A sunset fishing trip provided a delicious fish supper and more for the freezer 😊

Ravensdale returning home to Maryport in the dark

We were so pleased when calm weather coincided with the time our marina’s sea gate was open on Saturday afternoon/evening.

We hadn’t been able to go out fishing for almost a fortnight due to high winds, so it was great to be able to throw off Ravensdale’s mooring ropes and head out onto the Solway Firth from Maryport in Cumbria, UK.

And it turned out to be the best cod session we’d had in the two years we’ve been taking our 43ft motor cruiser out fishing.

Meanwhile, I’ve been reclaiming much-needed space in our fridge.

And Ruby has managed to get out of having her spaying operation for a third consecutive week and we will now have to wait another two to three months before getting it done.


Saturday’s fishing trip

The forecast for calm conditions on Saturday afternoon and evening turned out to be correct.

And, as usual, we went around to check the sea state from the pier before making the final decision to go out and the water looked pretty calm, so we went back and got ready to go.

We left the marina at around 4.50pm and headed up to Phil’s favourite fishing spot in Allonby Bay.

Ravensdale heading towards the sea gate on the way out of Maryport Marina

We dropped anchor and Phil set up the two new uptide rods that I gave him for his birthday.

Phil baiting the hook on one of his new rods

The weather was sunny, calm and warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a vest top until the temperature started to fall as the sun went down and I put on a hoodie to keep warm.

Possibly the last time I'll get to wear shorts on a fishing trip this year

There was very little wind or swell, which was good, but the fishing wasn’t great for the first hour or so.

Phil was catching dogfish after dogfish with just one codling to break the monotony, but it wasn’t big enough to keep and had to be put back in the water.

Phil with the smaller codling that was returned to the water

As high tide approached, he was on the verge of giving up and heading back to the marina, but I suggested we give it until high tide and then make a decision.

Meanwhile, we had a visit from the owner of one of the other fishing boats in the marina just to see how we were doing. He wasn’t out fishing, just giving the boat a sea trial after it had been restored.

Serene paying Ravensdale a visit on the Solway Firth

High tide arrived and nothing had changed so he decided to reel in his rods and pack them away.

The first one had a dogfish on it, which was thrown back, and he stowed his rod ready to go home.

The other one had a codling on it that was larger than the minimum size, so we decided to keep it.

Phil with the first good-sized codling he caught on this trip

I laughed and said: “I’m guessing you’re going to rebait the hook and put that one back out.”

Phil did exactly that and, within a matter of minutes, he pulled in another larger cod, followed by another until he had a total of five keepers all on the same rod, cast out on the same side of the boat.

And, for the first time ever, I decided not to photograph every fish he caught as they were all much the same 😊

Phil with the next good codling he caught as the sun was going down

Phil with another nice codling caught at sunset

At that point, Phil decided we had enough fish and packed his rod away.

We had another visit while Phil was fishing, this time it was from the owner of another fishing boat from the marina who was out fishing with his mate.

The pair dropped by to compare catches before heading off to see what else they could catch.

Bruno Boy paying Ravensdale a visit on the Solway Firth

While Phil was busy fishing, I took lots of photos of the sun going down.

Phil fishing at sunset

The sun going down over Robin Rigg wind farm on the Solway Firth

The northern fells from the Solway Firth at sunset

I also brought Ruby out on deck in her life jacket for a while, but she seemed keen to go back indoors so I let her in, and she settled on the seating in the saloon.

Ruby relaxing in the saloon when she lost interest in fishing 😊

And she stayed there until it was time to go home when she went straight back in her cage without having to be told.

It was dark on the way home so I couldn’t get any decent photos of our approach to Maryport, but I took a couple of snaps with my mobile phone. The quality isn’t good but at least they give an indication of what it was like as we returned to the marina.

Ravensdale returning to Maryport

Ravensdale entering Maryport Basin

We were moored up by around 8.30pm after three hours and 40 minutes out on the Solway Firth during which time we travelled 5.5 nautical miles.

Returning to Maryport Marina after dark

We’ve now been out on the water on Ravensdale 68 times for a total of more than 250 hours since we left the marina for the first time on August 10, 2017.

