 |
Ravensdale returning to Maryport Marina after our smooth-hound hunt |
The giant smooth-hound that got away last week left us dying
to get out there to have another go at catching one.
Phil had upgraded his fishing gear to give him a better
chance of landing a big fish, if he was lucky enough to hook another one.
But we had to wait until yesterday (Thursday) for the wind
to drop so we could go out onto the Solway Firth in Cumbria, UK, on a
smooth-hound hunt.
This time, Phil caught three of varying sizes but sadly
nothing like the one he lost on our last outing.
As far as we’re concerned, there’s a giant smooth-hound out
there with his name on it and we’ll keep going back out there until he catches
it 😊
Oh well, here’s to better luck next time.
We also had a bit of a problem that will stop us going out
again until it’s fixed – the windlass packed up working as Phil was bringing in
the anchor.
Meanwhile, we’ve been trying to find a way to stop the sun
waking us up too early in the morning and Phil’s temporary solution was
hilarious 😊
The frustrating wait to go smooth-hound hunting
 |
The massive smooth-hound that got away on our last fishing trip |
The “one that got away” got away for more than a week while
we waited for the winds to drop sufficiently for us to go out fishing again.
You can read about our previous fishing trip here, if you're interested.
You can read about our previous fishing trip here, if you're interested.
The day after the 3-4ft long smooth-hound snapped the 20lb
line on the trace Phil was using on our last fishing trip, we bought a new
landing net and Phil made up plenty of new traces with 40lb line and larger
hooks.
But high winds stopped us going out to have another go at
catching it (or one like it 😊) until yesterday
(Thursday).
 |
Phil with the new landing net |
This week, we were telling some friends, who have a boat here, the tale of “the one that got away” and they offered us a landing net that they
had on their boat.
The said it had crossed the Pacific with them, but they
hadn’t used it for a very long time and they offered it to us.
It was larger than the one we'd bought so we gratefully
accepted it.
The only trouble with it was that it had quite a short
handle, so Phil removed the stopper from the end and pushed a long
stainless-steel pipe up inside the handle with some Gorilla glue.
He then forced some plastic tubing over the end to make a
hand grip, so we now have a very strong, very long-handled landing net.
We also went out and bought some wire traces after hearing
that fishermen were catching tope in the Solway Firth now, so we’re hopefully
ready for anything 😊
We'd hoped to get out on the water again on Sunday as the
forecast had been reasonable, but it changed as the day approached and it
became obvious that it was going to be too windy for us.
Our neighbour in the marina decided to take his yacht out
for a sail, but he returned a short time later saying it was just too rough out
there making us very glad we’d decided against going out ourselves.
Phil helped Andy, who is a member of the marina staff, to
catch his ropes.
 |
Phil and Andy help moor up our next-door neighbour |
Monday had also looked like a possible day for a fishing
trip and we were up well before the marina
gate was due to open.
However, it was just a bit too windy when the gate opened
just after 9am.
The northerly wind was averaging 10-11mph, gusting 14-15mph.
We were undecided whether to go so went around to the pier
to check the sea state.
There were quite a lot of white horses and the yachts and
fishing boats that did go out were getting rocked around so we decided to wait
and go another day.
We also know that northerlies tend to be particularly
troublesome for us where we wanted to fish so we decided to wait for a better
day.
Ravensdale in fishing boat mode
 |
Ravensdale before we left on our latest fishing trip |
I still love the novelty of taking our home fishing 😊
That said, Ravensdale is a bit big for fishing boat duties,
but she is all we have so she has to perform that function for us.
I’d been checking the weather forecast several times a day since
our last fishing trip and thankfully the forecast for yesterday (Thursday) was
correct and there was very little wind when the marina gate opened soon after
11am.
As usual, we waited for the smaller fishing boats to leave
the marina before throwing off our mooring ropes then headed out onto the Solway Firth.
It was a bit overcast and there was a sea mist, but it was
still warm and I wasn’t even the slightest bit cold in a vest top and shorts.
