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40-516: Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth , and Portsmouth and Fishbourne and a fast passenger-only catamaran between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier . It is jointly owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners and Fiera Infrastructure. Wightlink and its forerunners have provided ferry services to and from

80-506: A fuel surcharge on all crossings, linked to the price of Brent Crude oil. However, in November 2008 the surcharge dropped to zero following the sharp reduction in crude prices during the credit crunch and as of November 2009 was still at zero. Wightlink planned to spend £17.5 million on improving its Portsmouth to Fishbourne route. This involved remodelling the terminal facilities at both Fishbourne and Portsmouth. The flagship St Clare

120-608: A large estuary flowing west to east and into the English Channel at the eastern end of the present Solent. This great estuary ran through a wooded valley and is now referred to as the Solent River. When glaciers covering more northern latitudes melted at the end of the last ice age , two things happened to create the Solent. Firstly, a great amount of flood water ran into the Solent River and its tributaries, carving

160-669: A new theory—that the Solent was originally a lagoon—was reported in the Southern Daily Echo by Garry Momber from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology . The Isle of Wight was formerly contiguous with the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset— the Needles on Wight and Old Harry Rocks on Purbeck are the last remnant of this connection. Ten thousand years ago a band of relatively resistant chalk rock, part of

200-564: A new vehicle ferry, Victoria of Wight , would be built for the Portsmouth to Fishbourne service. It entered service on 26 August 2018. In May 2019, BBIP sold a 50% stake in the business to Fiera Infrastructure of Canada. The introduction of the Wight class ferries was a much-discussed affair, with some Lymington residents claiming that the increased size of the ferries posed a risk, both in environmental terms and to users of pleasure craft on

240-546: A pair of 409 kWh battery arrays by Corvus Energy . The Orca Energy batteries provide support to four 1140KW 6 cylinder Wärtsilä diesel generators via, 1.5MW drives with active front ends following the generators, and DCDC choppers that take the 880v DC from the batteries and make it usable. In operation the batteries supplement electrical load all the time in order to run the Generators at the most efficient load, working as “generators” and parasitic load when recharging from

280-640: A separate subsidiary of the British Railways Board called Sealink . In 1984 Sealink was sold to Sea Containers . When Stena Line bought Sealink in 1990, the Isle of Wight ferries remained with Sea Containers, as Wightlink. In June 1995 Wightlink was the subject of a management buyout . In 2005 it was bought by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund. In 2005, a Wightlink car ferry featured briefly in

320-415: A tug, leading to the cancellation of further crossings that day. The ship is a diesel electric vessel operating at 690v 50Hz. Four generators and two hybrid systems are coupled together to four variable speed propulsion motors via a tied, 4 section 690v BUS, coupled FWD to AFT with tie breakers, with LLC transformers strapping across each half. The hybrid elements of the ship's powertrain are powered by

360-600: Is a comparatively shallow stretch of tidal water. It has an unusual double tide that is both favourable and hazardous to maritime activities with its strong tidal movements and quickly changing sea states. Coupled with the above, the Solent is renowned for its large volume of vessel usage, thus resulting in one of the highest density of declared lifeboat stations in the world. This includes six RNLI (e.g. Calshot and Cowes ) and five independently run stations (e.g. Hamble Lifeboat and Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service ). Remains of human habitation have been found from

400-469: Is about 20 miles (32 kilometres) long and varies in width between 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 and 5 mi (4 and 8 km), although the Hurst Spit which projects 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  mi (2.4 km) into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to just over 1 mi (1.6 km). The Solent is a major shipping lane for passenger, freight and military vessels. It

440-480: Is also an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting , hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually. It is sheltered by the Isle of Wight and has a complex tidal pattern, which has benefited Southampton's success as a port, providing a "double high tide" that extends the tidal window during which deep-draught ships can be handled. Spithead , an area off Gilkicker Point near Gosport ,

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480-488: Is known as the place where the Royal Navy is traditionally reviewed by the monarch of the day . The area is of great ecological and landscape importance, particularly because of the coastal and estuarine habitats along its edge. Much of its coastline is designated as a Special Area of Conservation . It is bordered by and forms a part of the character of a number of nationally important protected landscapes including

520-422: Is possible to believe Diodorus Siculus 's report that in his time men could wade to the Isle of Wight at low tide. In the early 16th century, Henry VIII of England built an extensive set of coastal defences at each end of the Solent, part of his Device Forts , effectively controlling access to east and west. In 1545, a naval battle was fought in the Solent between English and French naval forces. The battle

560-608: Is that the name may reflect the number of Northern Gannets (previously known as Solans or the Solan Goose) along the coast. Originally a river valley, the Solent has gradually widened and deepened over many thousands of years. The River Frome was the source of the River Solent , with four other rivers—the Rivers Avon , Hamble , Itchen and Test —being tributaries of it. Seismic sounding has shown that, when

