A Siberian blast from the Beast from the East and a mini earthquake



Snow blowing across Maryport Marina

Sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow and a mini earthquake have made for an unusual week in west Cumbria, UK.

The weather system, dubbed the Beast from the East, arrived overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday bringing temperatures down to -6C (21F) that felt more like -12C (10F) with the wind chill factor.

And on Wednesday morning local people in Maryport and surrounding areas reported feeling their homes move as a mini quake registering 3.2 on the Richter scale caused their windows and doors to rattle just after 7.30am.

We later learned that it was the largest earthquake in Cumbria since 2010.

Unsurprisingly, we didn’t feel the quake on our 43ft seagoing cruiser Ravensdale, but we certainly felt the effects of the Beast from the East.

The Beast from the East



Storm clouds gathering over Maryport heralding the arrival of "the Beast"



Despite the early warnings of the snow storm about to hit the UK from Siberia, we didn’t really expect to see much of an impact here as every severe weather warning for snow we’ve seen since we moved on board Ravensdale almost 16 months ago has failed to reach us.

And local people told us that they hadn’t seen any significant snowfall here for around seven to eight years.

You could say we prepared for the worst, but expected the best - except that we like snow, so no snow wasn’t really going to be the best outcome for us 😊

We filled up our water tank before the temperatures dropped so low that the supply to the pontoons was turned off to stop it freezing in the pipes. We realised that, if the forecast was correct, it could be off for days or even longer.

We also went shopping earlier than usual this week to make sure we had enough food on board to not need to shop again for a good week, if necessary.

We knew we had plenty of diesel in the tank to keep our Webasto Airtop Evo 55 diesel 24V running day and night if necessary.

The heater, which is designed for use in trucks, vans and mobile homes, is super-efficient and keeps us lovely and warm on board.

And we dug out our merino wool thermal underwear that was bought as a mountain base layer when we spent our spare time out walking in the Scottish mountains.

Happy that we’d done everything we could to prepare for whatever was heading our way, we settled down for the night on Tuesday and awoke the following morning to a white world 😊



The view from one of Ravensdale's windows on Wednesday morning

Despite leaving the heater on the economy setting overnight, it was still pretty chilly inside the boat and I soon discovered that the sliding door, which is the only access to the boat, and the sliding window on the port side were frozen shut.



Ravensdale's door was frozen shut on Wednesday morning

I checked the starboard window and discovered that still opened so at least we could climb out of the window if necessary. Thankfully it wasn’t necessary as Phil managed to get the door to open with a bit of brute force.

I was eager to get out and take photographs of the snow, so we decided to have a cooked breakfast at The Aquarium by Maryport harbour, which seems to be becoming our second home as we frequently end up walking over there for breakfast, coffee and cake or lunch.



The Aquarium at Maryport in Cumbria, UK

 

Inside The Aquarium on the harbourside in Maryport

After breakfast, I went for a walk with my camera, stopping to chat to the folk I met who were out walking their dogs, playing with their kids in the snow or, like me, taking photographs.



Maryport harbour looking beautiful in the snow

 

Snow covered docks at Maryport harbour

 

Youngsters playing in the snow near Maryport harbour

 

Sunshine and snow at Maryport harbour

 

A child sledging on a snowy slope near the harbour

Much of the time, the sun was shining but, from time to time, it clouded over and started snowing again.



Phil bringing us another jerrycan of water

As we expected, the very low temperatures have left us without a water supply on the pontoons, so Phil has been making regular trips up to the marina facilities to fill a jerrycan and bringing it back to keep our water tank topped up. We’ve also been trying to use less water to make what we have got last longer.

Overnight Wednesday into Thursday was another very cold night with temperatures down to -5.6C (22F) and average wind speeds of up to 19mph, gusting up to 32mph.

And "the Beast" continued to bite yesterday (Thursday)



A snowman that appeared in the marina overnight on Wednesday

The temperature didn’t get above -1.1C (30F) during the day. We also had high winds, with average wind speeds of up to 32mph and gusts of up to 48mph recorded at nearby St Bee’s Head.

