diff --git a/test/helper.rb b/test/helper.rb
index da44d2c3..162fbdaf 100644
--- a/test/helper.rb
+++ b/test/helper.rb
@@ -30,7 +30,10 @@ def flush_connections
 class FunctionalTest < Minitest::Test
   def setup
     require_relative "support/docker_wrapper"
-    DockerWrapper.start unless DockerWrapper.running?
+    return if DockerWrapper.running?
+
+    DockerWrapper.start
+    DockerWrapper.wait_for_ssh_server
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/test/support/docker_wrapper.rb b/test/support/docker_wrapper.rb
index 428503cb..5d6d8393 100644
--- a/test/support/docker_wrapper.rb
+++ b/test/support/docker_wrapper.rb
@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
+require "socket"
+
 Minitest.after_run do
   DockerWrapper.stop if DockerWrapper.running?
 end
 
 module DockerWrapper
+  SSH_SERVER_PORT = 2122
+
   class << self
     def host
       SSHKit::Host.new(
         user: "deployer",
         hostname: "localhost",
-        port: "2122",
+        port: SSH_SERVER_PORT,
         password: "topsecret",
         ssh_options: host_verify_options
       )
@@ -27,6 +31,14 @@ def stop
       run_compose_command("down")
     end
 
+    def wait_for_ssh_server(retries=3)
+      Socket.tcp("localhost", SSH_SERVER_PORT, connect_timeout: 1).close
+    rescue Errno::ECONNREFUSED, Errno::ETIMEDOUT
+      retries -= 1
+      sleep(2) && retry if retries.positive?
+      raise
+    end
+
     private
 
     def run_compose_command(command, echo=true)