600-475: Is the world's only commercial passenger hovercraft. It celebrated 50 years of operation in 2015. MV Victoria of Wight While she is the broadest vessel to make regular crossings to the Isle of Wight , she is not the longest passenger ship, with Red Funnel's Raptor class ferries exceeding Victoria of Wight in length. The Victoria of Wight is notable for its use of a hybrid technology, combining battery power and conventional engines. This results in

640-423: The Isle of Wight for more than 160 years. In the early 19th century, ferries ran to the island from Lymington and Portsmouth . Later, steam ferries operated a circular route around Lymington, Yarmouth , Cowes , Ryde and Portsmouth. When the railway companies became involved, they concentrated on two direct routes, Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Ryde. Operation of the ferries was eventually moved under

680-659: The Isle of Wight , who would retreat to Osborne House during the summer. After being launched in February 2018, she was fitted out, carrying out sea trials in the Sea of Marmara . On 16 July 2018, Victoria of Wight departed the Cemre shipyard to finally be transported to the Solent for crew training and introduction into service. Being towed by Amber II , a specialist tug , the journey took 25 days to complete. On 26 August 2018,

720-596: The New Forest National Park, and the Isle of Wight AONB . The word predates Old English , and is first recorded in 731 as Soluente (Bede, H.E. 4, 16). This original spelling suggests a possible derivation from the Brittonic element -uente , which has endured throughout the history of Hampshire, as in the Roman city of Venta Belgarum (Latinised as Venta ), the post-Roman kingdom of Y Went, and

760-668: The Southern England Chalk Formation , ran from the Isle of Purbeck area of south Dorset to the eastern end of Isle of Wight , parallel to the South Downs . Inland behind the chalk were less resistant sands, clays and gravels. Through these weak soils and rocks ran many rivers, from the Dorset Frome in the west and including the Stour , Beaulieu River , Test , Itchen and Hamble , which created

800-499: The Victoria of Wight began its maiden voyage on the 10:30 service from Portsmouth to Fishbourne , entering regular service. During the autumn, it was taken out of service during the weekdays to allow for more crew to be trained to operate it. On 1 November 2019, during an early morning crossing from Fishbourne, the Victoria of Wight' s propulsion system suffered a fault. She arrived in Portsmouth under reduced power accompanied by

840-451: The 19th century. These were generally known as Palmerston Forts . The Solent was one of two sites for the sailing events at the 1908 Summer Olympics . The Solent became the departure area of the ill-fated ocean liner, Titanic , in April 1912. A bank in the centre of the Solent, Bramble Bank , is exposed at low water at spring tide . This, combined with the unique tidal patterns in

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880-695: The Ice Age, meanders of the Solent's tributaries became incised: for example, an incised meander of the River Test is buried under reclaimed land under the Westquay shopping centre, near Southampton docks; Since the retreat of the most recent glaciation, the South East of England , like the Netherlands , has been steadily slowly sinking through historic time due to forebulge sinking . In 2008

920-460: The Lymington river. The following ferries have operated historically on routes run by Wightlink or previous companies that have been absorbed by Wightlink. The Solent The Solent ( / ˈ s oʊ l ən t / SOH -lənt ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain ; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It

960-546: The River Solent continued the line of the eastern Solent ( Spithead ) to a point roughly due east of the east end of the Isle of Wight and due south of a point about 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Selsey Bill , and then south-south-west for about 30 kilometres (19 mi), and then south for about 14 kilometres (9 mi), and then joined the main river flowing down the dry bed of the English Channel . During

1000-516: The Solent. The estuary of the Solent River was gradually flooded, and eventually the Isle of Wight became separated from the mainland as the chalk ridge between The Needles on the island and Old Harry Rocks on the mainland was eroded. This is thought to have happened about 7,500 years ago. The process of coastal change is still continuing, with the soft cliffs on some parts of the Solent, such as Fort Victoria , constantly eroding, whilst other parts, such as Ryde Sands , are accreting. The Solent

1040-574: The area, makes navigation challenging. There is an annual cricket match on Bramble Bank during the lowest tide of the year, but games are often cut short by rising tide. According to the BBC, the 1 ⁄ 2  mi (800 m) tide at Ryde gives a major advantage to hovercraft which can travel right up a beach and the Solent is the only place in Western Europe where there is a regular passenger service. The operator, Hovertravel , claims it

1080-620: The estuary deeper. Secondly, post-glacial rebound after the removal of the weight of ice over Scotland caused the island of Great Britain to tilt about an east–west axis, because isostatic rebound in Scotland and Scandinavia is pulling mantle rock out from under the Netherlands and south England : this is forebulge sinking . Over thousands of years, the land sank in the south (a process still continuing) to submerge many valleys creating today's characteristic rias , such as Southampton Water and Poole Harbour , as well as submerging

