Up before the larks at 2.30am! No rest for the wicked I guess…
Tides flows west for 6 hrs, then reverses am goes east for 6. So my bearing shouldn’t change much.
The sea was lovely and flat. For the first time the sail was rigged to catch the light southerly wind from behind and help me on my way (check out the great Deadpool design, handrawn by my youngest, Lula!). Extra water and food in the cockpit for re-fueling emergencies! With no headwind for a change I started making good progress, a welcome change after recent events.
A few ships passed closely by. I found that if I lined the masts up and kept an eye on them, it gave me an idea of their bearing and helped with navigation. If in doubt I lay up to eat or use the bathroom. When I was sure they were in front of me I’d carry on paddling.
Half way over I started to get very sleepy and tried to shut my eyes for 2 minute power-naps to keep me going. No sighting of land for the first few hours, but sightings of seals kept my mood high!
Eventually I spotted land a head… bang on my bearing! A satisfying moment.
Fast-fowards to late afternoon and all going well. I could make out my destination and started to see a few porpoise. Then some really large fins! Luckily, it’s a group of risso dolphins (I tried to gopro). I was tempted to stay watching them longer but needed to keep going as the last few miles always seem to take the longest.
Coming close to Port St Mary I couldn’t see any beaches of campsites, but further on there was a small bit of beach below a road. It had to do! There was just enough of a clearing to get the tent up. Treated myself to a double pasta meal. No obvious sources of any water so conserved what I had for the next day.
Once safely in my tent, I checked the weather forecast and for the crossing to Ireland. Oh dear. It was much worse. Tomorrow now marginal. The following 7 days 30knots. I could be stuck for a long time.
Went to bed and had to wait to check again in the morning. Unfortunately there was lots of rain during the night and tent flapping in the wind… Usually a bad sign. Also the waves crashing on the beach seem to get louder. A fitful rest. But proud of how far I had come during the day to get to the Isle of Man, and trying to remain positive for my big crossing coming up.
Think I paddled for about 13 hours today!