Round Britain for the RNLI Blog

The weather system that is going through at the moment doesn’t look like clearing before Saturday and so my best guess at the moment for departure is Saturday or more likely Sunday.

After this system is through it looks like a high might get established and that is my best chance for some decent weather to get me on my way again. So until then I will hunker down here in Douglas and enjoy what the Isle of Man has to offer.

Well, this morning I "poked my nose out", as they say, to take a look at the sea state in the vague hope that it would not be as big as I suspected it might be… IT WAS!

I left the marina last night so that I could get an early start this morning at first light to get to the north of the island at slack water. There was almost no wind at 4am and the journey got off to a promising start with flat water and planeing at 22kts. I knew that this was misleading though because the wind was south-westerly and so the whole of the east side of the island would be in the lee so I wouldn’t know what the real conditions were like until I rounded the northern tip of the island and even then I was expecting to have to go out a few miles so that I was exposed fully to the wind.

The timing around the top was perfect with totally flat water with just a few swirls and so I set off westward. Within about a mile of heading west the sea started to build and at about 4 miles it was very clear that this was not the day to be out in a small boat in the Irish Sea. So a quick 180, between the now 2m waves, and I headed back. It is very strange the sea… we all know that don’t we… but heading in the other direction I found that not bashing into the waves I could comfortably maintain 16-18 kts whereas going into it I could bearly manage 8kts.

I rounded the top of the island just as the tide was starting to pick up and although the water was still flat close in there were a few overfalls starting to get going further out. Now came the real surprise of the trip… the near flat water I had experienced from Douglas up to east coast was now a couldron! Nothing big or worrying but it was now clearly wind over tide and the short chop, no more than a foot high, was seriously hindering my progress south back to Douglas. Nothing for it than to slow down, 6kts was appropriate in the conditions, and sit through it.

So, I am now back where I started, on a pontoon berth in Douglas Marina.

What was the point of the trip when I already knew, in my heart before I left, that it wouldn’t be suitable.? The weather was a worsening situation - not one I am happy to push the envelope in, and the forecasts were for F4-5? Well, I do not have any experience of the Irish Sea nor this area and so I felt that it was worth pushing my nose out to get a feel for the prevailing conditions and for this particular location. I have learned a lot from today not least of which is that the Irish Sea is not typical of what I am experienced in and so I am adjusting my minimum weather criteria for this leg downwards to no more than a F3 and slight sea conditions forecast for the following 24 hours minimum. Like always, I remain flexible and I may change that again later on but for now that is the weather I am looking for before I depart Douglas again.

To set that minimum weather criteria means that I could be here a while but I strongly believe that that is the safe way to tackle the Irish Sea in such a small boat… like all seas, it is not to be trifled with but I think this stretch of water deserves extra caution.