054:13.610 N
004:41.595 W

Peel, Isle of Man

There was inward unease on board TC last night; for the first time in five days the mist lifted and the wind died leaving a mirror calm across Holyhead harbour. Both of us quietly questioned the forecasts and felt a little queasy that everyone had got it wrong; would we be motoring all tomorrow?  Fortunately around 3am it began whistling in the rigging again!

A small flotilla of boats left moorings within minutes of each other, everyone seemed to be heading to the Isle of Man. After quick VHF calls to Holyhead Port Control to check no traffic, we were all underway. Our route gave The Skerries a wide berth and apart from some fairly big rollers early on we soon settled into a cracking sail in a southerly breeze gusting 20 knots, with full main and full jib.

The traffic separation scheme was straight forward, just one large tanker emerging out of the haze ahead of us by about a mile. The other five boats soon dissipated and we were once again on our own. A Sadler 26 called Scuima, skippered by a lad from Weymouth in his 20s, is heading right around Britain, we’re keen to keep an ear out for his progress.

Once past the TSS our route was north pretty direct to Peel, 50 miles away. In the early afternoon everything got a little exciting, I don’t like to suggest an 8-ton boat surfs so we’ll describe it as surging, TC was surging down waves reaching 10, 11 and even 12.6 knots. Admittedly after an hour of this she was somewhat out of control so after an accidental gybe, tipping the sleeping skipper off his saloon bunk, we reefed the main, rolled away the jib and life became a bit calmer.

The heat wave hitting the south coast hasn’t yet reached the Irish Sea, so we are both fully dressed in thermals. A chilly mist descended around the boat so by the time the southern tip of the Island was visible, it was only 5 miles away. Peel is quite a long way up but the curious tidal stream of the Irish Sea meant we kept the north bound steam for over 8hrs.

We were too late for entering Peel inner harbour as it has a lock sill, so have picked up a mooring and, determined to step ashore, we pumped up the dinghy and had a pleasant walk along the seafront and to the town centre. Fun to see and hear Manx Shearwaters on the slipway.

After lovely fish and chips sitting looking out over the bay and keeping an eye on TC, the only boat, we managed a quick visit to Peel Castle just as the rain began.

0900 start tomorrow aiming for Northern Ireland as the southerly wind is promised to continue so we are keen to keep moving.