We ate the first of the cod caught on this trip on Sunday evening and froze the rest, which will provide us with two more meals 😊

Our delicious fish and chips supper

Defrosting the fridge

Me defrosting the fridge with my hairdryer

Our fridge on Ravensdale has been getting very iced up at the back and I've been meaning to defrost it for some time but it's usually got too much food in it to contemplate getting it all out.

But it had been getting worse and worse so I decided to run down the contents and tackle the job this week and I'm very glad I did.

I put the remaining food in a cool box and left the door open with a plastic tray tucked under the front to catch the water.

I also propped the icebox open and left the fridge to defrost naturally for a while before tackling the remaining slab of ice at the back with my hairdryer.

I then cleaned the fridge out throughly before replacing its contents and going shopping to restock it properly.

It’s brilliant as we now have much more room for our food.

I definitely won’t let it build up that much before doing it next time.



Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby relaxing in the sun with her teddy on Ravensdale

Ruby was fully recovered from her stomach upset by the weekend, so we put the carpet back down on Sunday and confirmed with the vets that she would be going in to be spayed yesterday (Thursday).

But she had other ideas and, despite the vet telling us that there was very little chance of her coming into season before the operation, she started on Wednesday evening.

Ruby at the top of the galley steps

That’s the third week in a row that she’s managed to escape surgery and we will now have to wait a few months before we can try again.

The first time, we delayed it for a week because she had a tummy upset.

Last week, we postponed for a further week because she was still unwell.

We really thought it was happening this time and, Wednesday evening, she had a nice shower with her Dad in preparation for the operation she was supposed to have yesterday (Thursday).

Ruby on Ravensdale

But yesterday morning I called the vet first thing to say we were fairly sure she was just coming into season.

We took her to the vets just in case we were wrong, but the vet confirmed that she was, and the operation would now have to wait until six to eight weeks after this season ends.

Apparently, Ruby really knows how to get out of something she doesn’t want to do 😊

And now she’s getting even more cuddles than usual because I feel so sorry for her and because she smells so lovely after her shower. I just love the smell of her puppy shampoo.

She’s very snuggly at the moment, just as she was last time she was in season, but it hasn’t stopped her showing her dislike of my attempts to take a selfie with her. This little dog really cracks me up 😊

One of my attempts at taking a selfie with Ruby

We've bought her some doggy knickers for her season this time so we don't have to take the carpet up again and turn all the seat cushions up to stop her sitting on them.

She doesn't seem very impressed with them though. Perhaps she doesn't think black is her colour, even if they do match her collar 😊

Ruby in her new doggy knickers

We also replaced the doormat Ruby chewed a few months back.

The chewed doormat on the aft deck just before it went in the bin

We thought the irregular shape made it look rather artistic and was convinced that no-one else would have one quite like it, but we eventually decided that it was time to get a new one.

Our new doormat at the foot of the steps from Ravensdale's saloon to the aft deck

I wonder how long this will last. The one it replaced was the second mat she had chewed up. She definitely seems to have a thing about doormats 😊

As usual, she has enjoyed her walks but now they're rather restricted while she's in season as we really don't want her to get pregnant.

Ruby having fun in the long grass

Ruby looking out to sea from the coastal path

Ruby on the shore at Maryport

Photography

My favourite photos from this week are those taken while out on the Solway Firth on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Maryport from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth

Another view of Maryport from the Solway Firth

Maryport from the Solway Firth

There was a lovely light when we left the marina during the late afternoon and calmer water meant I could get sharper images than is usually the case.

I always go for a much higher shutter speed than I would normally use on land in attempt to cope with the movement of the boat, however, most of the time it still doesn’t give me the results I would like.

The sunset on Saturday wasn’t the most spectacular I’d ever seen but it was still nice to see – and photograph, of course 😊

The sun dropping down over Robin Rigg wind farm on the Solway Firth

The sun setting over the Scottish hills from the Solway Firth

Robin Rigg wind farm at sunset

Another view of sunset over Robin Rigg wind farm

The Isle of Man across the Solway Firth

And, on Monday evening, the water in the marina was like a mirror so I took my camera for a quick walk around the pontoons to get some shots of the boat reflections.

Reflections on the still water at Maryport Marina

Maryport Marina

Sunset at Maryport Marina

Maryport Marina reflections

More reflections at Maryport Marina

This week's topic for the Practical Photographer magazine 52-week challenge is night time so I've been trying to take photos in the dark and I'm really not very good at it, but it was fun trying.

