TRIP TO THE ISLE OF MAN FRIDAY
20th FEBRUARY 2004
Working as I do on the Fast Craft crossing the Irish
Sea, I had long hoped to arrange a trip for club members to Ireland or the Isle
of Man. I am glad to say that the gamble paid off, smooth seas over and smooth'ish on
the way back put paid to any worries of the 'Mal de Mer' and once we had all
made it to the Glen Helen Hotel we were all greeted with a warm welcome. We headed off toward the South of the island, to the Sound to be precise
where the view is nothing short of spectacular, not to mention the long straight
roads and lack of speed cameras, I would hasten to add though that whilst
driving through built up areas, speed limits were strictly adhered to. Here we
met up with Kev again, had tea and coffee, a little walk around and then we were
back in the cars for the next leg which took us into Douglas itself for some
retail therapy and in order to book a restaurant for that nights dinner. It was
also during this particular leg that a certain Red MK1 decided to take up the
lead, so, whilst I was distracted, pulled out and overtook me, I had to endure
the next 36 hours of Phil not letting me forget.
Therapy over with an on towards Laxey, home of the famous Laxey Wheel (never
heard of it? You will if you come next year). We stopped here for lunch (just,
as the kitchen was about to close) and after had a look at the wheel, then on to
Snaefell via a Cul-de-Sac and a number of 'other' roads whilst trying to
navigate furiously (not easy when on your own), needless to say I managed to
lose Mac and Jackie with a few U-turns but I am glad to say that their map
reading actually would have got them to the next stop before me had they
themselves not stopped and waited for the rest of us to catch up (some leader
me!!).
Having re-grouped it was onto another of the narrower type roads with a
couple of severe hairpins on a steep downhill and hoping the already tired
brakes held out for just a little longer; a quick stop at the bottom at a very
picturesque location then onwards again.
I thought we would try and find the Dukes Trackday circuit near Jurby on the
North East of the island and so it was, 10 minutes later, we discovered the
'Kangaroo Road??', a nice straight piece of road begging to be driven fast on
---- with a couple of surprises! To say this road was slightly uneven would be
an understatement, and by the time I had gone over the 3rd bone shattering bump
I decided to slow down somewhat in order to avoid the embarrassment of being
pulled out from the hedgerow, those behind me suffered similarly but had been
warned by my brake lights (and bizarre motion) that all was not as it seemed.
We found Dukes which was, as already suspected, closed but there was some
Karting activity going on which we investigated and in getting to it found a
piece of unused old runway which a few of us made full use of. I had a chat with
Dukes people who told me that Trackdays started in March/April but, providing
there is enough of us next year and I am able to give more than 1 hours notice!
they would gladly organise a Trackday for us, something else to look forward to.
It was getting late now, the sun beginning to get low on the horizon so we
began the trek back (yes, over Kangaroo road again but with a little more
concentration this time). We headed for Ramsey then Snaefell using the TT
circuit after which we cut across the island on another not so wide road
arriving at the Glen Helen Lodge in time for a hot shower, a few drinks and then
into taxis which took us into Douglas for an Italian meal for 13, Kev joining us
as well.
Taxis back proved entertaining, well the one I was in did anyway, the driver
having found out why we were on the island and deciding that his Bronze Holdings
taxi was as good at road holding and speed as any MK1 MR2, I think not judging
by the squeals coming from the back!!
Sunday morning saw us all up and ready for more island epics, this time
joined by another local MK1 intent on keeping up with us for the day and so,
after another hearty breakfast and checking out we head for the Northern most
part of the island, Point of Ayre, but not the easy way, oh no??!!!
On Saturday there had been a rally held on an even narrower road which was
now reopened to the public; we had to give it a go and I have to say that it was
probably the most fun I have had in my MK1, only slightly ruined when I came up
behind a local couple out Sunday driving at 10 mph, needless to say I stopped
the convoy in order to allow a little distance to open up and off we went again
only to find ourselves behind them once again whilst they stopped to open a gate
spanning the road. They soon turned off in order to take a walk and off we went
again, being very careful not to end up where a few rally cars had obviously
left the road and worse still, trying not to bottom out where previous cars had,
judging by the deep grooves in the tarmac.
Once off this road, a brief fuel stop was necessary then off we set toward
the Point of Ayre, again using the back roads during which, although I
personally missed it, a rather irate local wearing a high vis yellow jacket
decided to mouth off a few unnecessary expletives, but life's too short so we
all carried on.
A brief stop for a photo shoot after another wrong turn, some tight
manoeuvring up a farmers dirt track after yet another wrong turn (really need a
navigator next year!) and we finally made it to the Point where it was blowing a
force 5/6 and damn cold. Still, this wasn't going to stop another photo shoot so
we all lined up the cars on the edge of the dunes, ran down the beach, turned,
snapped and ran back.
Where to next?
Ramsey was our next stop for a good old fish and chip lunch, after all, it
was Sunday and we were on an island, so off we set at a more sedate speed thanks
to a bit of Sunday traffic, this proving beneficial as we were able to actually
view the countryside a bit more rather than eyes glued on the tarmac in front.
After parking in Ramsey we left our cars for a short walk to the local (and I
think only) fish and chip shop in the town only to discover it shuts on Sundays
(especially in February), more good planning Ryan, but we were able to discover
what was an even nicer venue for lunch, overlooking the harbour. Every cloud etc
etc.
After lunch we went back onto the TT circuit only this time we went past
Snaefell and on to Douglas where we all pulled over at the Start/Stop section.
The road from Ramsey to the outskirts of Douglas is incredible, long straights,
fast corners (and some slow ones) and not a speed camera in sight, car heaven.
