Port St. Mary

From ManxWiki

Port St. Mary (Manx: Purt le Moirrey). The village takes its name from the original Chapel of St. Mary which overlooked Chapel Bay. It is a coastal village in the south of the Isle of Man. Its population is 1,913 according to the 2006 census[1]. It is located on the south-western part of the island with Port Erin located nearby. A railway station for the Isle of Man Steam Railway is just north of the village. Once a major fishing and trading port, the village is still popular with tourists and fishermen, especially during the summer. In recent years the sheltered nature of the harbour and bay have made it a favourite spot for sea kayakers. The inner harbour, with its pier created in 1812[2], is tidal and dries out from half-tide. The outer harbour, created when the Alfred Pier was built in 1882[3], is accessible at all tide states. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has had a lifeboat and station in Port St Mary since 1896[4]. The lifeboat, the Gough Ritchie II, lies to a permanent floating mooring inside the outer breakwater. The village is home to the Port St Mary Golf Links, the Island's sole 9-hole golf course, and also Scoill Phurt le Moirrey, a primary school opened in 1993-1994. The Isle of Man Yacht club is also based at Port St. Mary Harbour.