In consequence of Óspakr's fall, the saga reveals that command of the fleet was assumed by Óláfr, who successfully eluded Alan's forces by leading the force to the ("Merchant Islands"), a group of islands which appear to refer to the Copeland Islands. There is reason to suspect that this destination, just off the Ards Peninsula, was chosen in an effort to acquire both protection and provisioning. Specifically, the islands may have provided the fleet with the ability to prevent Alan—who was married to a daughter of Hugh—from drawing assistance from Ireland. It is also conceivable that the fleet procured logistical support from nearby Grey Abbey, a monastery founded by Óláfr's sister, Affrica. Another nearby religious house, Inch Abbey, founded by Affrica's husband, (Hugh's predecessor in Ulster) John de Courcy, could have also provided the fleet with provisions. After the fleet's stay at the , the saga relates that it set sail for Mann, where a force of Manxmen led by a certain Þórkell Njálsson—an apparent Islesmen who may have been allied to the Gallovidians—briefly resisted the incomers before being dispersed. According to the "Chronicle of Lanercost" and "Chronicle of Mann", after having reached Mann, Óláfr and Guðrøðr Dond divided the kingdom between themselves, with Óláfr controlling Mann and Guðrøðr Dond the islands.