Maryport Marina at night

Maryport Marina at night

Another view of Maryport Marina at night

And I took a couple of accidental abstracts this week - one while trying to photograph the lights in the marina at night and I have absolutely no idea how or where I took the other one. I just found it among my photos when I put them on the laptop. It's very obviously an accidental shot, but I quite liked it so decided to keep it 😊

Marina lights abstract

Totally random abstract that I have no idea what it is 😊

Weather watch

Beautiful sunny weather at Maryport Marina on Saturday

The past week started well with a dry, calm and sunny weekend.

Saturday was a lovely sunny day with very little wind, but I totally forgot to check the weather on the UK last 24 hours weather page on the Met Office website on Sunday so I couldn’t record the temperature or average wind speed ☹

Sunday was another dry and bright day with a little light rain during the morning. We had heavy rain during the late evening. The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 11mph.

Maryport Marina on Sunday afternoon

The heavy rain continued overnight, and it was was still spitting first thing on Monday morning, but this soon cleared to give a dry, bright day. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 17mph.

Maryport Marina on Monday evening

We had a dry, calm and sunny start to the day on Tuesday with more cloud developing as the day went on, but it remained bright.

It also became windier later in the day and the rain arrived mid-evening. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed during the day was 15mph, rising to 26mph, gusting 36mph, by 10pm.

The tail end of Hurricane Dorian brought unsettled weather overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

Rain on Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday started dry, bright and breezy start to the day after a windy night with a top overnight wind speed of 29mph, gusting 38mph.

The cloud cover increased during the afternoon with a little light rain late in the day.

The daytime temperature peaked at 16C (61F) and the average wind speed reached 25mph, gusting 36mph.

The end of Storm Gabrielle was supposed to be travelling north across the UK yesterday (Thursday) into today (Friday), but we didn’t experience any adverse weather that could’ve been linked to it in this area.

Yesterday (Thursday) started wet and miserable and it kept it up for most of the day. It stopped raining late afternoon and the sun came out at around 6pm.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 24mph, gusting 32mph.

Clear blue sky over Maryport Marina this afternoon (Friday)

And today (Friday) the weather has been dry and sunny with a good breeze. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 13mph.

We're going stir-crazy due to bad weather but hoping we've solved our storage problem

Wild weather on the shore at Maryport in Cumbria, UK

We’re getting pretty fed up with the wet and windy weather we've had here over the past month or so and this week has been no different ☹

We’ve had some lovely sunny spells in between the rain, but the wind never seems to let up enough for us to take Ravensdale – our Neptunus 133 motor cruiser – out on the water.

I know our weather here at Maryport in Cumbria, UK, pales into insignificance when compared to the horrendous weather that Hurricane Dorian has inflicted on parts of the US, but we would expect it to be better than this here at this time of year.

Meanwhile, we’ve found a solution to the storage problem that has been blighting our liveaboard lifestyle since we moved onto Ravensdale almost three years ago 😊


Wild weather

Big waves whipped up by high winds crashing onto the shore at Maryport

Another week of wild weather has prevented us from leaving the marina as there wasn’t a single day that came anywhere near our single-figure rule – we don’t take Ravensdale out on the water unless the forecast is for wind speeds of 9mph or less.

Water creating waves in Maryport Marina as it pours over the closed sea gate

And there were some days that we wouldn’t have been able to leave the marina even if we’d wanted to as it was so windy that the marina didn’t even open the sea gate that holds water in the marina when the tide goes out.

The gate is kept closed if there’s a big swell, which usually coincides with high winds.

Water pouring over the closed sea gate at Maryport Marina on Saturday

When the gate remains closed a lot of muddy foam is created by the water coming through the holes in the gate and over the top of it.

Seafoam gathering by the Sea Cadet boats in Maryport Marina

This is blown around making the boats at the gate end of the marina pretty messy and one visiting cruiser ended up particularly dirty on Saturday morning.

The cruiser that was streaked with muddy seafoam

Thankfully we’re at the other end of the marina and unaffected by the seafoam phenomenon.

We’re so looking forward to being able to take Ravensdale out on the Solway Firth again.

Since the Trawler Race on August 3, we’ve only been able to go out fishing on three occasions, the last of which had to be cut short due to a big swell, which made fishing too dangerous.

