Another Great Day in the Isle of Man, And I really feel sorry for Claus (DO9BC) picking one of the worst days we have had in ages here now for a trip around the Island!
But that said, I thought it would be at least worth a try to show him a few places that he would not visit when they come over for the DXpeditions, none of which would make any good areas for antennas or tents to operate from, well not at least in these weather conditions. .
But even with the tide letting us down (as it was down and not up), I was hoping to at least find a few nice waves crashing over the cliffs, but with the tide being low and the weather being very windy it was just not nice full stop.
We stopped off at Port Soderick to admire the sunny beach and smooth seas, but low and behold, someone else had another plan, and boy was it cold.
So being stupid Amateur Radio operators that like taking the odd photos, we braved the conditions and made it into the Arctic conditions with cameras in hand like the idiots we are. And with Claus being Claus he could not help catch me in the act taking photos of a German idiot out in the cold taking photos of Manx idiot taking photos of…. oh sod it, you get the idea!!
Notice the Smile? This was short lived, as about an hour later we were both cold and drenched when the heavens opens and decided that enough was enough and we had taken too many photos and braved the Arctic elements way too much….
But till then we soldiered on….
No this is not Claus attempting to have a piss into the wind, it is him deciding it was too cold and trying to do up the zip with numb fingers!
Claus found this property for sale, it said in the brochure it was central heated and in very good condition…. Me thinks not! though it would make a good location for DX.
Nearly at the Herring Tower, which even though it was built in 1811 as a landmark for shipping, would offer us as much cover as the house we had just visited…
The photo does not show just how cold and wet this was…
Blummin Git even took a photo of me looking at the lichen covering the rocks, it was a little weird though!
Even the rain got to the lens, but the shot looks OK with the odd droplet on it, This is Claus trying to hide from the wind at the Herring Tower on the Langness outcrop.
Back in the relative civilization of Castletown with the wind and rain starting to get a little harder.
Claus getting me back yet again for taking a few holiday snaps…
We stopped off in Port St. Mary just as the weather was turning really nasty and managed to get soaked through walking around the harbor.
So we decided to call it a day and have a break at the Shore Pub in Gansey where a nice meal and roaring fire found the spot!
After a fine meal and drying out a little, we decided to head back to Laxey to see what photos we had taken.
Coming over the Mountain, we stopped to take a few photos of the snow which lay still in the valleys and to look at the damage that was caused to the fences and electricity poles that was still very evident.
It does not show up that well in this photo, but those white patches on the grass is not melting snow, but water flowing off the mountain, it was flowing over the grass like a sheet instead of a stream, notice also the fence poles in the background that have been knocked flat by the weight of snow.
The snow in the valleys is still quite deep as shown below.
After this it was back to the house and to relax, have a drink of coffee, look at a few photos, and generally chin-wag about warmer days.
It has been really nice seeing Claus again, and especially with the team giving this year a miss, but hopefully, fingers crossed we will see everyone next year.
Thanks for the day out Claus……
