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Phil with the biggest smooth-hound he caught on our latest fishing trip |
A strange and eerie sound that we only hear while out at sea or lying in bed at night has been puzzling us for weeks, but we think we’ve found the cause at long last.
I was convinced it was the sound of mermaids singing in an
attempt to lure unsuspecting fishermen to a watery grave.
But it seems there was a much more down-to-earth
explanation.
Or at least, we think we’ve found the culprit.
If it happens again, I’ll know I was right the first time 😊
Meanwhile, we’ve been out hunting for the elusive giant starry
smooth-hound that Phil lost a couple of weeks ago that is affectionately known as "the one that got away"
Single figure wind speeds tempted us out of Maryport Marina
in Cumbria, UK, to go fishing again on Sunday and this time we took a friend along
with us.
Although we did warn him that he'd be in big trouble if
he caught the smooth-hound with Phil’s name on it 😊
Song of the sirens
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Phil was fishing from Ravensdale's aft deck when we first heard the strange sound |
Lately, I’ve been hearing mermaids singing while out fishing
and during the night while moored up - or at least that’s what I think I’m
hearing 😊
Thankfully, Phil could hear it too as I thought I was going
mad, but we had no idea what it was.
It was a strange noise - like a cross between a whistle and ethereal
panpipe music or, as Phil described it, like someone rubbing their finger
around the top of a glass.
We’ve never heard it during the day while in the marina,
just while lying in bed at night.
It kept me awake a fair bit on Saturday evening and, for once,
it was still doing it when we woke up on Sunday morning, so Phil got up
straight away and went to investigate.
He was fairly sure it was wind blowing across the top of the
rod holders that he’s recently fixed in an upright position on the guard rails
around the aft deck to provide storage for his fishing rods.
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Fishing rod in a rod holder |
He tipped one of them backwards to see if that helped.
It didn’t, so he tried stuffing kitchen roll in the rod
holders both with and without the rods, but it was still happening.
On Wednesday morning, it actually happened while we were on
the aft deck, so we could hear where it was coming from. It seemed to be emanating
from the rods, rather than the rod holders. Phil slackened off the lines and it
seems to have stopped.
As it was an occasional occurrence, we can only think it’s
dependent on the wind coming from a certain direction, so all we can do now is
wait and see if it happens again.
I’ll be very glad if it doesn’t happen at night anymore.
However, I won’t mind at all if it happens when we're out
on the water as I found it quite romantic – just as long as Phil doesn’t
respond to the bewitching song of the sirens 😊
Smooth-hound hunt
We missed the chance to fish for mackerel with one of the
local fishermen on Saturday because our windlass was out of action.
On Sunday morning, we discovered he was going out in search
of mackerel again but, by then, we’d already offered to take a friend on our
smooth-hound hunt.
Not that we minded too much as we really wanted to get that
smooth-hound 😊
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Ravensdale heading out of Maryport Marina |
Sadly, it was not to be this time – his smaller brother or
sister maybe but definitely not the one that got away - which was a bit
disappointing.
Less disappointing was discovering that the fisherman who
went in the opposite direction in search of mackerel hadn’t caught a single
fish, so we really didn’t miss much there.
We’re planning to follow him out one day though to find out
where to look for mackerel when they are around.
The gate opened around half an hour later than we’d expected
on Sunday and we headed off to our usual fishing spot to look for “the beast”.
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Leaving Maryport on our way to our smooth-hound hunting ground |
Phil caught two smooth-hounds, the largest of which was
almost 5lb, a smallish thornback ray, a small tope and lots of dogfish.
Thankfully, most of the dogfish got away before he could land them for which he
was very grateful.
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One of the smooth-hounds Phil caught on our latest fishing trip |
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A thornback ray |
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A small tope |
The new bigger landing net wasn’t really needed for the size
of the fish he caught this time, but the extra-long handle meant I could easily
get it underneath them while fishing from the foredeck.
Our friend also enjoyed the outing and caught a couple of
small smooth-hounds and lots of dogfish.