There were a number of heavy snow showers throughout the day and lying snow was being blown around by the strong winds.

Phil volunteered to shovel the snow off our pontoon, which is about 80m long. The snow had been compacted where people had walked on it so it was a time-consuming task but he didn't mind at all. In fact, the snow shovels he and marina staff used were the ones we brought with us from our previous life in Scotland and gave to the marina.



Phil clearing the snow from the pontoon leading to Ravensdale in the snow

He then spread salt on it and last night it was the least snowy pontoon in the marina, other than the ramp, which the marina staff keep clear and salted.



Ravensdale in the snow

Overnight last night was less cold, with temperatures only going down to -0.3C, but it was very windy, so there was a lot of rocking and a lot of noise from creaking ropes, fenders knocking against the hull and wind whistling through the rigging of the nearby yachts.

Today (Friday) remains very windy, but there has been no more snow and the temperature has risen to 0C (32F) so I think "the Beast" has almost run his course.

And it’s looking unlikely that Storm Emma, which is affecting the south of England and Wales at the moment, will make it this far north.

I realise that many people reading this will be experiencing much worse weather and colder temperatures than we have here so I really hope you're all managing to stay safe and keep warm.

The calm before the storm

Maryport enjoyed sunshine, clear blue skies and very little wind on Friday of last week and over the weekend.



Sunshine and clear blue skies over Maryport shore on Sunday

However, although the sun felt warm by day, temperatures were pretty cold at night - down to around -1C and the marina had a coating of ice on the water in the mornings, some of which remained throughout the three-day period.

We were awoken on Monday morning by loud scraping noises. This coincided with the opening of the marina gate - as the tide came in it broke up the ice pushing it up against Ravensdale’s hull.

It was also very cold overnight on Monday with snow flurries, including one quite heavy snow shower, during the morning, but it didn’t last.

The swans that frequently visit the marina turned up searching for food

The berth holder who usually feeds them is away from the marina at the moment, but we bumped into him recently and he said we could feed them the floating duck and swan food stored on his boat.

They looked so hungry that I gave them a couple of scoops of food and they gobbled it up in no time, polishing it off before the seagulls turned up in force in an attempt to steal it.



Feeding time for the swans at Maryport Marina

Cleaning our bikes



Treating the rust on the forks on Phil's bike

We made the most of the good weather last weekend to start trying to rescue our bikes that had begun to succumb to the salt in the air here.

We keep them in the marina bike shed, which is unfortunately open to the prevailing wind.

The chrome on the forks and all the other metal bits had become very rusty so we treated them with a rust remover and used a wire brush and wire wool to clean it off.

We then gave them a good wash.

They will need more attention and probably a full service, but at least we’ve made a start on them with the intention of getting out on them in the spring.



Phil scrubbing our bikes before I hosed them off

The parrot and the octopus

Another unusual event during the past week was our Sunday afternoon walk along the coastal path above the shore to Maryport lighthouse in glorious sunshine.

As usual, we got chatting to some of the people fishing from the pier, but this time we also bumped into a guy with a small blue parrot sitting on his shoulder.



Ben the fisherman with his parrot Gerald

The fisherman, who introduced himself as Ben, said he'd brought his pet blue Quaker parrot Gerald with him because the bird would get lonely if he was left home alone.

Ben was happy to have his photo taken with Gerald.

He also let Phil and I hold the parrot for a little while.



Gerald the blue Quaker parrot sitting on my shoulder

Gerald pooped on Phil’s fleece, but thankfully didn’t leave any little presents on my favourite woolly jumper 😊.

We also met a guy called Paul, who is an aquarist at the Aquarium in Maryport.

He was trying to retrieve a net he’d been using to catch crabs to feed to the Aquarium’s octopus.



The spider crab we caught in our prawn pot last month

We told him we caught lots of shore crabs with the prawn net we drop down from our boat in the marina and he asked us to keep them for the octopus.

And, if we catch any more spider crabs, he wants them to include in the displays at the Aquarium.

