Isle of Man

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tyce

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I am sailing over to the isle of man on approx 8 / 9 June, i am bringing my young children with me but this coincides with the TT.
I was hoping to find some where quietish and with a good chance of getting a berth and also on the east side of the island (thinking possibly Port St Mary).
Is there such a place during the TT?
When does the island start quieting down after the TT, the TT finishes on friday the 11th so i am guessing it gets quiet on the monday is this correct?
If i did end up in Douglas can you get a berth during TT week.
 
Haven't been for a few years, but, unless there have been dramatic changes, you will get wall space in Douglas Inner Harbour OK, possibly rafted out. A marina pontoon is probably more of a gamble. There is also the smallish pontoon in the outer harbour, but with more coming and going and not in a NE'ly. The town will be heaving, I'm not a biker, but the atmosphere is great.
Port St Mary should be much quieter.
 
tyce said:
I am sailing over to the isle of man on approx 8 / 9 June, i am bringing my young children with me but this coincides with the TT.
I was hoping to find some where quietish and with a good chance of getting a berth and also on the east side of the island (thinking possibly Port St Mary).
Is there such a place during the TT?
When does the island start quieting down after the TT, the TT finishes on friday the 11th so i am guessing it gets quiet on the monday is this correct?
If i did end up in Douglas can you get a berth during TT week.
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As previous poster said

Douglas You will be against the wall on the inner harbour, (call the harbour master and make sure he knows your coming) very unlikely to get a pontoon berth, Battery pier which is the pontoon in the outer harbour will be very busy and is suspect in certain wind conditions and suffers with wash when the ferries come and go!

Port St Mary Will probably be much quieter but has a fishing fleet and when the tide is out the climb up the wall is about 30', may not be suitable for young children or the Admiral. There is also the drying harbour which you may be able to use.

As for will it be quiet........... depends on how many bikers stay after the TT.

Tom

Drewtwos and Neddie Seagoon are the ones to ask.......... which reminds me I haven't seen them posting for a while!
 
Castletown is my destination of choice but you will have to dry out against the wall. Very sheltered and safe.
The harbour masters office is beside you with showers and there is a good pub on the quay as well.
A lovely historic town with a castle, it used to be the IOM capitol. There is also a very interesting maritime museum across from the quay - great for kids.
The steam train stops there too. :)
 
Peel would get my vote. In the north I know. Home of Moores kippers, and a damn good museum too. Excellent food too. Usually quiet during TT as it is far away from the circuit. There is a sheltered harbour - I think it is drying, can't remember. Not much at Port St Mary, but Port Erin has a lot to offer - especially for kids. The beach is good and there are boat trips to the calf, if you haven't had enough of being onthe water by then! Otherwise Laxey is good with a great beach etc - not too sure about the mooring there tho'. Monas Isle is generally regarded as my spiritual home! Don't forget to say hello to the Fairies at the Fairey Bridge on the road from Ports St Mary / Erin - displease them and they will cause you trouble!
 
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Hi,
We were there 2 years ago at TT time of year, I phoned ahead (and emailed) and got a pontoon berth for a few days. The pontoon in the outer harbor was out of use because had been damaged by the Northerly winds, I don't think it's designed for anything other than waiting for the lock gates/sill and road bridge to open. The harbor is noisy, there a main road down one side and we had quite lot of swell when the lock gates/sill were open (the wind remained strong and in the north). But we enjoyed it, good food and good atmosphere and we did all the tourist things like going on the steam train. Showers are fine and the harbor master friendly and helpful. There no Camp Gaz to be had, only Calor and watch out for the Manx change, they’ll take UK money, but the UK won’t accept Manx notes or coins. Also watch out for mobile phone rates (not in the UK not in the EU!) …. It seemed very expensive to use.
Peel with it new dock gates would probably have more space and be quite compared to Douglas.
 
Thanks all for excellent replys, Peel is on the agenda but i would sail round there once i have made my first stop.
Castletown sounds good, my boats a lift keel but needs a softish bottom to dry on so is castletown suitable, the other problem is the kids are too young to climb vertical ladders, is there fairly easy access to the shore from castletown?
 
tyce said:
Thanks all for excellent replys, Peel is on the agenda but i would sail round there once i have made my first stop.
Castletown sounds good, my boats a lift keel but needs a softish bottom to dry on so is castletown suitable, the other problem is the kids are too young to climb vertical ladders, is there fairly easy access to the shore from castletown?
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You would appear to have a problem. Apart from the marina pontoons at Peel and Douglas, all Manx harbours involve vertical ladders. Dinghying to a shallow part might just be possible at say the top end of Douglas and perhaps others, but awkward.
The drying harbours have generally fairly firm, level bottoms.
 
if you are going to the island when any bike races are on stay away from peel as any biker from northern ireland who has a mate with a boat will be berthed there and you wont get in.
go for port saint mary or port erin
 
earlybird said:
You would appear to have a problem. Apart from the marina pontoons at Peel and Douglas, all Manx harbours involve vertical ladders. Dinghying to a shallow part might just be possible at say the top end of Douglas and perhaps others, but awkward.
The drying harbours have generally fairly firm, level bottoms.
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I've been into Ramsey. It's OK, though the harbour is commercial and the town is surprisingly dead at night ... I imagine it would be different in TT week.