The weather was fine and dry with very little wind, so we
set up the table we usually only use in the marina on the aft deck and ate our
lunch al fresco. It was the first time we’d done this while out on the water.
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Phil waiting to eat his lunch on Ravensdale's aft deck |
Previously, I’ve just taken out rolls or sandwiches that we
usually eat sitting on the aft deck lockers or the superstructure if fishing
from the foredeck.
Most of the time we were out fishing it was fairly calm and
the boat was fairly steady, but it rocked around a good bit as the tide turned
and the wind stopped the boat from turning around for a while.
Once it turned, the rocking settled down again.
The only other rocky patch was when another friend, who has
a boat a similar size to ours but considerably faster, passed us several times
at speed. It enabled me to get some good photos of their new boat, but his wake
made fishing a bit difficult for a while.
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Our friends' Sealine 42 Statesman passing Ravensdale |
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The same boat makes a turn before coming around again |
While the guys were fishing, we got a message from Mic, another
friend who is also a member of the marina staff, to say the water level was
dropping faster than expected and the marina gate was likely to close about 30 minutes
earlier than we’d previously been told.
We were just about to start packing up anyway as we tend to
start thinking about returning an hour before the gate is due to close.
This gives us time to make sure the engines start, to bring
up the anchor and to get back to the marina from the place where we usually
fish.
The plan is that it also allows time for starting up the
generator if the engines don’t start on the starter batteries (although there’s
no reason for us to think this would happen) and for any variation in the time
that the gate closes.
As it happens, we would’ve been back in time anyway, but it
was good to be informed that the gate was likely to close early.
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Ravensdale passing Maryport lighthouse on our way back home |
Thankfully, the windlass worked well when Phil went to lift
the anchor, in fact, it sounded better than it had on previous occasions,
presumably because it had been topped up with oil.
While the chain was coming in, it was pulling to starboard,
so Phil asked me to push the throttle on the port engine down slowly to bring
it round. I did as he instructed and it worked a treat.
And we were safely back in the marina before the gate
closed.
Windlass repairs
The windlass packed up while Phil was bringing in the anchor
to go home after our fishing trip on Thursday of last week.
Phil had a look at it the following day. Initially it
wouldn’t move at all.
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Phil trying to sort our windlass problems |
He managed to free it off, so he could operate it by hand,
but the switch still wouldn’t work, so we called our marine electrician, who
came over to do the job on Saturday.
It seems one of the fuses had blown.
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The windlass fuse that stopped working |
As we didn’t have a spare and were unable to get one
immediately, he moved the good fuse from the negative lead to the positive lead
and put it back together. It’s now working just fine. Apparently, we don’t need
a fuse on the negative lead.
There was also very little oil in the windlass, which may
have caused the fuse to blow.
We’d been unaware that it needed the oil topped up as the
filler cap was broken off flat with the outer surface making it invisible and
impossible to open.
The electrician was aware that it was there and prised it
out.
Phil then topped up the oil and made a new stopper for it,
so we can keep it topped up in the future.
New windlass cover
The new windlass cover I made this week is based on the
design of a carrier bag from Morrisons supermarket 😊
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The new windlass cover and the Morrisons bag that inspired the design |
The Sunbrella canvas leftover after repairs to the flybridge
and bimini covers has been waiting for me to turn it into a cover for our
windlass for some time.
I was waiting for a rainy day, so I wouldn’t feel I was
missing good weather, but we’ve had great weather for the past month – not that
I’m complaining 😊
I was also trying to work out how best to do the job as the
windlass is an awkward shape.
I didn’t have enough fabric to make more than one, so I had
to get it right first time.
Another, more recent, excuse for not getting on with the job
was that it was pointless making a cover for the windlass until it was fixed
just in case it had to be replaced and I would’ve wasted my time and the
fabric.
Once the windlass was working again, I couldn’t really put
it off any longer, so I measured it up then decided to see whether a Morrisons
carrier bag would fit over it and it did, almost perfectly.