Ravensdale seems to be running well. When we first started
taking her out to sea, we had a bit of smoke coming from the exhausts, possibly
because the previous owner seems to have used her as a holiday cottage and rarely,
if ever, left the marina.
 |
Ravensdale on the Solway Firth with Maryport pier in the distance |
Whether it’s due to more frequent use or the maintenance
work that's been carried out on her engines, she now produces very little smoke,
even on starting.
As we were looking for the smooth-hound that got away, we
went back to the spot where we'd been fishing the last time.
We dropped anchor, turned the engines off and fished for a while without success. Phil had a few bites and hooked a couple
of dogfish that escaped before he could bring them up onto the boat.
We never keep dogfish and they're so prolific that they’re
just a nuisance to deal with, so he was pleased they got away.
We'd been in the same spot for an hour or so when the owner
of Sunrise - one of the local fishing boats that we could see anchored about
half a mile further off shore - contacted us on the VHF radio to ask how we
were getting on.
 |
Anglers fishing in the mist on Sunrise |
We told him we weren’t having much luck and he said they were
getting plenty of bites from skate (thornback rays) and smooth-hounds where he
was so Phil decided to give it another 15 minutes and, if we had nothing by then, we’d move on.
He didn’t get a single bite in that time, so he lifted the
anchor, started the engines again and we moved to within a couple of hundred yards
of Sunrise just before high tide.
Phil set up the rods again and the bites started coming
thick and fast. In fact, at times he had to stop re-baiting one rod to deal with
the other.
 |
Waiting for a bite on Ravensdale's foredeck |
Yes, I know, I should’ve jumped in and dealt with the second
rod but, as I’ve said before, I prefer watching him fish and photographing his
catches.
That said, I was always ready with the new, long-handled
landing net to help bring the fish he caught onto the boat and found it worked
perfectly so the next time we get a big one we should be able to get it on board.
Phil was also fishing from the foredeck this time, which
is lower and therefore closer to the water than the aft deck, making it easier
for me to get the net under the fish.
 |
The largest of the smooth-hounds in the new net |
On this outing, he caught three smooth-hounds of varying
sizes ranging from about 18 inches in length to almost 3 feet. However, even
the biggest of them was nothing like the size of the one that got away, which had
a much larger girth.
 |
The biggest smooth-hound we caught yesterday |
As well as the three smoothies, he caught a good-sized thornback
ray (AKA skate) which had a wingspan of about 18 inches.
 |
The thornback ray before it was returned to the water |
All in all, it was a good fishing trip until he was lifting the anchor to come home and the windlass packed up just as the anchor was raised out of the water.
 |
Phil bringing up the anchor before the windlass stopped working |
He pulled the last bit of chain in by hand and I helped him
to bring the anchor in with a boat hook.
We were out for just five minutes short of four hours – our longest fishing trip yet 😊
As I mentioned in my last blog post, our next step is to go
out on the morning tide and come back in on the next one.
But we will need to get the windlass fixed before we attempt
that one.
Our photographer friend Jan Fialkowski took some lovely
photos of Ravensdale coming back into Maryport for us again.
 |
Ravensdale coming into Maryport past the old lighthouse |
 |
Ravensdale about to enter Maryport Marina |
Blackout pants
Much as we’re enjoying the lovely sunny weather we’ve been
having lately; the bright morning sun has been waking us up much too early.
Sunrise is around 4.45pm at the moment, but it was starting
to get very light in our bedroom from about 3.30am.
This wasn’t a problem last year when we were moored
alongside the wall on the eastern side of the marina.
Now we’re on a hammerhead on the western side of the marina,
the morning sun has become a problem, so we needed to do something about it.
We didn’t have any suitable material, so Phil decided to
improvise and hooked the elasticated waistbands of his running pants and
cycling pants around the portlights on the port side of the boat.
I wasn’t aware he'd done this until I went down into the
cabin at bedtime and found two pairs of legs hanging out from under the
curtain on my side of the bed.
 |
Phil's running and cycling tights hanging out beneath our bedroom curtain |
 |
The elasticated waistbands are hooked over the portlights |
It looked as though two people had become trapped while
trying to climb out of the windows 😊
The experimental “blackout blinds” worked a treat, proving
that finding a more permanent solution would definitely be worthwhile as, that night, we had
the best night’s sleep we'd had in a long time.