Anyway ... yes, what he says. Vertiginous iron ladders and a very hard bottom: the Jouster's fin+bulb keel didn't sink in at all. Perhaps the other side of the bridge there would have something more suitable?
 
[QUOTE.
go for port saint mary or port erin[/QUOTE]

If the wind has any west in it, as is very likely, you'll wish that you weren't in Port Erin. NOT the place to be with small children.
 
tyce said:
Thanks all for excellent replys, Peel is on the agenda but i would sail round there once i have made my first stop.
Castletown sounds good, my boats a lift keel but needs a softish bottom to dry on so is castletown suitable, the other problem is the kids are too young to climb vertical ladders, is there fairly easy access to the shore from castletown?
Click to expand...

If your boat needs a soft bottom then you may be out of luck drying out in Castletown as it is a bit stony, but not rocky if you follow what I mean. You could always tie up against the outer pier in either Castletown or Peel if you cannot get into the inner sanctum in Peel. Port Erin has a sandy bottom but exposed to the West but you could anchor or dry out. Laxey has a concrete bottom and smooth if that is any use, and quite sheltered too.
All ports have long ladders, except Port Erin, because of the huge tidal range, Castletown probably has the shortest ones though. Hope that helps.

PS The local beer is wonderful - not. :p
 
Looked at some pictures of Castletown and the ladders should not be a massive issue, so Castletown it is.
Next question is as its in close proximity to langness point what is the best way to approach it?
 
My home's in Peel and I can tell you that it's far from quiet during TT week (Peel, not my home). But it is less manic than Douglas.
As well as the cill installed about 5 years ago, Peel inner harbour now has pontoons. It'll get fairly full during TT, but I'm sure Hazzie, the harbourkeeper, will find you a berth somewhere. If no pontoons are free, perhaps rafted alongside the wall (much lower and more child-frieldly than Port St Mary).
On approach, you'll need to call harbour control on Ch12 to get the footbridge acroos the inner harbour entrance raised.
There are visitors moorings in the outer harbour. A pleasant spot in settled conditions, but not when there's any north in the wind.
Enjoy your trip.
 
Isle of man, i tend to go to the south west or west of the island, ie, castletown port st mary and peel, peel is now got pontoons and a cill, 2.5 hours either side of hw (approx) but you can get the info off the iom harbours website, google it, port st mary has drying harbour or you can get moored up on the outer harbour, especially if your fin, or try and get a swinging mooring, but they can be very rolly at times, and you may not be able to get off the boat if its bad.
and theres castletown, which you can moor on the outer wall, or go inside the swingbridge on instruction from the harbourmaster, the office is not always manned, but a message can always be sent to them if you use the phone on the outside the office, or call, info on website, mobile phones, i'm on 02, and have never had a problem as it just converts over automatically and i can use my phone as if in uk, but some people i have been to the iom with have to dial a international dialling code to get back to uk with some tariffs.
but personally i just use mine as if im in uk, but it shows pronto gsm in iom.

Not sure if the tt races goes to any of these places, port st mary, has the train station, which is a mile or so from the harbour and is a fair walk, and buses, but poor on shops, also a sailing club.
port erin, is an option for shopping, with loads more shops and a good walk (up to an hour), but a lovely quaint old town, buses to and fro easier, and train from port st mary stops there.
castletown, has a great little harbour, shops ok has buses and train station up the road, couple of pubs and restaurants, big castle good 4 hour look around, secret boat in maritime museum, and a good walk to langstone lighthouse, watch out for mr clarkson's cottage at the lighthouse.
Peel is a larger town, with plenty of places to eat along the harbour and prom, even a bowling green and cafe up at the far end of prom, (north), plenty of buses to get you round and about, and sailing club.


The only place for you without ladders would be peel on the new pontoons, or douglas, which would be overcrowded to say the least during the tt.


website for more info http://www.gov.im/transport/harbours/ports/douglasport.xml
 
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tyce said:
Any advice on rounding langness to get to Castletown?
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Not a problem, there is plenty of space, just get your tides right, although if you have a reasonable engine you can punch against them if you are coming from N /S, if from the E there should be no problem.
Watch out for the buoy in the centre of Castletown Bay which you have to leave to Port on your way in, it marks the end of a reef. :)
 
pilotage to castletown , once you clear langness point (i normally come up from south midway between port st mary and castletown, which will leave plenty of water depending on either e or w going tides at langness point.


Pass south east of red buoy(bell buoy) marking lheeah-rio rocks and bring the light towers at the head of the breakwater and iris quay into line bearing 323' T, which leads between lheeah-rio rocks and boe norris rocks. after passing the rocks keep to the north east of this line and steer for the harbour entrance giving a wide berth to the breakwater. yachts of 1.5M can enter outer harbour at 0230 either side of hw.

If your staying any length of time, you can ask to go thru the swingbridge and moor up if any available space..
 
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