It Should be the Manx Sea

Across the Irish Sea: This morning at 11:30, I caught the Manannan, the largest catamaran operating in the Irish Sea, to the Isle of Man, which so far has not been renamed the Isle of Human by the politically correct. Just the name of the firm that runs the ferry is a throw-back in time: The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. If you show up at the docks on the morning the ferry departs, you pay top dollar (top pound) for a ticket. What all transport services want these days is for people to use the Internet and pay with a credit card. In fact, they have Internet connections in the ferry terminals here, and the company asks that you use them even though the ticket counters are but a few steps away. "You get a lower price" they tell me. Even before we leave the dock, the attraction of the island becomes apparent. There are pods of motor cyclists waiting in line to board with their bikes. The Isle of Man has become the motorsports capital of the UK, a tradition that goes back to the early 20^th century. I wonder why and hope to find out.

It’s a 2-1/2 hour journey from Liverpool to Douglas on the island. With very low visibility, there was little to see of the Irish Sea. So, I bought a Daily Mail and read it, then a copy of the Manx Independent, one of two newspapers that seem to cover the island’s newsworthy events. Two newspapers for 80,000 isn’t bad. With time left until docking, I began to think about all the ferry rides (and mail boats) I had taken in my lifetime, so I made a list. Here it is. As I think of others I may come back and add, but already there are over three dozen passages on the list.

Melbourne-Devonport Ferry
Taronga Zoo Ferry in Sydney
Watson’s Bay Ferry in Sydney
Suez Canal Ferry (Egypt)
Arwad Island Ferry (Syria)
Bosporus Ferries (Turkey)
Canakkale Ferry (Turkey)
Yalova Ferry (Turkey)
Montreal Ferry (St. Lawrence River)
Toronto Islands Ferry (Canada)
Bar Harbor-Yarmouth Ferry (US-Canada)
Liverpool-Isle of Man Ferry (UK)
Dover-Ostende Ferry (UK-Belgium)
Terschelling Ferry (Netherlands)
Oresund Ferry (Denmark-Sweden)
Lubeck Ferry to Denmark
Gozo Ferry (Malta)
Piraeus Ferry to Islands (Greece)
Norfolk-Portsmouth Ferry (VA)
Tangier Island Ferry (VA)
Sunnybrook Ferry (VA)
White’s Ferry, Potomac River (VA-MD)
White Haven Ferry (MD)
Knott's Island-Currituck Ferry (NC)
Oregon Inlet Ferry (NC) (when bridge was out)
Ocracoke Ferry (NC)
Portsmouth Island "Ferry" (NC)
Cedar Island Ferry (NC)
U.S.S. Arizona Ferries (Honolulu)
Algiers Ferry (New Orleans)
Mukilteo Ferry (WA)
Lewes-Cape May Ferry (DE-NJ)
Staten Island Ferry (NY)
Liberty-Ellis Island Ferry (NY)
Glastonbury Ferry (Connecticut River)
Block Island Ferry (RI)
Martha’s Vinyard Ferry (MA)
Monhegan Island Ferry (ME)
Cranberry Islands Ferry (ME)


 

Welcome to Douglas: Douglas is the national capital of the Isle of Man. That’s the way they think of it: as a national capital. I was glad to see a welcome sign and photographed it for my collection. Predictably, it welcomed me in both English and Manx Gaelic. Since I had no hotel reservation (and had already determined there were no hostels), I headed for the tourism office in the ferry terminal. To the Berkeley Hotel they sent me. Cindy had a room available and breakfast if I wanted it. The "red hotel" was right on the esplanade overlooking Douglas Bay. Wifi was available in the television room. Guess who was occupying most of the rooms in the hotel. More motorcyclists.

Geographically yours,

D.J.Z.