Liverpool to the Isle of Man

With the water pump fitted back on Brown Eye’s engine, I was more than ready to leave Liverpool.

Catching the second lock gates opening for the high tide I was back on the Mersey by 1330hr, destination the Isle of Man. I knew that I was going to be arriving during the hours of darkness leaving at this time, but if I wanted to arrive during daylight hours I would have had to have waited another 5 days for an early morning lock opening - but I was overdue leaving and wanted to push on.

The river traffic going in and out of Liverpool was quite heavy and there was a real mixture of larger boats that I had to avoid. Here are just a few:

The Irish Sea was smooth and flat and there was very little wind, so the engine had to remain on once again, but at least the auto-pilot with its new drive belt was working well and this allowed me to move around the boat without having to worry too much about going off course.

I tried a bit of fishing off the back of Brown Eyes, with no success, but will keep trying.

Lighthouse of the day at Derby Haven

As expected, I arrived in Derby Haven soon after midnight, having already prepared the anchor for laying. If it had not been for my plotter (GPS) I do not think I would have attempted going into this unlit cove - the moon had disappeared soon after the sun had set and it was pitch black.

The almanac had recommended dropping anchor in 5m of water, which I soon found and as far as I could tell, there was no one else in the cove which made things easier - you want to avoid laying your anchor chain over someone else’s and also have to take into account the swing of the boat as the wind and currents change. Having laid the anchor, I sat and watch the GPS to ensure we were not dragging it and that we were staying in the correct depth of water; all appeared to have gone to plan, so it was kettle on and after a brew, some well earned sleep.

At daybreak I stuck my head out of the hatch and was able to see exactly where I was.