Frances

I see that Manxradio is stating that However, Treasury has now confirmed inaccurate figures were included in the preliminary calculation, which are likely to have been significantly more favourable to the vessel. which to my mind is ambiguous - does it mean the Ben was less powerful and thus the limit of 48% can be raised or more powerful and thus the power limit needs to be reduced - either way it seems both the SPCo and Government are working on incorrect figures - I realise that SPCo wish to get rid of the Ben then with no alternative to a boat unsuited both to weather and ports restrict the number of sailings per year with considerably higher fares needed to keep the flow of money into Treasury

Manannan couldn't keep the ramp down at Liverpool finally get off for the nominal 11.15 sailing at 15:25 - arrived after a voyage during which the master reduced speed because at full speed the journey was just too uncomfortable - all the cars were specially tied down Manxman is becoming obvious as the white elephant, neither of its two target ports can really cope with it, extremely unlikely the boat will be sensibly filled with passengers during 6months of the winter season, full capacity will not be allowed for safety reasons, must be costing significantly more than the Ben did in fuel - one suggestion I heard today was that the South Korean builders wanted to enter the small cruiseship business and Manxman was costed as a demonstrator and the SPCo bosses (ie the non sailing officers) were temped and overruled objections from experienced staff

I see Manx Radio is reporting "The chair of the organisation has admitted the public's perception of the vessel is that it's 'unreliable' but says the board was expecting more issues to have arisen than did. Does this mean that there is yet more to go wrong with the boat, harbour(s) + service over the comming year ?

yes it is considerably more comfortable but for those of us who use public transport to get away from the ports the short notice cancellations or changes in timing are a major problem - as I kept on repeating the Ben was exceptionally reliable (at least in last 15 years) and one could book onward travel - not so with the new boat in last 5 months

there used to be a difference between the large Ramsey shop and the smaller Peel shop - might have changed tho as I don't use the Ramsey store much these days

wasn't the Manxman due to make its debut at the new Liverpool terminal this morning - did it ? and does it like Manannan need modifications to suit the terminal ?

that depends if they still run a fast craft - removing that would save a lot of money as well as CO2 - arrow runs all freight - 2 or 3 Liverpool sailings a week during winter daily during summer with at peak periods 2 daylight services early morning departure noon return late afternoon back and mid evening or even late evening back - this might well be a reason for dual staff on board edit to add - the TT should be dead by then or as seems to be the case the major reward being from video feeds the awkward need to convey peak loads of bikers is no longer needed - a sanitised video feed would keep government happy

the PAX loading figures for the Ben were obviously known to the SPCo though not publicised - from 15 years of regular sailings mid week in winter the Ben was seldom even half full - many times less than 100 passengers - maybe weekends were better used. The Manxman is very comfortable but considerably too large for over half the year

the more interesting comments besides the admission that the boat was too big for Douglas harbour in extreme weather, and that winter passenger sailings would cease if the boat was out of service but also that 'to cut carbon emissions sailings would be reduced - since the boat is considerably more expensive to run than the Ben I suspect all this is shorthand for a daily freight service by Arrow and 2 or 3 sailings by Manxman per week in the winter except possibly for half term extras. Who specified the boat has not been admitted - but being unsuitable for both harbours takes some beating extra thoughts - if the twice weekly sailings were to Liverpool then this might account for the need for 2 crews on board as to allow some shopping time in Liverpool a 7.30 departure and a 6pm return would need two crews

seriously did you expect Tesco to lower prices now it has a monopoly - 5d seems small - 20% is the usual rate tho shoprite were greedy with 30% on many items compared to Sainsbury stores across

the Douglas-Liverpool journey of Manannan is restocked by Robinsons - the amount required is determined during the voyage back to Douglas - hence the delay in off loading foot passengers as the staff coming on duty act as porters emptying the stuff from the Robinsons delivery vans; even the newspapers carried over of the night boat from Liverpool have to be delivered to the wholesalers before the small portion required on the morning boat comes back from the wholesalers.

much more subtle than that - by the 1640s the higher social classes spoke English in preference - all court records etc were kept in English by 1600 (a few in Latin prior to this, never in Manx); Bishop Barrow started the first public schools teaching English out of necessity as no book published in Manx - the 18th C saw the Island having significantly more connections both with England as well as further afield hence utility of English - by 1820s monoglot speakers of Manx declined quite significantly as most jobs required English and many parents avoided teaching Manx to their offspring tho there were some enthusiasts for Manx but many of these emigrated in the 1820s onwards to America

that has been noticeable from the very start - maybe problems in tying up as compared with the Ben - ?too few staff for more ropes ? but as also slower at Douglas suspect a more technical problem - can take 10-15 min or more longer than the Ben would manage and now can become a significant part of the journey time. There is usually an announcement when the car deck opens that drivers should wait to be told to start engines.

why are customs red + green channels required if all journeys are to UK with which we are in a customs union - or is it forward planning when NI joins the Republic or is the long term plan (which may explain live-on-board) for the Manxman to do mini cruises (?Faroes)

well it left 10min late 20:26 after sitting in harbour with its ramp up for several minutes prior to supposed departure time - maybe extra checks were needed - I was on the Ben when her bow thrusters failed mid turn in Douglas harbour - took abt 3hrs of hours to get on berth with help - the same happening in Heysham would be worse.

I was on yesterday morning's crossing to Heysham - left late with boarding only stating abt 8.25 for a 8.45 departure hence 10min late in departure but after a very smooth crossing it entered Heysham harbour at just before 12.15 but then the by now usual problem with Manxman - it took over 20 min to turn + start to offload passengers - also for some reason the 1st batch of luggage was delivered but a second batch was delayed at least 15mins. The loading + turnaround times seem to be a major problem with the boat which bodes ill for the busier summer season

it was felt, and commented on, back in November tho apparently not felt in the front lounges but very noticeable up on level 8

skeet but from a source that so far has been accurate and in advance of admissions by the Steam Packet

I see the Ben has moved to be alongside the KE pier though its ramp is up - the new boat would appear to have scuttled off to safer waters - maybe still with the Korean engineers on board - one comment I was told was that some of the trouble with maneuvering in Heysham was there is a significant delay in response between the bridge and the engines responding. now it has returned to the Victoria pier

what is the boat at the end of Victoria pier (the web camera view is obscured by rain) - looks somewhat like the Manxman to me in terms of being lit up.

I did raise this many pages back but as far as I can see it is the emergency evacuation mode selected that is the key point that requires a double crew - otherwise given that some speed up in loading/unloading would allow the 2 rotations a day that the Ben has done for near 25 years without LOB requirement

so what went wrong with Mx - tho there was Capt Carter's tug parked at Douglas until recently there hasn't been a tug at Heysham as far as I know - is it just the lack of power, the will to use it or unforeseen problems with both harbours.

you just couldn't make this up - a new boat is unable to dock in both of its usual ports - maybe put the Ben back into service?

Well Doug Barrowman just had a 10 min slot on R4's PM re his avoidance at being named as the controlling person behind Medpro - so someone appears to be gunning for him

legally you cannot, any alcohol is supposed to be either left in the car or in the deposited luggage - though it doesn't appear to checked though once I was asked by a newbie security guy at Heysham did I have alchohol in my bag even tho the exec club has open access to such