I love Maryport! Where else could you go for a short walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon and end up with a parrot sitting on your shoulder and agreeing to help feed an octopus? 😊

It made my day. Random experiences like this are one of the joys of our new lifestyle. And, yes, I know, I’m easily pleased 😊

Mending the bimini cover

Ravensdale’s bimini was still up after we'd opened it to check it last week.

I’d been planning to patch the bimini cover, which had become damaged where the straps that secure it in place had rubbed through the fabric, on Monday, then it started snowing and we decided the bimini needed be packed away asap.

We folded it up and were about to put the damaged cover back on and take it off to repair it on the next fine day when it stopped snowing again, so I decided to try to get it done there and then.

Sewing the Sunbrella fabric patches onto the bimini cover was a lot easier than repairing the flybridge cover had been as there was less fabric to manoeuvre through the sewing machine.



Me sewing patches onto the cover for Ravensdale's bimini

I found the easiest way to do this was to sew both ends and one side in one go, then stop before moving the cover along to sew the fourth side.

This meant I could always have the narrow ends of the cover under the machine, making it much easier to work than trying to push the full bulk of the cover through the machine to stitch all four sides in one go.

And we managed to get the bimini packed away in its cover before the real snow arrived.



The bimini wrapped up in its newly repaired cover

Mystery pattern on aft locker



Flower design formed by generator exhaust

On Sunday, I discovered an unusual pattern on the port locker on Ravensdale’s aft deck.

It looked as though someone had carefully drawn a flower on the white gelcoat.

At first, I was totally baffled as to how it got there, then I realised that Phil had started the generator in front of it and the intricate flower pattern had been created by its exhaust. It was so pretty that I just had to photograph it.

Photography fest

I have taken more than a thousand photos this week so will definitely have to start deleting the worst of them – correction, most of them 😊 – very soon or I will run out of space on my laptop.

Meanwhile, here are a few more shots from this week’s photography walks.



Maryport pier viewed through an old groyne on the beach

 

The Aquarium from across Maryport harbour at sunset

 

Sunset across the Solway Firth from Maryport shore

  

Sunset over Maryport Marina

 

Maryport Marina in the snow

 

Ice on the water at Maryport Marina

 

Bridge over the River Ellen leading into Maryport town centre

 

Ellen Footbridge at Maryport harbour in the snow

 

Maryport's Maritime Museum and statue depicting the town's fishing heritage



Maryport pier at sunset with snow approaching from across the Solway Firth

Getting Ravensdale shipshape for the spring before winter returns

A calm evening at Maryport Marina in Cumbria

Sunshine and slightly higher daytime temperatures over the past week have made it feel as though spring is just around the corner.

It has felt positively spring-like at times, but still very cold at night with frost on the pontoons in the early mornings.

And weather forecasters are warning us to prepare for a cold snap that will bring plunging temperatures and the potential for “significant snowfall” across parts of the UK next week.

The freezing weather system has been labelled “The Beast from the East” because it will be blown in from Siberia.

Ravensdale’s spring clean begins

This week's sunshine revealed just how dirty our 43ft seagoing cruiser Ravensdale had become during the winter, especially when we took our coffee out onto the foredeck to make the most of the good weather.

Phil then decided it was time to start her spring clean, initially using boat wash on her topside and hull, then attacking some of the more stubborn marks with cutting compound.

Phil washing Ravensdale with boat wash

We’re also going to order some more ChineSHINE, an amazing product that works like magic when it comes to removing yellowing from fibreglass gelcoat.

It can also be used on rubber, glass, painted surfaces and antifoul.

And it cleans away rust staining from drainage and exhaust outlets and from around metal fixings.

We discovered it when we had Ravensdale out of the water for antifouling and replacing her anodes last spring and will definitely use it again.

Fitting new aft deck lights

Drilling holes in Ravensdale's radar arch to fit new deck lights

Phil has also fitted new LED lights to illuminate the aft deck.

He had hoped to use the wiring from the existing deck lights, which have not worked since we bought the boat, but this was not possible because the cables had been cut too short, so he had to run new wiring under the radar arch.

