Restless — W404 — age approximately 30 years

Crew — David Morton (Captain) and Tim Evans (Stoker)

Equipment — the usual, plus hand held VHF set (borrowed), Garmin GPS 40 (borrowed), flares (borrowed), Thermarests, EPIRB, Isle of Man tidal atlas

As many of you will know, Tim and I conceived of a trip to the Isle of Man last year as we completed our confidence-building sail around Anglesey. At that time Diane and Roger Aps were taking their Wayfarer north from Anglesey. It’s a long route, chosen mainly because it coincides with the prevailing wind, but I’ve never fancied it. I favoured approaching it from the north, which I thought would be far more interesting. I must admit that I find sailing out of sight of land boring.

Friday 21.7.95 We were off, as soon as Tim’s school broke up on Friday 21st July. Within an hour of collecting him at Cliviger, the boat trailer’s off-side tyre blew up, due this time to wear rather than mishap, just north of Nelson; but the rest of the journey went without incident. Indeed, we enjoyed excellent bacon butties on the old bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale before joining the M6. After six hours and 260 miles, we duly arrived at Portpatrick, once the ferry terminal for Ireland. To our surprise and dismay we found a short slipway, terminating in soft sand well above the high water mark, so we headed south for Port Logan, narrowly missing a cow en route. It came shooting out of a farm gate ahead of a maniac on a four-wheel motorbike, who was heedless of the danger to us and the cow!

Port Logan was ideal. A long gradual slipway, onto firm sand with a massive breakwater (failed attempt to become the ferry terminal), a pub, clean toilets, friendly people and a farmer willing to look after the Sherpa and trailer during our absence.

Saturday 22.7.95 It blew hard overnight and at 8am it was still blowing a good SW 5 (on the nose) so we delayed our departure. Soon after we dried out, I visited the P.O. and learned that Port Logan was earmarked as the ferry terminal in the mid 19th Century, but the local laird refused to let the railway cross his land. The 1355 forecast was for SW 4 becoming 5 or 6, but on visiting the Mull of Galloway from which we saw the entire west coastline of the Isle of Man and the Mountains of Mourne 35 miles away, we decided that conditions were now perfect, if only we weren’t high and dry!

Sunday 23.7.95 It was too windy again, but this time we wasted our time keeping the boat afloat in the forlorn hope that it would abate — it didn’t. Tim sketched the village hall (ex-lifeboat station) and pier while I read John Buchan and snoozed in the Sherpa. Tim revealed a cheap and legal addiction to digestive biscuits. High pressure system extended.

Monday 24.7.95 We left under sail with a light SE breeze and overcast skies at 1015. We saw two freighters and one yacht before Scotland disappeared at 1330. The 1355 forecast predicted moderate visibility with fog patches and at 1430 we entered a ‘patch’ which lasted 1 hour 45 mins. We arrived at 1610 just south of Long Rock bang on the entrance to Ballywalter harbour, yet we hadn’t seen anything of Ireland until we were 12 minutes off! We owed our salvation to sheer luck in the allowance we’d made for the north setting ebb tide, plus the pin point accuracy of the tiny GPS I’d borrowed. The latter never worked adequately again until we got home and discovered that it took four batteries. One was firmly stuck in position and leaking.

Both the owner and I believed that it only took three batteries, so neither Tim nor I could understand its failure to run well on the fresh batteries which we regularly fed it. If only its owner hadn’t left the instruction book on another boat in Holyhead, but at least the GPS worked in our time of greatest need. Ballywalter is a small holiday resort with two or three shops and a single pub. Nonetheless, you knew you were in a troubled land from the flags and bunting linked to recent Orange Order marches (“Remember 1690 — No surrender — Ballywalter Heroes”), the wary looks of one or two people and the fresh 1990 addition to the War Memorial. These offset the friendly welcome of the landlady, Guinness £1.44 per pint, and the men at the harbour. We tried vainly to phone Jim McAdam of the Wayfarers Association who’d warned me that he would be busy with the Easterns, a series of dinghy races on Strangford Lough, I think.

This was disappointing, as Jim had gone to great lengths to encourage and facilitate our trip. We still hope to meet Jim one day, especially to talk about characters like the owner of the Pride of Redcar, an ancient trawler which he seemed to have bought while on Income Support or the like — the sort of modest enterprise one admires in these days of privatisation and daylight robbery.

Tuesday 25.7.95 We cleared Ballywalter under motor at 1010 in hazy sunshine after a peaceful, but smelly night and a wash at a quayside tap. From 1210 we began to beat into a very light breeze and at 1505 we hailed the Torbay Star’s Irish crew and asked where we were. This was a mistake as it invited the answer “The Irish Sea,” which we already knew.

An alternative approach “Can you give us a fix?” then yielded in reply “What sort of fish would you like?” At last they tired of toying with us and gave us our position.

We were still under half-way in the area of upwelling which makes this a popular fishing area. From 1530 to 1800 we motored again and at 1600 the IoM was just visible. From 1800 we met a fair ENE breeze and enjoyed the novelty of a decent sail, arriving at the beautiful entrance to Peel harbour below the castle at 2015, ten hours after leaving Ireland. Unbelievably the Manx authorities have placed a power station complete with chimney at the very head of the harbour. We rafted up to three small pleasure boats, erected the boom tent, briefly fell out, then went ashore in search of fish and chips. We were too tired to cook.