We have now ordered some blackout fabric and I'm planning
to make some blinds to go over the windows.
Meanwhile, we’re continuing to use the rather
strange-looking running pant blinds 😊
Saloon sun shades
The sun has also been causing problems in Ravensdale’s
saloon, where Phil uses his laptop.
The afternoon sun streaming through the big windows makes it
impossible for him to see his laptop screen, but we don’t want to have to close
the curtains on that side of the boat.
We'd bought a pair of car window sunscreens from the local
Lidl supermarket.
 |
Car sunscreens shading the windows in Ravensdale's saloon |
We’d intended to try them as blackout blinds in the bedroom
but, as soon as we got them home, it was obvious they weren’t going to work.
Rather than taking them back, I suggested they could solve
the problem in the saloon and they seem to have done the trick, except for
later in the day when the sun is too low. Unfortunately, they’re not as long as
the windows, but I’m told they’ve helped a lot.
Ravensdale’s spring beauty treatment
The big spring clean-up continued this week.
Phil has been polishing and waxing Ravensdale’s port side,
much of which he can reach from the pontoon, and the front of the superstructure.
 |
Phil applying wax to the front of Ravensdale's superstructure |
He's only been able to get to part of the starboard side,
so we need to turn the boat around to make the rest of it accessible.
The weather has caused two problems with the cleaning
process – it has been too windy to turn Ravensdale around and the sun was so hot that Phil had to stop polishing and waxing on several occasions because
it was drying too quickly.
 |
Phil using the buffer to make Ravensdale's gelcoat shine |
The areas he's done are looking good, but I can’t help
thinking that if he polishes Ravensdale much more, he’ll wear her away and
she’ll end up a considerably smaller boat than the one we bought 😊
On second thoughts, that could be a good thing as it’d save
us money on our mooring fees 😊
Catching up with friends
We were invited onto our friends’ new boat for drinks on
Sunday evening and had a lovely time admiring their boat and chatting over a
glass or three of wine.
Another couple, who have become friends, were staying on
their boat for a few days during the past week so it was good to catch up with
them again.
 |
Our friend's dogs waiting patiently by our steps |
And a friend, who lives on his boat in Scotland, arrived
unexpectedly with his two King Charles spaniels on Wednesday and came on board
for a coffee and a chat.
It's amazing how much time we spend just chatting to folk
in and around the marina, which is one of the many enjoyable aspects of our life
afloat.
Just walking the dog…
 |
Me and Benji |
I’ve always preferred big dogs to little ones, but I’ve
fallen in love with a little Chihuahua who belongs to the guy who runs the
boatyard next to the marina.
We’d previously met Benji the Chihuahua so instantly
recognised him when we found him wandering around the marina on his own.
He'd obviously escaped so I scooped him up and took him
back to his owner, jokingly asking if I really had to give him back.
I was told I could take him for a walk first if I liked,
which I did, so his owner gave me a lead and Phil and I took the little chap
(the dog, not his owner 😊)
for a walk down to the lighthouse and back.
Sadly, I had to give him back afterwards.
New picnic bench
This week, the marina staff assembled a large picnic table
that is now sited on the paving in front of the shower and toilet block.
I’m sure it will prove popular both with boaters and the
people staying at the marina’s caravan site.
 |
The new picnic bench at Maryport Marina |
The caravan site was full up over the Bank Holiday weekend and has
remained busy throughout the week, possibly because the schools are currently
on holiday.
This has meant the showers and toilets are much busier, so
we’ve been getting up a bit earlier in an attempt to get into the showers
before too many of the campers are out and about.
Stunning sunsets and
colourful fishing boats
Very few days go by that I don’t take at least one photo
with my camera and usually many more and I mean MANY more 😊
In fact, during May there were only three days when I didn’t
take a single shot.
