Yesterday we anchored. 1st time in an age. In the middle of the wide open bay of Castletown, Isle of Man in 17 knots gusting to 25 – but the sea is flat, it’s not rolling, so life is good!
Had a nice sail over – mostly downwind wing on wing with headsail poled out – until the end when we were hitting 9’s on a broad reach – so we reefed – all systems functionally at nominal – not bad for a first sail of the season.
Getting off the dock was probably the most interesting event – with wind blowing the bow off. Our slip was in such a position that allowing the bow to blow off would have been catastrophic, so we ended up warping off the bow with some help from Tony at Whitehaven Marina – worked like a charm!
Today we took a bus ride to the other side of the island and took a nice walk along a disused railway then up to a very pretty waterfall… It being Sunday, the buses aren’t quite so frequent – so by the time we got back, our dinghy was high and dry. With some huffing and puffing and some help from a very nice guy, we managed to float it off before the really low tide… Start of the season – Balme idiocies strike again!
Tomorrow we head for Wales – probably will stop in an anchorage south of Holyhead and then make for Caernarfon the following day for the start of the OCC Celtic Cruise (we kinda have to be there since we’re leading it!).
Need I say more?
Laurie in the Gorse
Pretty waterfall – IOM’s biggest.
High and dry!