Two pence into the Judy pot.

My sense is that when the Liverpudlians had you in tow, mysterious, homeward bounding forces were at work. Thus, when you were towing away from Liverpool and home, say to find one of Barry's cat's paws, the going would be a mite harder. If, on the other hand, you were head for home, things would go a bit easier.

Short version, I think this a homeward bound mechanism - a seagoing version of the horse finding his way to the barn. In this case its wild oats and a roll in the hay.