Last Friday, I took my camera for a walk along the shore and
over the weekend I put it to good use around the harbour.
 |
Maryport shore with the Scottish hills in the distance |
 |
Yellow wildflowers growing alongside the coastal path at Maryport |
 |
A fisherman collecting peeler crabs for bait |
 |
Maryport pier seen through an old groyne on the shore |
 |
Seagulls circling over Maryport pier |
I will never tire of watching and photographing the colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour.
 |
Two of the fishing boats sitting on the mud in Maryport Harbour at low tide |
 |
More colourful fishing boats in Maryport Harbour |
 |
Two more fishing boats sitting on the mud |
We’ve had some fabulous sunsets here over the past week. I can’t see the point in going out every night, but I decided to take my camera around to the beach on Saturday night and was very happy with the beautiful skies that I was able to capture.
 |
A lone figure on Maryport pier at sunset |
 |
Maryport lighthouse at sunset |
 |
Maryport pier at sunset |
I can pretty much guarantee that, if I decide not to take my camera, when I go out I will wish that I had, and that’s exactly what happened when I walked over to the Lidl supermarket for some groceries on Sunday.
I spotted some large red poppies flowering by the roadside,
so whipped out my phone to grab a few shots.
 |
Poppies next to the footpath alongside the River Ellen at Maryport |
And I took lots of photos while out at sea yesterday, mainly of other boats as it was too misty to take any decent landscape photos.
 |
A powerboat shoots past local fishing boat Sunrise |
 |
Three local fishing boats on the Solway Firth |
Passers-by
Ravensdale’s current mooring on the hammerhead means we see
a number of boats passing by on their way in and out of the marina, including
boats on their way to the MPM boatyard for work.
And, on Tuesday, Anzac of Ramsey, on the Isle of Man, passed
us on her way to MPM. She left again the following day.
 |
Anzac heading past Ravensdale on her way to the MPM boatyard |
A very different type of boat passed us many times on
Saturday.
It contained four Sea Cadets rowing around the marina while
training for a race later this month.
 |
The Sea Cadets rowing into a strong northerly wind |
They went past fairly fast when heading towards the slipway
and much slower on the return journey as they were having to work hard to row
into the northerly wind.
Weather watch
Sunshine and wind have been the main elements of this week’s
weather.
Last Friday continued the run of sunshine we’d enjoyed over
the previous fortnight with a top daytime temperature of 18.5C (65F) but it started
raining at about 6pm and we had fairly heavy rain throughout the evening. The top
wind speed was 28mph, gusting 40mph.
 |
Sun breaking through the clouds over Maryport Marina |
Saturday started dry and bright but very windy. The top temperature
was 21.9C (71F) but feeling much cooler in the north-east and easterly winds of
up to 21mph, gusting up to 34mph.
 |
The flags at The Aquarium getting blown by the strong north-easterly wind on Saturday |
The following day was dry sunny, but it
was still very windy. The highest temperature of the day was 25.1C (77F) at 4pm.
The top average wind speed was 17mph.
 |
Wildflowers blooming in the sunshine alongside the River Ellen in Maryport |
Monday was warm and sunny again with a top temperature of
21.9C (71F) but it was just a bit too windy to take the boat out when the marina
gate opened just after 9am. The wind dropped as the day went on, but by then the gate
was closed.
We enjoyed more warm and sunny weather on Tuesday, but the
wind got up again. The top temperature was 21.6C (71F) and the top average wind
speed was 23mph, gusting 30mph.
 |
Shipping Brow in Maryport basking in the sunshine on Tuesday |
Wednesday started overcast and still fairly windy. The sun
came out as the day went on and the wind dropped a bit, but there was a lot
more cloud around. The highest daytime temperature recorded locally was 20.1C (68F) with
an average wind speed of 14mph. It rained during the evening and overnight.
There was a cloudy start to the day yesterday (Thursday) but,
more importantly, there was very little wind. The sun broke through but there
was a sea mist much of the time we were out fishing and a southerly wind of up to
around 8mph. The top temperature was 19.1C (66F).
 |
Misty Maryport as we returned from our fishing trip on Thursday afternoon |
Today (Friday) started overcast but, despite an earlier severe
warning of heavy rain for this area, it has stayed dry so far.
The sun came out to give a warm start to the day. It
became even warmer as day went on and I was able to finish typing up my blog on
the aft deck again today, which is always nice 😊
The top temperature today was 20.2C (68F) with
wind speeds averaging 1-7mph.