We really had hoped to be able to get out more often during the summer.

The forecast is better for tomorrow (Saturday), but the gate times aren’t great as the high tides are 06:22 and 19:00 and the marina gate is only open for around two and half hours either side of high tide.

Ravensdale at Maryport Marina during a calmer period

We’re hoping we may be able to get out for a few hours tomorrow evening if the forecast stays the same and the wind speeds really are 3-7mph as is currently expected.

Storage wars

Ravensdale's forward cabin has become a store cupboard for stuff we can't find room for elsewhere

It looks as though we’ve found a solution to our storage problem, at long last.

We’ve found a local garage that rents out shipping containers as storage units and they had a new 20ft container delivered today (Friday) that now has our name on it (not literally, of course, as that would be really weird 😊)

It’s in Maryport, so right on our doorstep, and will give us more space than we have in our current shore-based unit, which is a 24-mile round trip from here, and we’ll have access to the new one 24/7, which will be brilliant.

We’re determined that this will be the point at which we have a really good sort out of everything we store in the unit, in the marina storage container and on Ravensdale as we’ll have the space we need to sort through it all properly.

We can get rid of stuff we haven’t used for months, years even, and the stuff we do keep can be boxed up, labelled and neatly stacked so we can find things when we want them.

We can make sure that the valuable storage space on Ravensdale is only used for the things that really need to be here.

And we will hopefully get our forward cabin back as it's become a dumping ground for stuff we can't find room for anywhere else on the boat.

I really can’t believe I’m so excited about renting a container. I’m sure it must make me a really sad person 😊


Anchor shackle

Phil fitting the new, larger shackle between Ravensdale's anchor and the anchor chain

The old and new shackles showing the difference in size

I’m pretty sure a hammer should not be necessary when pulling up an anchor at sea.

However, during recent outings on Ravensdale, Phil has had to ask me to pass a hammer out of a window to enable him to retrieve her anchor.

He realised the problem was being caused by the shackle, which attaches the anchor to the anchor chain, becoming stuck in the wrong direction because it was too small to move freely so the anchor could not be pulled on board.

He ordered a new shackle online which arrived the following day and he fitted it on Tuesday.

I was pleased to see that he thought to tie the anchor on before removing the shackle as I had visions of it disappearing into the water 😊

We’ll find out whether this has solved the problem when he brings the anchor up on our next outing.



Ruby of Ravensdale

Ruby on look-out duties on Ravensdale's foredeck

Poor Ruby’s stomach upset didn’t clear up over the weekend, so we had to take her to the vet on Monday and she was put on six in one intestinal care medication.

Ruby sitting on Phil's knee for a cuddle

However, she was still no better by Wednesday, so we phoned the vet who prescribed antibiotics and said to keep her on a bland diet of rice, pasta, chicken and scrambled egg.

Her spaying operation, which had been rescheduled for yesterday (Thursday), was cancelled again and has been rebooked for next week.

And now the vet is wondering whether Ruby’s stomach upset is a reaction to the medication she’s taking for the allergies that cause her to scratch her ears and chew her paws leading to ear and nail bed infections so we’ve had to stop her giving her these tablets for a while.

It struck me that it would be pretty ironic if she turned out to be allergic to her allergy medication 😊

Meanwhile, she seems happy enough in herself.

She’s much the same as usual while on the boat with us and her usual excitable, over-enthusiastic, super-friendly little self when we take her out for walks.

Fingers crossed she’ll be well enough to have her operation next week as, if it’s left for too much longer, we may have to wait until three months after her next season.

Phil and Ruby on one of our regular dog walks in Maryport

We rolled the carpet in the saloon back at night for a few nights when Ruby developed the tummy upset in case she had any accidents while we were asleep then decided to leave it rolled until she was better.

Ruby chewing her Nylabone on the rolled-up carpet

She obviously didn’t approve of this move and wanted something softer than a wooden floor to lie on while chewing her Nylabone, so she laid on top of the rolled-up carpet.

Ruby's tummy upset seems to have cleared up but she was scratching and chewing her paws again this morning (Friday) so I phoned the vet, who told us to try restarting her allergy medication.

We're really hoping it won't set her stomach problems off again as we will then have to try another medication for her allergies.


