71 Douglas - Whitehaven: A cruise to Whitehaven

Geschrieben von Jack

We had to start very early in the morning, at 03:45 to be exact, because of the tides. The gate at the marina in Douglas, Isle of Man, opens only 2 hours both sides of high water. So it was still dark when we called the harbor master on VHF channel 12, to open the swing bridge, and let us pass. We stored the fenders and ropes while slowly running through the outer harbor, and when we reached the higher waves of the open sea, we were all done.

The night was beautiful, with a pale moon longing down to the west. Soon already the sky got brighter, followed by a stunning sunrise, exactly in front of us, as our course was 50° (northeast). We had the wind flat from behind, and because our ketch TIMOTEUS doesn't like the wind blowing into her ass, so to speak, we had to alter the course a bit to starboard and port, instead of following straight to the line drawn on the map.

Anyway, a splendid day. Here a look out of the windows of the deck saloon. (Note the round mirror on the left top, showing myself taking the foto with my smartphone.)

It was nice sailing. No other ship was seen, we were alone, except of some birds: Gannets, Common Guillemots and Terns. Later I took this picture from the cockpit. The Saint Bees Head is already in sight, which means that we would reach our aim Whitehaven in about two hours.

The wind was freshening up, and with 7.5 knots we rushed into the harbor of Whitehaven, and through the open sea lock into the inner harbor, where the marina is. Here you see everything already fixed and tighten. The ship with the Swiss flag is ours.  😄

Of course, the journey was not yet terminated. After 10 hours on sea, the ground seemed to sway, forth and back. We headed in direction to our real destination, and as I saw the girls in front of the pub, I knew that we had arrived to the right place.

Inside everything was perfect. Pale ale, food, laughter... what more does a sailor expect from life?

Jack