Shakedown Sail

Six weeks of sanding, epoxy, engine work and life admin - and then one morning you're finally through the bridge and the sails go up. A shakedown cruise from Peel to Port Erin, a towel on a mooring that wasn't a joke at all, and the evening we decided to cross the Irish Sea.

Six weeks we'd been at it. Sanding, epoxy, engine work, life admin. And on the morning of the 24th of May, Lagertha finally slipped through the bridge and out of Peel harbour into the sunshine. The harbour master was relieved to get more space for all the TT visitors - and we promised not to come back if our shakedown went well.

Falk and Valentin had come along for the trip. Enough wind for a few proper tacks, sunshine on the water, and for the first time in weeks it felt like we were actually doing what we came here to do.

Halfway down the coast, Skyfall appeared. Ben and Steve were competing in the Around the Island Race from Ramsey, beating hard towards the Calf of Man on exactly the same stretch of coastline. Full sail up, blue water, sunshine - and there they were, close enough to shout across the water. You don't plan moments like that.

A towel on the mooring

Our boat neighbours at our home berth in Peel are Jason and Debbie on Eauvation II - they'd sailed over to Port Erin the day before. Port Erin bay has three moorings - first come, first served - and when we cast off we'd joked with both boats that they should place a towel on the buoy to reserve it. Just like German holidaymakers do.

And when we arrived in the bustling bay at Port Erin, there was a vacant buoy right beside Eauvation II. We went for it, and as we approached Jason yelled over: "I think this one's taken - there's a towel on it!" And there was. A towel on the buoy, just for us. Over all the laughter we completely forgot to take a photo of it - what a shame. But it'll stay in our heads forever, that's for sure.

Sundowners

We picked up Helena with the dinghy for drinks and nibbles on board, then ferried the boys and Helena back ashore. A sunset that painted Bradda Head in burnt orange. Shakedown cruise successfully completed - we were relieved.

The call

That evening we looked at the weather and the tides and made a decision. Tomorrow evening we'd take on the passage across the Irish Sea to North Wales. The forecast wind was gentle, the sea smooth - more of a motor sail, hopefully, under a sky full of stars. Just perfect conditions to settle into cruising.

A last morning on the Isle of Man

The next morning we met Franky - Andrea's dad - and Beth for coffees and a last farewell. Port Erin beach was bustling - eight boats anchored in the bay, paddleboarders and kayakers, beach volleyball. Bank holiday weekend and half term combined, and everybody was out enjoying the hot spell.

Over lunch at Foraging Vintners we mentally walked through our next sail and all the things that come next. A quick provisioning trip to keep us happy and fed, and then we enjoyed the hot afternoon in T-shirts and shorts. That's so unusual for us on the Isle of Man, where it's normally too cold and breezy to even think about it. We even fooled around with the dinghy and scrubbed the waterline with a long-handled brush - it was simply too hot to sit in the cockpit.

Cast off

And then it was time. Dropping the mooring lines, waving goodbye to Falk and Valentin on the dock, and to Debbie and Jason on Eauvation II. The Isle of Man was shrinking behind us. We'd been working towards this moment for six weeks, and now it was here.