The new on board magazine for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is now available on both the Ben-my-Chree and Sea Express 1. Island Connections is printed twice yearly and features a host of local and national writers providing features on what there is to see and do both on the Isle of Man and also the ports that are served from the Island.

Explore the Isle of Man to two wheels

One of the best ways to see the Island, as a lot of motorbike enthusiasts know is on two wheels, and this is featured in our celebratory article on the 100th anniversary of the world famous Isle of Man TT Races. Our second article features Island Connections editor, Sharon Gillespie’s father, Derek Gillespie who makes his way around the Island on his mountain bike…not the normal way to spend your 70th birthday, as Derek explains “I’d mentioned to my daughter Sharon that I’d love to cycle a mile for every year. I told her that I wasn’t going to do it all in one day, and she said that I’d better not – or it could be my last birthday!” he laughed. “After reading Island Connections magazine, I really fancied doing my cycle on the Isle of Man, and Sharon bought me the trip for my birthday.”

Fancy a sroll?

Shifting to two feet as opposed to two wheels, we have our feature on the Isle of Man Walking Festival. This follows a group of intrepid walkers around the 96-mile Coastal Path through some of the most challenging conditions that walk leader Mick Salmon from Douglas had ever witnessed during his 30 or so treks: “The high winds on the second day from Port Erin to Niarbyl were just about the worst I can remember, and this week showed just how much of a challenge it can be. However, at the same time, my group were all experienced walkers and I think the difficulties made them all even more determined to complete the distance – which they did.”

More whale sightings than ever before

Looking out to see during your walk may leave you rubbing your eyes in disbelief, as 2006 has been a record year when it comes to spotting marine life. In June alone there were some 147 sightings of the elusive basking shark, and increased sightings of other species like the common dolphin and harbour porpoise. Minke whales have also been spotted on an almost daily basis, and on June 16th a killer whale was seen just 800 metres off the coast at Onchan Head! Our Water World article takes an in depth look at the various species which have been spotted in recent times of the Island’s coast.

More TV and Film coverage for the Isle of Man

The Island has recently enjoyed great coverage on both the small and large screen. On the small screen we had a few very different types of chefs showing off their culinary skills. On one hand we had the Two Hairy Bikers visiting the Island with their BBC2 film crew and a the other end of the scale we had Gordon Ramsey teaching Jeremy Clarkson a few tricks or two in the kitchen.

On the large screen, we had Stormbreaker filmed on the Island featuring world famous stars such as Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Alicia Silverstone and the star of the film, Alex Pettyfer. Full coverage of this appears in our article entitled “Island goes down a Storm!”

There are a number of other features, and we hope you will take time to pick up a copy when you are next on the Ben-my-Chree or Sea Express One.

Happy reading!