To Douglas, Isle of Man

Trip Start May 06, 2008
1
2
130
Trip End Sep 30, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
shadow

Flag of United Kingdom  , Isle of Man,
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

We (or at least I ) woke up early. Must be the excitement and anticipation of nigh on 5 whole months of boating adventure! Anyway, I roused my reluctant crew and we were off at 05:30, motoring into a calm dawn and with a hint of the NNE breeze on our faces. We saw our first sunrise over Carmel Head as we headed out into the Irish Sea.

By 0700, the breeze had risen sufficiently to almost contemplate switching the engine off but more importantly, its' direction was such that we could alter course and make for the Isle of Man, Douglas after all! Moreover, the breeze continued to strengthen, settling down to a nice F3 - F4 from the east, so we were able to switch the engine off and we were soon 'tanking' along at 8.5 knots, touching 9 quite frequently. In fact, we covered the 57 miles to Douglas in about 7.5 hours, so our average was over 7.5 knots, a great speed for us.

We arrived in Douglas at about high water, so we were able to enter the inner harbour and tie up on a berth - the inner harbour retains its water with a sill that raises and lowers so that the time available to enter is governed by the time and height of the tide.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, getting used to the idea that we had over 130 days of this to come and enjoying the warm weather. What a contrast to the last two years!
Slideshow Print this entry Douglas hotels