On the move at last!

We finally left Srangford Lough and ended up motoring all 40 miles to Isle of Man as the forecast was a bit off. Felt good to be on our way whatever the weather. Arriving was quite spectacular with the castle on the island and a huge wall making the small harbour quite protected except for the winds we had which rolled straight into the harbour.We had read that it was quite expensive to stay in the marina so decided to anchor out in the harbour even though we knew we had another day of wind.

How nice it was to wake up one morning to sunshine and no wind. A chance to get ashore and stretch our legs at last. We really enjoyed exploring Peel, officially a city as it has a cathedral but really the size of a village. There were plenty of walking trails up in the hills and as always, we enjoy walking the streets. It still amazes us that people are crammed into terrace houses on this side of the world, so very different to our kiwi lifestyle. Two days of sunshine and everyone thought summer had arrived.

We had a great sail back to the mainland and onto Belfast where we were met by friends we had made here in the marina last year. Returning to a place doesn't happen too often but when it does it feels so good. Now we are doing a few small jobs on the boat and stocking up with food and rum for the season ahead. Back to Plan A and exploring the west coast of Scotland, then onto Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland before leaving the boat in Nova Scotia for the winter. Should be fun!

 The marina is through this lock and opens as needed two hours either side of high tide.

 Windora is one of the yachts out in the middle of the harbour. We had anchored a bit closer but had to move when a fuel tanker tied up to the wall for 12 hours.

 

 Scallop season so these boats were out early every morning. Huge scallops selling for $22 a pound.