Ravensdale's new aft deck lights

While carrying out the electrical work, he decided it was also time to sort out all his electrical tools and spares, so they were spread around the saloon before being packed away again, hopefully more neatly than before 😊

Phil sorting his electrical stuff in Ravensdale's saloon

Other boat jobs

We also pulled out and sorted the contents of the aft deck lockers as we can never find the things we need when we need them. In fact, it frequently takes longer to find the tools or equipment than to complete the task for which they are needed.

Another job completed this week was installing the bilge pump that came out of the engine room in the bow bilges. It was removed from the engine room when we replaced it with a larger, automatic pump.

The former engine room bilge pump now fitted in the bow bilge

And yesterday (Thursday) we got out our generator and started it up to make sure it will run if and when its needed as it hasn’t been used for a while.

We also opened up the bimini – the open-front canvas top over the aft deck, to check for any damage and to give it an airing. 

The bimini itself was sound, but the cover that zips over it when closed needs repairing, so I will have to get my sewing machine out again one day soon.

Ravensdale with the bimini up

Hopefully, it will be easier to patch than the flybridge cover because it’s smaller and will, therefore, be easier to manoeuvre while stitching.

Unusual neighbour

We had an unusual new neighbour overnight on Sunday.

Girl Mia, a shellfishing boat from nearby Whitehaven, tied up on the harbour wall opposite Ravensdale while waiting to be lifted out the following day to have work carried out at the MPM North West boat yard.

Chatting with the neighbours - Girl Mia moored up alongside Ravensdale

We were told it was one of just two of this design made by Sutton Workboats of Newhaven – the other is based at Wexford in Southern Ireland.

Fishing from this vessel must be a far cry from the experience of fishermen of the past and many of those fishing today as the decks are totally enclosed protecting the crew from the elements.

I can only think this is what fishing boats of the future will look like.

A taste of spring

Sunny weather has encouraged me to get out and about with my camera more than usual.

Maryport Marina basking in the winter sunshine

After a prolonged period of strong wind, it continued to blow overnight Friday into Saturday, with average wind speeds up to 25mph and gusts of up to 37mph.

Saturday was our first real taste of spring. It was bright and sunny, but there was still a chilly wind.

Sunday was dry and overcast first thing, then the sun came out and it was quite spring-like again.

There was very little wind, which made a pleasant change and I went out without a jacket or big woolly jumper and left my woolly hat at home for the first time this year.

However, the lovely weather was short lived. The sun disappeared and it started raining mid-afternoon and continued throughout the night.

Monday started off foggy. The fog soon cleared to be replaced by an overcast day with very little wind, which ended with a beautiful sunset.

Sunset reflected in a puddle on Maryport pier

The sun going down over Maryport beach on Monday

Sunset at Maryport Marina on Tuesday evening

It was particularly cold overnight Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights with frost on the pontoons the following mornings.

And the week remained very calm, with glorious sunshine on Wednesday and yesterday (Thursday).

Fleming Square in Maryport

Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour

Maryport basin from the Sea Brows

The view across the Solway Firth to the Scottish hills from Maryport promenade

Another view of Fleming Square at Maryport

Maryport lighthouse 

The Roman Museum on the the Sea Brows at Maryport

A lone seagull on Maryport promenade

The temperatures were only a little higher than last week, reaching 7-8C (45-46F), but the bright sun and lack of wind made it feel considerably warmer.

Today (Friday) is lovely and sunny again, but there's a real chill to the wind, hinting at the cooler weather heading our way and, yes, I did get my woolly jumper and hat out again 😊

Magpie duck sighting

When I wrote last week’s blog, I was disappointed by the disappearance of the little black and white duck that had become a regular visitor to our pontoon and tame enough to eat out of my hand.

The magpie duck eating out of my hand

He flew away when the marina staff pressure washed the pontoon and has not been back since.

However, local man Ronnie Bell posted a photo of the duck on Facebook this week, which he kindly agreed I could use in my blog.