Another fuel stop and we set off once more to visit the Sound via a different
route than that of the day before (of course). There was just one more stretch
of road I wanted to try in the MK1 before the weekend was out, it has a name
which has escaped me for now, although I am sure once Kev reads this he will
remind me, it is a stretch that leads off from the main central road (A3) and
cuts over the South and West part of the island toward Port Erin, oh happy days,
yet another chance for a blast.
We stopped in Port Erin, having picked up Kev a mile or so back and from here
I decided to take a back seat as by now everyone was familiar with the island,
so Kev led off to the Sound with me tagging along somewhere in the middle happy
as the proverbial pig and some 10 minutes later we were all parked up again
witnessing the spectacular views the Sound has to offer. The Cafe was still open
so we decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon there whiling away the
hours before our scheduled departure from Douglas on the Ben-my-Chree.
All in all, a terrific weekend to be repeated next year.
Chris Johnson had this to say: - CJ
Following are some other comments I have received: - Really enjoyed the weekend! Cheers for an excellent trip. A Huge thank you goes out to Ryan for organising this fantastic event.
Pictures below are courtesy of Phil Taylor's brother, a bit of a photographer on the side.
I had begun to organise a trip to Northern Ireland back in 2002/3
but had been unable to go ahead for a number of reasons and so when I decided to
opt for the Isle of Man instead I made sure there would be no obstacles this
time.
And so it was, on a not so warm February morning, after much
advertising, e-mailing and phoning, 8 cars lined up in the Heysham sea terminal
ready to board the 'Ben my Chree'. There had originally been 10 cars booked but
Linda's car had recently undergone an expensive operation eating up the money
put aside for the trip (she did still manage to go, sharing a car with Frogge)
and Pete Chadwicks new arrival (of the human variety) had put paid to his
weekend as well (we wish them all the best and hope to see them at future
events).
Those that had gambled their money hoping for a fantastic weekend,
this event having never been tried before, were:-
John Redmond and Wife
(apparently NOT a Man Utd supported!!)
Phil Taylor and Brother
Frogge
(with, as mentioned, Linda as passenger)
Mike Sheavils and Joanne Thom
Mac and Jacqui Sheavils
Jim Leddon and Wife (dare I forget!)
Chris
Johnson
and Myself.
The
Glen Helen Hotel was ideally situated for our purposes and everyone commented
the standard of service we received over the weekend plus the cleanliness of all
the rooms, we will definitely use this one again next year.
Once everyone
had settled in, we all met back in the Bar for the first of many runs out. As it
had already been a long day for most, I had organised a short run around a quiet
country lane. And so it was, at 8pm 7 cars rolled out of the car park, 6 of
which had no idea what was coming!
This particular run covered a little over
10 miles, mostly on roads that were quite narrow, steep in places with the
occasional hairpin plus cattle grids and was to be done as fast a practically
possible.
I arrived back at the carpark about 25 minutes later and waited
(and waited) for the remaining 6, the first arriving 3 minutes later, the last
some 20 minutes later having got lost (but had a nice tour of the island!).
Without exception, all had grins on their faces and one or two stories of close
encounters with hedgerows or 'cooking of the brakes'. I say 'without exception',
one or two passengers had different thoughts!
Dinner was served in the Hotel
at 9pm washed down with a number of various beverages. I had been in contact
with a MK1 owner, Kev, who lived on the island in Port Erin, and he arrived
during dinner, map in hand with a few good ideas of roads to tackle which we
would do the following day.
Most turned in around midnight with thoughts of
just what the hell had they got themselves into!
Saturday morning, blue sky
and frosty. A full on cooked breakfast and we were all ready to go, well nearly
all of us, Johns wife had a bout of 'flu so the two of them headed off to do
their own thing and Jim, well lets say I've said enough already.
The Manx run 2004, where to start? The
trip over from Heysham was fine, the weather was fine and everyone was just
itching to tear a little tarmac, so we quickly made our way to the hotel and
dispensed with the formalities ready to unleash the 2s in anger for the first
time.
It was dark by this time and Ryan had planned a 30 to 45 minute
circuit out from the hotel, onto part of the TT circuit and back again in what
looked like a simple loop on the map. But there are no simple roads on the Isle
of Man and this was a great drive with very little to suggest which way the road
would turn next, other than the rear lights of the car in front (that'll be a
Toyota). I think everyone was a little over enthusiastic that night as I found
my brakes fading badly about half way round, something I had in common with a
couple of others, I learned later. Pretty soon my brake pedal was down to the
floor bringing the car up front closer with each turn and eventually forcing me
to back off, just a bit.
Happily everyone made it through this first run
intact and the weekend continued in the same vein with endless roads of ever
increasing entertainment. Each time before we set off to another destination, we
would discuss how 'I'm going to take it easy this time', only to press on the
loud pedal once again and hurtle away in a snake of MR2s. This was honestly the
most fun driving I can remember and that includes track days.
It wasn't all
about the driving though, plenty of stunning scenery, good food, drink and just
generally having a laugh was also on tap. Our illustrious leader, Ryan,
organised a cracking weekend with a bit of everything (mainly driving) at a good
price and I'm sure everyone would agree that he deserves all credit for it. I
would personally like to thank him for phoning me on my mobile to apologise for
planning such a brake heavy route, this was while I was a little busy in the
middle of a challenging set of downhill hairpins, with sickly brakes.
Thanks Ryan!
Seriously though, this was good, if you weren't there you
should be regretting it now and planning for next year.
Just a wee note to
let you know how much we enjoyed last weekend. I found all of my fillings in the
footwell and they are now safely re-installed. The exhaust tail-end however has
had the Last Rights. More horizontal work coming up. Looking forward to next
year already. [Gum shields and spinal splints on order]
Well done mate
Best regards
Mac and Jacqui
John
Regards
Michael and Joanne
Phil "Slick" Taylor
