I thought I was back in Scilly, when the wind started in the middle of the night and the boat started rocking. Even attached to the pontoon it was quite significant. It was a north wind which obviously funnels into the marina in this direction. Thunder and lightning accompanied the wind, with heavy rain to follow. I thought about the last time we had thunder and lightning……. thank goodness we’re attached to a nice solid pontoon! Cosy when you know you’re secure ! The whole day was windy and as we looked out to sea, the white horses were big! It was blowing up to 25 knots in the marina so you can add another 10 for out at sea. Glad we’re tourists today! We used our GO cards to get the bus to Douglas, then walked to the Steam train station, a few minutes away. We had a cup of coffee whilst waiting and then it was all aboard the narrow gauge railway with No. 4 engine. Riding on steam trains always brings out the child and somehow you can’t help being excited by the smell of the steam, the chug chug rhythm, and the whistle blowing. We chugged our way to Port Erin further down the west coast. The wind and the waves had cleared out everyone from the beach, but it’s a great stretch of sand with a pub right on the beach and a backdrop of grand Victorian buildings. It’s a anchorage in the right wind direction but today you’d have to be tucked up in the northeast corner. We walked out to the west first, checking out the golf course and eating sandwiches sat on a rather windy bench with a great view. After that we walked to Port St Mary, on the east coast. Only a few miles apart at this point. We saw the visitors moorings out in the bay that we had picked up a couple of years ago, 2020, when no one was allowed to visit the IOM due to Covid. Eventually we found a bus stop up in the town with the appropriate number on it. J is getting very good with the bus timetables, and so far it’s been extremely efficient and hasn’t been more than a few minutes behind schedule. An interesting thing is day by day we are noticing more and more things appearing on the roadsides, as the island gets ready for the motorbike Grand Prix this weekend. More and more huge padded cushions are being attached to walls and signposts. Small grandstands made of scaffolding are appearing and portaloos are being deposited in fields Along the route.
I must say all this travelling around is quite tiring but We do feel we’re getting good value out of the GO cards! I cooked spaghetti bolognese for supper and we watched master chef on tv. 😊
Sue x
Steam train at Douglas 
Port Erin 
Looking from golf course to Port st Mary 
Port St Mary Harbour 
Port St Mary front
Angelique 