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Me sewing the new windlass cover |
I used the bag as a basic pattern, shaping the opening of my version so it was longer at the higher front of the windlass and lower at the back.
I then threaded a drawstring through the seam around the
open end of the bag and it is a snug (OK, snuggish 😊) fit.
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The new windlass cover in situ |
It will certainly do the job and hopefully stop the surface
of the windlass from becoming any more pitted than it already is.
Refuelling Ravensdale
We saw on the news that the price of fuel was rising
steadily so checked whether the marina had put its prices up yet.
We were told it had not, so we decided to top up
Ravensdale’s 1,200 litre fuel tank and were delighted to discover that it only
took 360 litres to fill her up.
Our current mooring means we only have to move about three
boat lengths to reach the fuel berth as it’s on the hammerhead on the
neighbouring pontoon.
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Ravensdale and the Maryport Marina fuel pontoon |
However, the filler cap is on the opposite side of the boat
to the way we normally moor up facing into the prevailing south-westerly winds,
so refuelling means going past the fuel berth and turning the boat around then
coming in facing the other way.
We disconnected Ravensdale’s mooring ropes and set off for
the fuel berth then noticed that Reg the marina foreman, who was waiting for us
by the fuel pump, was signalling a problem.
It was at that point that we realised we’d forgotten to
disconnect from the shore power ☹
The cable was becoming taut and there was nothing I could do
from the boat to free it.
I pulled the plug out of its socket at our end, but the
cable is attached to the stanchions around the aft deck with cable ties to stop
it becoming a trip hazard, so I couldn’t release it quickly to throw it ashore.
Phil managed to pull Ravensdale in towards the pontoon a bit
and hold her steady in the channel. This wasn’t easy as the easterly wind was
trying to blow the stern away from the pontoon and towards the harbour wall.
Meanwhile, Reg made his way around to our hammerhead to
unplug us.
Once Ravensdale’s tank was full, Phil drove her down to the
other end of the marina where there’s room to spin her around in her own length
and came back in facing in our usual direction with Ravensdale’s port side alongside
the pontoon.
It’s good to know that she’s all topped up and ready to go
whenever and wherever we chose to go next, but my guess is that it will be back
out to the smooth-hound hunting ground 😊
Thankfully, the electricity bollard on the pontoon and our
cable were undamaged and the electricity worked fine when we plugged back into
the shore power when we returned to our current berth.
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The temporary warning note about disconnecting shore power |
Phil is now planning to wire up a warning light, so we can’t
do it again. Meanwhile, we’ve put a note on the console to remind us to check
it.
Replacing the cleats on the bathing
platform
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The broken cleats on Ravensdale's bathing platform |
Phil was going to replace the broken wooden cleats on
Ravensdale’s bathing platform with the new ones we bought some time ago but
hadn’t got around to fitting.
However, when he went down onto the platform to do the job,
he discovered that what looked like screws holding them on were actually bolts
with nuts on the underside.
At this point, he decided it would be easier to change them
from the dinghy so he’s waiting for a calm day when we’re not planning to go
out to sea to do the job.
Shrimp hunt
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Phil ready to set off on a shrimp hunt in Maryport Marina |
“Come for a shrimp hunt,” he said.
“There are loads of them swimming around in the marina
today,” he said.
“It’ll be fun!” he said.
So, I grabbed my polaroid sunglasses and joined Phil, who
was carrying a bright blue child’s fishing net and a small bucket, on a walk up
and down the pontoons looking for little shrimps.
Meanwhile, all the shrimps disappeared and it was beginning
to look as though the first one he caught was going to be the only one.
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Phil trying to catch a little shrimp |
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Four small shrimps and a tiny eel |
However, as we were heading back to our boat with our
pathetic haul of a single small shrimp, he netted three more and a tiny eel.
The eel has been released, but the shrimps will be used as
bait on our next fishing trip.
Phil has now mended our prawn net, which had opened up so
that anything we caught was escaping again, and we’re hoping to catch some more
in there.