Wednesday 26.7.95 A hot and very windy day in Peel. We tracked down a key to the Peel SC and had showers, surprising the lady who runs a day centre for the elderly there. I phoned John Dowling, Wayfarers Association, who later visited us on board, then returned in the evening at the hospitable Peel SC bar. The day was spent resting and marvelling at the very strong off‑shore wind which sprang up. The highlight of the day came with the arrival of the Young Yachtsperson of the Year, nineteen year old Ellen MacArthur sailing Iduna her 21’ Corribee around Britain single handed. She’s a real Amazon in the mould of Nancy or Peggy Blackett and I’m sure she’ll become famous through her sailing exploits in the next few years.

Thursday 27.7.95 We had to wait for the tide to reach us so we stocked up on Duracell batteries and petrol, bade farewell to Ellen and motored all the way to Port Erin, where we waited for the tide to turn in Calf Sound. Tim manfully braved the cold sea water to go swimming. We still had the tide against us in Little Calf Sound (John advised this route as the tide runs stronger in the main sound) but soon got through under the watchful eye of the many visitors. Pleasure boats were taking visitors from Port Erin to the Calf — a trip I’d like to make.

We motored past the spectacular Spanish Head and from Port St. Mary a light southerly enabled us to stem the tide. It took nearly three hours from Calf Sound to Langness and we motored the last half hour to Derbyhaven where the wall-to-wall rocks prevented our drying out. We picked up a visitors’ mooring in the SE corner, cooked our meal, watched the planes land at Ronaldsway and three herons on the shore line and basked in the evening sun. It was idyllic.

Friday 28.7.95 Thick fog! No planes! We slipped our mooring at 0744 and caught the rising tide past Santon Head (choppy) and then in next to no time, past Douglas Head, 4 NM in 40 mins. Then across Douglas Bay where only the Tower of Refuge was visible. Then past Clay Head and into Laxey Harbour, at least thirteen NM in under two and a half hours. Laxey Harbour is a very attractive place which like Port Dinorwic owes its existence to 19th century mineral extraction. As the outer harbour is prone to a swell and the inner harbour permanently full, a Wayfarer is an ideal boat as it dries well and takes very little room. We again tied up alongside another small and seemingly little-used open boat. At our second attempt we found the harbour master. John French, who’d just returned from fishing on the Tay. Not only did he give us the key to the SC he invited us to sleep there.

Tim phoned his friends, Chris and Cas Powles, who live near Maughold Head and a car soon whisked us off to their sybaritic bungalow culminating in a barbecue and excellent Chilean wine — the second high spot of the trip. Tim stayed behind while I returned to Laxey to keep a far from watchful eye on the boat. Luckily it was Friday night and the bar was open. Ellen was already featured in the local paper. The commodore and other members were very friendly and hospitable.

Saturday 29.7.95 The tide floated us at 1020, HW was 1315, and we were off by 1040 and off Maughold Head, 5 NM, an hour later. We kept on 400 M over the Bahama Bank to give the Point of Ayre overfalls a good offing and to allow for the strong westward set of the tide ebbing out of the Solway. Thus we lost the north setting flood which runs closer inshore in Ramsey Bay and oddly we ended up much further east than expected, even though it was spring tide. Burrow Head looked more like the Mull of Galloway. The wind was initially about force 3 and southerly, but it fell light and south-easterly. The sun was hot and we sailed in lifejackets and shirtsleeves. We saw two yachts in the morning and three freighters off Point of Ayre. Otherwise we had the sea and fine weather all to ourselves. At Burrow Head, I’d forgotten that the tide out of Wigtown Bay would be setting south rather than west so we lost an hour battling north and finally using the motor to gain the entrance to Isle of Whithorn. It was close to low water springs, 2009, so we anchored and cooked, ate and admired our lovely, warm surroundings. As the sun dipped, we rowed to a ladder on the outer side of the breakwater, climbed ashore and picked up the key to Wigtown Bay SC at the local hotel. Tim needed to be home on Sunday so I planned to hitch a lift back to Port Logan, as I knew that buses only left Isle Whithorn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. No-one I spoke to gave much for my chances on a Sunday. Around 10.30 pm we brought Restless inside and tied her up, complete with springs, to the visitors’ berth, then retired to bed in the sub-tropical heat of southern Scotland!

Sunday 30.7.95 After breakfast and a shower I scrounged a piece of white cardboard from the rather tetchy shopkeeper cum harbourmaster — John McWilliam — and made a suitable sign. I then retired to the pleasant, airy bus shelter on the edge of the village and within ten minutes I was on my way. Another five lifts and I was in Port Logan. I left thanks for Campbell McLean, who’d just gone out, reconnected the wires in the Sherpa (simple anti- theft device) and drove back along the scenic and almost traffic free coastal route pausing at Port Arthur to check the harbour for future use. Isle of Whithorn has a good slipway and it was soon our turn to pull out and head for home with a brief nap on the A75 and a cuppa at still only 30p per mug, in the Moss Cafe on the A74 near Gretna. The only problem was the heat! Remember?

In the run-up to the trip I was mildly anxious about doing it on our own, but I knew that we’d have total independence and I’m really glad that we made a solo trip. The Isle of Man was everything you could hope for — beautiful, interesting, welcoming.

I regret not meeting Jim McAdam and being unable to make full use of the Garmin GPS. but it was a great adventure for us, which I hope will be the springboard for many more. All this from a 30 year old boat which cost £1,200. Best of all we met lots of people of the sort who restore your faith in the persistence of human values like friendship, hospitality, determination and cooperation and the most outstanding of them all was only nineteen years old! I’d like to thank them all and especially Tim who made it all possible.