For the third morning in a row I was awake before 7am and
after a night around the campfire, this morning was particularly difficult.
This time though it was for something much less exciting, it was time to go
home. Normally going on the boat really doesn’t bother me but this time I was defiantly
not looking forward to it. Over the weekend we had a number of phone call from
the ferry company each time giving us a different sailing time, all with the
aim of missing the force 8 gale due to set in on the Irish sea. The boat we
were due to sail on is called the Manannan which is named after the celtic sea
god which once ruled over the Isle of Man. The Manannan isn’t great in rough
sea and hence it doesn’t run in the winter! It was built to sail in the
tranquil waters of Tasmania and not a force 8 gale on the Irish Sea!
As the boat time was changing so much we decided to leave
first thing so we could be in Liverpool for whenever the boat finally left. Thankfully
the train journey was fantastic, probable one of the best I have had (and I’ve
had LOADS). We had a table seat between the two of us (the others were flying
again, cheats!) and for most of the journey the carriage was quite empty.
We arrived in Liverpool about midday and as the time of the
boat currently stood at 6pm, I met up with my friend who it at uni there. We
spent a lovely afternoon in a pub, it was so nice to have a hot meal inside
after a weekend camping and luckily Tom and Laura got on well due to their
shared love of coffee. Many cups of coffee later (for them, I stuck to the
pepsi) it was time to head to the ferry terminal with the hope that we would
get back to the island that night.
When we got to the docks the Mersey (the mouth of a river
not even the proper sea) was so choppy it was actually rocking the massive pontoon
which held the check-in desks and departure longue! It wasn’t looking good for
a smooth crossing. It was time to say goodbye to Laura and go down to the
departure longue and await our fate…
At 6pm we finally departed, sick bags already very thoroughly
distributed around the boat. The captains announcement was straight to the
point, told us the first 30 minutes while we were in the Mersey and the last 30
minutes in the shelter of the Isle of Man would be bearable but the 2 hours in
the middle were not going to be pleasant. We were told not to get out of our
seats if we could help it to prevent feeling ill yet people all around us we
getting up to get huge plates of food from the café. Safe to say we all saw that
food again later in the journey.
In general I don’t get sea sick but the sound of others
being sick makes me feel awful and that is what I dreaded most. This is when I
decided the only way to survive this was to curl up, close my eyes and listen
to the radio with the hope that blocking my senses would help. The station I
chose was radio 1 for the request show, I listen to this show quite a bit, I
find the presenters funny and I was hoping it would distract me from the sound
of vomit all around me.
I had been prepared for an unpleasant journey but I was not prepared
for what we got. You know that feeling you get after going on a stomach-dropping
rollercoaster, well know imagine that for 2 hours straight. It’s ok for a few
minutes but when it happens constantly for 2 hours causing waves to go over the
top of the ship we are sat, it really isn’t pleasant. Thank god for Dan and
Phil and there music in my ears for those 2 hours or I am really not sure I
would have made it across with the contents of my stomach still inside me and
this is coming from someone who has not been sick since the age of 5 (no, not
even from alcohol). Sadly the one thing the radio could not block out was the horrendous
smell of sick. The BBC really need to sort out smell-radio!
When we FINALLY got to the Isle of Man and the passengers
with cars went down to the vehicle decks there was a massive commotion when
they discovered that two of the cars, one being a poshe, had crashed into each
our the sea had been so coppy! As I walked through the ship to get off I
counted FIVE passengers being comforted by staff I think they all had panic
attacks because of the state of the sea. I know none of it was the ferry companies
fault and they did a great job of making the crossing as comfortable as
possible.
So I was home, feeling slightly ill and had a bag full of
soaking wet clothes but I had an amazing weekend and I would do it all again,
although next time if the weather could be slightly nicer that would be great
thanks!
If you want to hear more about my trip to London and the
monopoly run keep an eye on my YouTube channel, I will be uploading a video or
two to that soon. You can subscribe through the link below and it will tell you
when they are uploaded:
Izzy
xxx
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