He also repaired one of his fishing rods which had lost one
of the guide rings that holds the line, so it’s ready for our next smooth-hound
hunt.
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Phil mending our prawn pot |
Impromptu photography lesson
I love taking photos but I’m not very clever when it comes
to using the correct camera settings.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that Phil calls me a “machine
gun photographer” because I fire off hundreds of shots in the hope I’ll get a
few I’m happy with.
Phil has tried and tried to teach me how to set my camera
settings to help me get better results, so far without much success.
Photographer friend Jan Fialkowski, who has taken two lovely
sets of photos of Ravensdale returning to Maryport Marina for us, came on board
for a coffee for the first time this week.
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Phil and Jan on Ravensdale |
Jan was interested to see Ravensdale’s interior and
unsurprisingly the conversation soon moved on to photography.
I explained that I have real problems getting sharp images
when I take photographs from a moving boat out on the water.
Jan gave me some tips, but I have a horrible feeling that
the same thing will happen to the information as has happened to when Phil has
tried to help me with this.
Try as I might, I cannot retain this information. It just
seems to go in one ear and out the other.
So, if you’re reading this Jan and my next set of photos
taken at sea are equally blurred, I’m really sorry. I was listening, honest, I
just seem to have a blind spot for this subject 😊
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One of Jan Fialkowski's photos of Ravensdale |
Most of the photos I’ve taken this week have either been of
sunsets or other people’s boats while we were out fishing so I made a concerted
effort to get out to capture the reflections of some of the fishing boats in
Maryport Harbour yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
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Some of the boats at Maryport Marina |
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Sunset over the Solway Firth |
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Maryport Marina at sunset |
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Fishing boats in Maryport Harbour at low tide |
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More fishing boats in Maryport Harbour |
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Another corner of the harbour |
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Boats coming into Maryport Harbour |
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A trawler bringing home its catch |
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Maryport lighthouse at sunset |
Maryport Marina’s new look
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Painters at work on transforming Maryport Marina |
The marina building is getting a facelift.
This week, workmen have been pressure-washing the exterior
walls and treating them with fungicide.
And yesterday (Thursday) they started painting them bright
blue.
It looks a bit strange at the moment, but then it’s only
half done and the colour is already beginning to grow on me 😊
It reminds me of the open air swimming pool where I learnt
to swim as a child.
Weather watch
Amazingly we’ve had yet another mainly dry, sunny and warm
week for the fifth consecutive week.
We have had a bit of rain this week, but only during the
night.
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Calm water at Maryport Marina last Friday evening |
Last Friday was warm and sunny with a top temperature of 20.5C (69F). The highest wind speed recorded locally was 7mph.
We had rain overnight and Saturday started overcast. It was
the coolest and least summery day of the past week with a top temperature of
just 14.2C (58F) and a top wind speed of 14mph.
It rained overnight again, but Sunday morning started dry
and brightish, if a little overcast, but the sun managed to break through later in the day. The top temperature was 16.8C (62F) and
the highest wind speed was 8mph.
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Sunshine lighting up the lush green fields along the shores of the Solway Firth on Sunday |
Overnight rain was followed by another warm, sunny day with
a top temperature of 19.6C (67F) and a top wind speed of 14mph.
Tuesday started a bit overcast with a cool wind, but the sun
came out late morning. The daytime temperature went up to 17.1C (63F) and the
top wind speed recorded locally was 11mph, but it felt windier here.
Wednesday was another bright, sunny day with a top
temperature of 15.5C (60F). The highest average wind speed recorded at St Bees
Head was 9mph but again it felt windier here.
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The sunset reflected in the still water at Maryport Marina on Wednesday evening |
Yesterday (Thursday) was also warm and sunny with a top
temperature of 19.1C (66F) and a top wind speed of 10mph.
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Maryport Harbour in the sunshine yesterday (Thursday) afternoon |
And today (Friday) has been dry and bright with the highest
temperature so far sitting at 16.9C (62F).