The magpie duck in the River Ellen this week

I asked Ronnie where he’d seen it and it seems it has moved to the nearby river so I’m hoping it will return to the marina one day soon…

Sleeping more soundly thanks to our new automatic bilge pump

Phil tracing the wiring for the old engine room bilge pump

The scary experience of trying to sleep on a boat with a steady flow of water coming in turned fitting an automatic bilge pump into our top priority.

We also have a 24V manually switched bilge pump and another automatic one will be fitted very soon.

Fitting a new bilge pump

We’d been planning to swap the manual bilge pumps on our 43ft cruiser Ravensdale for automatic ones for some time, but there always seemed to be another job that was more pressing.

That all changed the night Phil had to get up every two hours during the night to operate the bilge pump when the stern gland on the port prop shaft developed a fairly serious leak. And, yes, I know we should have taken turns, but he volunteered J

The leak developed after we took our Neptunus 133 out cruising on two consecutive days - Winter cruising joys and the misery caused by flooding bilges

Unfortunately we discovered the rising water level in the engine room quite late in the day and Phil was reluctant to touch it while the boat was in the water in case he made the leak worse.

The manual pump that is being relocated to the bow bilges

This meant we had to wait until the following morning to get help.

It turned out it was just a case of tightening the nuts on the stern gland plate so we'll know what to do if it happens again.

At the same time as discovering the leak, we found out that the bow bilge pump was no longer working so we immediately ordered a new one.

We decided to move the working manual pump in the engine room into the bow bilges and put a new larger automatic pump in the engine room.

After checking the various options online, we went for the 24V Rule-Mate 2000, which can pump 2000 gallons per hour.

Ravensdale's new automatic bilge pump

When it arrived, it became evident that it needed a three-way switch for automatic, manual and off settings so that was duly ordered along with the necessary cabling.

Phil then set about trying to work out how to get the cables from the switch on the helm console to the bilge pump in the engine room.

The existing cables could not be used as there were only two, when three were now needed, and they were not in particularly good condition.

Phil preparing the wiring for the new bilge pump in the engine room

The three-way switch for the new bilge pump

He also fitted the new pump in a more accessible position as the original had been under the diesel tank and at arm’s length from the end of the walkway in the engine room.

It was such a tight spot that Phil asked me to be ready to pull him out by his feet if he got stuck. Thankfully that wasn’t necessary.

And we now have a fully functioning automatic bilge pump in the engine room.

Phil poured water into the bilges with a hosepipe to test it and the pump kicked in when it reached the required level.

Phil pouring water into the engine room bilges

Creaking mooring ropes

Our latest trips out to sea also created another far less worrying but fairly annoying problem – very creaky mooring ropes.

Phil adjusting one of the creaking mooring ropes

We’ve had this happen before and have always found that moving the ropes around reduced the amount of creaking to a tolerable level even in the windiest of weather.

However, for some reason it didn’t work this time. We tied and retied them a number of times, but still the loud creaking continued to keep us awake at night.

In desperation, Phil poured washing up liquid over the ropes on the cleat nearest our cabin one night and they seemed to quieten down a bit. 

The next morning we could see streaks of the yellow washing up liquid on the side of the boat, which have since been washed off, but the ropes still seem to be quieter than they were before it was applied so we’ll know what to do next time J

Patching the flybridge cover

Me sewing a patch on our torn flybridge cover

Meanwhile, I attempted to patch a tear in the canvas cover for the flybridge, which proved much more difficult than I’d expected.

I wasn’t convinced my domestic sewing machine would be up to sewing through the thick canvas, but that proved less of a problem than manoeuvring the bulk of the cover through the machine while turning it round to stitch the four sides of the patch.

I broke the only needle I had that was supposed to be able to handle heavy fabric and had to resort to a leather needle to finish the task.

It’s not the neatest sewing job I’ve ever done, but it has stopped the rain getting in.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get fabric that was an exact match for the existing cover, but at least the Sunbrella patch is blue and, more importantly, waterproof.

Ravensdale's patchwork effect flybridge cover

There are so many patches on it now that it’s beginning to look like a patchwork quilt so I think a new one may be needed before too long.