1120-463: The expiry of safety certificates on the previous fleet. Wightlink proposed interim arrangements enabling them restricted use of the new ferries until the trials could be completed in full. In March 2008 Wightlink revealed that an order had been placed with FBMA Marine to construct two new passenger catamarans for the Portsmouth to Ryde service, to replace the three craft currently employed. They entered service in 2009. From May 2008 Wightlink introduced

1160-459: The film Fragile starring Calista Flockhart . The ferry is shown very briefly in a wide-angle shot. Closer shots used Red Funnel's Red Osprey . In October 2006 Wightlink announced its intention to build two new ferries for the Yarmouth to Lymington route. These ships are slightly bigger than their predecessors, with extra vehicle space, but only accommodate 360 passengers compared to 500 on

1200-561: The hull and a large number of artefacts can be seen in the Mary Rose Museum located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard . In 1685, King James II narrowly escaped shipwreck while sailing in the Solent. Musician Henry Purcell wrote "They that go down to the sea in ships" to be sung by the extraordinary voice of John Gostling in commemoration of this event. More forts were built on land and at sea in

1240-617: The modern name of Winchester . It later appears in Anglo-Saxon records as Solentan . A pre-Celtic and supposedly Semitic root meaning "free-standing rock" has also been suggested as a possible description of the cliffs marking western approach of the strait. This Semitic origin may be a relic of the Phoenician traders who sailed to Britain from the Mediterranean as part of the ancient tin trade . Another suggestion

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1280-421: The older vessels. Wightlink later announced that a third new ferry would enter service in spring 2009. A dispute with some Lymington residents led to delay and threatened the viability of the route. In November 2008, the service was reduced so only two ships were required, allowing for the delay in the introduction of the new vessels. Sea trials were not complete by November 2008 and introduction became pressing with

1320-432: The prehistoric, Roman , and Saxon eras, showing that humans retreated towards progressively higher ground over these periods. Offshore from Bouldnor , Isle of Wight, divers have found at 11 metres (36 ft) depth the submerged remains of a wooden building that was built there on land around 6000 BC when the sea level was lower and the land was higher. There is an early Norman period report that much land on

1360-653: The reservations and ticketing system was replaced by CarRes from Carus. On 16 February 2015, Wightlink was sold by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners (BBIP). On 15 May 2015, Wightlink announced a revised investment of £45 million to include the purchase a new ferry, upgrading St Clare and modifications to the terminals at both ends to facilitate double-deck loading. In July 2016, Balfour Beatty exited BBIP, which became Basalt Infrastructure Partners. In August 2017, Wightlink announced that

1400-561: The sea level was lower, the River Solent incised its bed to a depth of at least 46 metres (151 ft) below current Ordnance Datum . The Purbeck Ball Clay contains kaolinite and mica , showing that in the Lutetian stage of the Eocene water from a granite area, probably Dartmoor , flowed into the River Solent. Seabed survey shows that when the sea level was lower in the Ice Age

1440-484: The ship being both quieter and releasing fewer emissions than the rest of Wightlink's fleet. The Victoria of Wight originated as part of Wightlink's £45 million investment, which aimed to improve facilities at Portsmouth terminal with a new building, and to introduce new double tier boarding ramps at Fishbourne and Portsmouth for quicker boarding of the St Clare and the new ferry. 22 tenders were received to construct

1480-454: The ship with Cemre Shipyard in Yalova eventually chosen for its cost effectiveness and ability to construct the ship within two years. In October 2016, the steel cutting ceremony of the new ship marked the beginning of its construction. Later the new ferry was renamed the Victoria of Wight in a staff competition held by Wightlink. The name is in recognition of Queen Victoria 's history on

1520-488: The south of Hayling Island was lost to sea flood. South of Hayling Island in the Solent is a deposit of stones, which scuba divers found to be the remains of a stone building, probably a church. There is an old report that this church was formerly in the middle of Hayling Island. If similar amounts of land have been lost on other parts of the Solent shore, the Solent was likely to have been much narrower in Roman times, and it

1560-533: Was inconclusive with no significant losses other than Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose , which foundered and sank while making a sharp turn. From a total crew of over 400 (some estimates have suggested as many as 700 ), fewer than 35 survived the sinking. The remains of the Mary Rose were discovered at the bottom of the Solent by a salvage project in 1971 and were successfully salvaged in 1982. The remains of

1600-419: Was to have its upper car deck adjusted so vehicles access it directly from on-shore ramps. Two of the older ferries were to be stretched in length by 12 metres, with upper car decks similar to St Clare' s being added, replacing movable mezzanine decks. Of the remaining two ferries, St Catherine has been sold and St Helen was used mainly for freight until she too was sold. As part of this investment project

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