Yes, we've been waiting to see if the ramp's coming down!

I see the crowds have dispersed from the headland, maybe they're going to get a closer look!

The arrival was a bit underwhelming to say the least, they did not make much of it.

Not much bunting on display and no escorting welcome.

You're right Chris, Suspect they're saving it all for the "official" welcome?
 there's a little bunting on the rear of the boat! 😆

...and the ramp is down!

she made decent time once turned north

dont look like it passed much on its way up going off webcam footage
must be a boring thing sea travel

The latest Steam packet timetable has both boats running at the same time (one for the day & t'other for the night ) until 4th August,
then the Ben is gone!
First sailing is still scheduled for 22nd July, 08.45 to Heysham/

It's the official "Welcome to Tylerman" for Manxman today, you can watch it live here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1Vw5aGoi8

She's on the Manannan's berth with the ramp down for the first time I have seen as they have removed the mini ramp for the fast craft.

Good view from the tower webcam if viewed on its own away from the webcam page

https://images.gov.im/webcams/ed_tower.jpg

Live streaming Timings for the day:
11:15am - Speeches and champagne bottle breaking.
12:30pm - Build and delivery keynote speeches.
22:30pm - Fireworks and Manxman sail by.

Timetables show first sailing tomorrow, but BBC reports that no first sailing has been set.

When Manxman does start Beeb stated that Ben will still do the night crossing to leave the Manxman free for training purposes.

I download the "full timetable" from Steam packet every few days(  ), & it seems to change every time!
latest one says Manxman first sailing is 1st September, 08.45 Isle of Man to Heysham, then on all sailings, which kind of contradicts recent stories.
They have been saying one boat will do morning sailings & one will do evening sailings! 
The caveat being, I suppose,  "we reserve the right to change things whenever we want"!
We have the 2 visits in August, both of which said Manxman on the tickets originally, but now say Ben My Chree.

We booked to go to the Manx back in March , i printed the tickets out recently and they have us on the Manxman both ways, Now i read that it might be september 2nd, before she's in service, o.k. i thought we might return on her (4th sept), Now i see that she's not on the night sailings, GREAT!!!! Oh Well Back to the good old ben ... at least we will know were to sit ,,Have to wait till next Year.. On countdown now bike in bits c,u, at the manx

When we flew to the island on July 2nd, it was of course teatime at the Ronaldsway airport again. The pilot circled the island for another 15 minutes in the best weather. On its last lap it flew quite low along the promenade and we were able to take a good look at the new ferry from above.

A few days later i attended the welcome fireworks in the evening. Because there was very little publicity for it in the media very few people came. I was almost alone at the war memorial.



Rudi

Latest statement from IOMSPC (04/08/2023)-
MANXMAN’S FIRST SERVICE SAILING DRAWS NEAR

4/8/2023
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is pleased to update the travelling public on progress towards Manxman’s first service sailing.
Since the arrival of the new vessel at Douglas, Isle of Man, just over a month ago, considerable work has been undertaken to prepare Manxman for its role as flagship and workhorse of the fleet.
Some of the work has been very visible to the public, such as the successful test of the Marine Evacuation System in Douglas harbour under the watchful eyes of Isle of Man Ship Registry surveyors.
Manxman’s masters, officers and crew have also been in the public eye as they test the manoeuvrability of the vessel, and learn how the largest ever ship in the Manx fleet handles in a range of conditions in ports and at sea.
Manxman has now completed berthing trials at Douglas and Heysham and has also paid an initial visit to Belfast where the captain on the day received a commemorative plaque from the harbour authorities.
The port visits have also allowed two of the masters to achieve their Pilot Exemption Certificates, with a third expecting to be signed off in the next week.
While the public has been very aware of Manxman’s movements as it works up, much more has been going on behind the scenes to ready the vessel for service.
A parallel stream of work has been dealing with the snagging list established since before the vessel left the yard in South Korea, and added to on the return voyage. As a bespoke-built one-off vessel this is a perfectly normal part of the project, and the Company is working with the builders to resolve the outstanding items, with contractors on board the vessel most days.
An important piece of work that has gone on out of sight, but that will be visible to users when passengers are aboard is the improved coating applied to both car decks. The work has been carried out by specialist contractors to meet the high standards of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.
Also outside the public’s gaze but of vital importance to the safe operation of the ship, and ongoing all the time is crew training, familiarisation and the development and implementation of safety procedures and drills.
Manxman is a huge step forward from both Ben-my-Chree and Manannan in terms of technology, and requires entirely new ways of working. The crew of Manxman and shoreside staff have been working tirelessly to develop and implement operating procedures as real-life knowledge of the vessel grows.
Most importantly for the travelling public the Company is confirming details of Manxman’s introductory service. As previously announced, Manxman will initially only carry out daytime sailings (departing Isle of Man 08:45, departing Heysham 14:15) for a period of approximately four weeks. Ben-my-Chree will run the overnight sailings for this period, with a slightly later departure time of 20:15 from Douglas, departing Heysham for the return sailing at 02:15. The slightly later departure time from Douglas will allow for operational flexibility around berths.
At the end of the four week period of daytime only sailings, Manxman will undertake the previously announced cruise, before commencing four weeks of night time sailings, with Ben-my-Chree switching to the daytime schedule.
The split schedule allows Ben-my-Chree to immediately take over if for any reason Manxman has to be taken out of service during the working up period with minimal disruption to the schedule. At the end of the working up period Manxman will take over fully on the Heysham route, with Ben-my-Chree entering fleet reserve status.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Managing Director Brian Thomson commented, ‘I’m really proud of how the crew and our staff ashore have pulled together to get Manxman to a point where we’re almost ready to make the announcement we know everyone is waiting on: when the first service sailing will take place. I’m pleased to say that the timeline is now weeks rather than months. I’ve always been really clear that we won’t rush things to have Manxman in service before it is ready, but everyone involved in this project is working hard every day with only one goal in mind, getting Manxman into service.’
He added: ‘The work up period is a sensible approach to allow everyone to get fully familiarised with the day-to-day operation of the vessel without adding undue pressure. Of course, we don’t anticipate having to take Manxman out of service during this period, but it is a brand new, custom built, highly complex system and it would be foolish not to plan for eventualities. As always, safety is our number one priority, and ensuring continuity and reliability of our lifeline service is a very close second.’

Maybe i'm reading that with my Liverpool Terminal cost / delay hat on but some of that sounds like "it's nowhere near finished yet" and "we don't really know what she handles like in the harbour and approach in bad weather" passed off/played by the Safety Card because "it's all for our benefit" .... 'mmmmmm

There have been rumours locally (around Heysham), unproven really, that the wind is a problem, affecting "handling", so to speak,  don't really know any more than that.
Hopefully it's all bunkum & balderdash! ( 2 seldom used words these days! 😆)
(OUR) First trip is a week on Friday afternoon, but I think that'll be stretching it a bit!
The week after we're on the red-eye (02.15hrs) & it's definitely not doing that run for at least a month!

Yes it all reeks of 'mushroom syndrome' to me. Never known a new vessel to take so long to work up unless major problems. Must be costing IOMSP a fortune, fare increases next?

Just had a "Manxman story" on our local BBC TV news, didn't really say much more than we already knew! but here's the written version of it -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-...n-66329316

Looks like the replacement of the 'Ben' is complete as Manxman is scheduled for all Heysham sailings now.