However, after the trouble I had trying to sew on a simple patch with my machine, I doubt I’ll attempt making a new one. I’ll probably leave that to the professionals.

Feathered friends

The pair of swans that frequent the marina have been around looking for food again while the berth holder who used to feed them has been away.

The pair of swans in search of food

And the little black and white duck that we first saw back in December of last year was a regular visitor for a couple of days during the past week.

We previously looked it up to find out what type of duck it was and learned that it was a lightweight domesticated breed called a magpie duck.

Keen to find out more now it seemed to be here to stay, I looked it up again to find out whether it was male or female. It turned out to be male because it has curly feathers just above its tail.

On Friday evening, we found him in the water near our boat quacking at us whenever he saw us. We took pity on him and gave his some bread.

The magpie duck on the pontoon by our boat

He was back the following day when we saw him sitting on the pontoon by our steps waiting for us to come out so we tried giving him some bird food we had on board and he stayed around for much of the day.

He seemed to get tamer each time we saw him, running along the pontoon towards us if we called him, but was unwilling to take food directly from us.

On Sunday, he arrived earlier and stayed for most of the day. He allowed us to get closer than before, but still shied away if we got too close.

But, on Monday, he started eating from the palm of my hand.  

The first time the duck ate out of my hand

I was all set to give him a name and declare him our new pet when the marina staff, who had started pressure washing the pontoons the previous day, reached our pontoon.

One of the marina staff pressure washing the pontoons

The duck flew off and hasn’t been back since. Hopefully he’ll return very soon as I was getting used to having him around.

I recently learnt that anatidaephobia is the fear of being watched by a duck, swan or goose. I wonder if there’s a name for the fear of NOT being watched by a duck J

Windy weather

We’ve had a pretty cold week here with some frosty mornings. The temperature has just about managed to stay above 0C (32F) but strong winds have made it feel a lot colder.

And there has been a LOT of wind over the past week so no chance of taking the boat out.

Me checking the wind speed with our anemometer

Low temperatures are fine, but we prefer not to leave the marina if the wind speed is higher than a single figure.

And on many days it would not even have been possible to do so as the marina doesn’t open the gate if there’s too much swell and it has stayed closed on a number of occasions this week.

Water pouring over the closed marina gate

Last Friday was cold and sunny so I took my camera for a walk around the local area.

The sun setting behind clouds over the Solway Firth in Cumbria

Maryport Marina - Ravensdale is just visible in the far right corner of the marina

Grasslot shore at Maryport with with the Scottish hills in the distance

A wider view of Maryport Marina

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were also very chilly with high winds. 

Tuesday was still cold, with rain, sleet and wet snow in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon, which provided another opportunity for a walk with my camera. The snow started falling again as I got back to the boat.

Maryport in Cumbria from Mote Hill with the Scottish hills in the distance

Blue bridge crossing the River Ellen at Maryport

Maryport Harbour

Maryport Marina just before the snow arrived on Tuesday afternoon

Valentine’s Day followed a very cold and windy night with a highest average wind speed of 36mph, gusting up to 48mph, recorded at nearby St Bee’s Head.

The high winds continued throughout the day on Wednesday, peaking late morning with a top average speed of 40mph and gusts up to 57mph.

Yesterday (Thursday) the wind continued to blow throughout the day with the highest average wind speed of 31mph and gusts of up to 44mph recorded at 1pm.

Last night and today (Friday) have also been very windy, but at least the sun's shining today and it's a bit warmer at around 6-7C (43-44F).

So glad we eventually managed to get our mooring ropes to stop creaking or we would’ve been totally shattered due to lack of sleep after such a windy week.

New neighbour

Last night (Thursday) we had a new neighbour for the night.

The Bayard 7 moored on the harbour wall opposite Ravensdale

The Fred. Olsen Windcarrier Bayard 7 has been on the marina slipway having work carried out by the local boat yard for the past fortnight.

It went back in the water yesterday afternoon and was moored up on the harbour wall almost opposite Ravensdale, but it was only there overnight and left when the marina gate opened this morning.