Phil’s cough

Phil on Ravensdale during our last proper trip out on the water

In June, I returned from a visit to my parents in Salisbury with a nasty cough and cold, which I very generously passed on to Phil.

My cough and cold were gone in a few weeks, but his cough has hung on and on.

At the time, I told him that at least I’d brought him something back from my holiday and it turns out that it’s the gift that keeps on giving 😊

He went to the doctor with his cough again this week.

The doctor couldn’t find an obvious cause and has referred him to the hospital for a chest x-ray so fingers crossed that will be clear as well and his cough will eventually go away on its own.


Photography

As usual, I enjoyed photographing the wild weather on Saturday.

I took my camera for a walk along the beach to capture the giant waves that that had been whipped up by the high winds crashing onto the shore.

Spray being blown across the pier at Maryport by high winds

High winds whipping up the waves at Maryport

White-topped waves around Maryport pier with the Scottish hills in the distance

Big waves rolling onto the shore

Waves battering Maryport pier

On Saturday evening, while walking Ruby I noticed that there was a lovely light on the harbour but I hadn’t got my camera with me, so I took a few snaps with my mobile phone just to make me even more annoyed with myself for not taking my camera 😊

Golden light on Maryport harbour

Fishing nets drying at Maryport harbour

Sunset across Maryport basin

Heavy clouds over Maryport with rain in the distance

On my return from the harbour on Saturday evening, Phil pointed out a lovely rainbow behind me, so I dived into the boat, grabbed my camera and took a couple of shots of it.

The full arc was visible, but I couldn’t get it all in one photo and the masts and rigging, coupled with the movement of the boats, meant stitching a number of images together for a panorama was out of the question.

Rainbow over Maryport Marina

The other end of the same rainbow

The light was pretty good again on Wednesday evening as I returned from walking Ruby, so I took my camera over to the harbour in the hope of getting some better images than I’d managed with my phone.

The light wasn’t quite as good as Saturday evening, but I was fairly happy with my photos from that evening.

Maryport harbour

Ellenfoot Bridge at Maryport harbour

Dark skies over Maryport

Another view of Maryport harbour

Christ Church at Maryport

Fishing boat Chelaris in Maryport harbour

Weather watch

There’s been a distinctly autumnal feel to the weather over the past week and not in a good way ☹

But I suppose it shouldn’t really be too much of a surprise given that meteorological autumn started on Sunday, September 1.

We’ve had more than our fair share of wind and rain here in Maryport, Cumbria, again this week and the average temperatures for most days were a degree or two down on last week.

Phil’s back in long trousers, or “big boy trousers” as he calls them, but I haven’t given up on my shorts yet. It’s still summer in my world 😊

Maryport Marina when the weather improved on Saturday afternoon

It was very windy overnight Friday into Saturday and throughout the morning on Saturday up until the early afternoon. We also had some heavy showers, particularly during the morning. The wind dropped and the sun came out for a while later in the afternoon.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 38mph, gusting 48mph.

Sunday was mainly dry and bright with showers and much less windy than the previous couple of days. The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 26mph, gusting 33mph.

Monday was very wet and windy. It rained almost all day varying from light rain to heavy rain, which eased off to spitting with the occasional dry spell.

Grey skies over Maryport Basin on Monday afternoon

The top temperature was 14C (57F) and the top average wind speed was 29mph, gusting 38mph.

Tuesday was overcast with showers during the day followed by heavy rain in the evening.

The top temperature was 16C (61F) and the top average wind speed was 19mph, gusting 31mph.

We had another cloudy start to the day on Wednesday with a little light rain during the morning. It was very windy during the afternoon with sunshine and showers.

Wet weather at Maryport Marina on Wednesday

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 40mph, gusting 53mph.

Overnight Wednesday into yesterday (Thursday) we experienced some high winds with gusts of up 46mph.

Yesterday was mainly dry and bright with a little bit of light rain around lunchtime. It was still fairly breezy but nowhere near as windy as the previous day.

The top temperature was 15C (59F) and the top average wind speed was 25mph, gusting 34mph.

Storm clouds over Maryport Marina yesterday (Thursday) afternoon

Last night (Thursday/Friday) was another windy night with average wind speeds of up to 32mph, gusting 44mph.

And today (Friday) the weather has been mainly dry with a few showers. It remained windy with a top average wind speed of 29mph, gusting 47mph. The top temperature was 14C (57F).