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Displaying items by tag: Travelling Eased

Ferry sailings to and from the Isle of Man have been updated as the Manx government announced it's easing travel restrictions.

As Manx Radio reported, Chief Minister Howard Quayle announced yesterday the Isle of Man is moving from stage five to four on its borders framework.

From Monday, 20 July, Manx residents can travel to the UK and beyond, as long as they self isolate for two weeks once they return.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet has therefore revised its schedule, running two daily sailings between Douglas and Heysham on the Ben-my-Chree on most dates from Friday, 24 July.

It will also provide a daily fast craft service to Liverpool on the Manannan from Fridays to Mondays, also starting from the 24 July.

Published in Ferry

About Commander Bill King, Solo Circumnavigator

William Donald Aelian King was the last surviving submarine commander in the Second World War - in charge of the British Navy's T-class Telemachus that sank a Japanese sub in the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Sumatra, in 1944.

Decorated many times for his service by the end of the war, King became a trailblazing solo sailor.

At the age of 58, he was the oldest participant in The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race sailing Galway Blazer II, a junk-rigged schooner he designed himself.

After a number of abortive attempts, including an incident with "a large sea creature", he finally completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1973.

Beyond his aquatic escapades, King settled with his wife Anita (who died in 1984, aged 70) at Oranmore Castle outside Galway after the war, where he later developed a pioneering organic farm and garden to help tackle his wife's asthma.

The round-the-world sailor and Galway native Bill King died on Friday, 21 September, 2012, aged 102.