was 9.8C (50F) and the top average wind speed was 30mph, gusting 43mph.

Monday night into Tuesday was a mild, windy night. It was 8C (46F) at 10pm dropping to 6.2C (43F) by 6am. The top average wind speed overnight was 30mph, gusting up to 40mph.

Tuesday was a fine, dry day. It was cool and fairly breezy. Cloud during the morning cleared as the day went on.

Sunny Tuesday at Maryport Marina

The temperature was 5.5C (42F) at 9am and only reached 6.6C (44F) during the day. The top average wind speed was 19mph, gusting 30mph.

Tuesday night into Wednesday was a colder night with the temperature falling to 1.2C (34F).

It was very cold and frosty first thing on Wednesday and stayed cold throughout the day.

Frost is still visible on the pontoon after Phil salted it Wednesday morning

The weather was dry, bright, calm and sunny all day, with a top temperature of 3.5C (38F) and a top average wind speed of 8mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) was grey, damp, misty and very calm during the morning.

Mist at Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday)

The mist cleared to give clearer conditions during the afternoon, but it stayed overcast all day.

The temperature reached 7.4C (45F) and, despite calm conditions for most of the day, the average wind speed reached 18mph late afternoon.

And, so far, today (Friday) the weather has been overcast. The top temperature so far is 7.3C (45F) and the top average wind speed is 15mph.

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 😊