Southampton to Portsmouth round the Isle of Wight.

For my 65th birthday my sister Marion and her husband John bought me a trip around the Isle of Wight on the paddle steamer PS Waverley. My 65th birthday was in 2023 and the trip was booked for September that year. We had a mooring booked for Oleanna in Lincoln Marina and were all ready to go. Three or four days before the event the cruise was cancelled due to forecast high winds in the Solent and the Channel. So it got re-arranged for a year later.

These two photos were taken by my sister Anne who lives in Helensburgh and sees the Waverley regularly.

Built in 1946, the Waverley took day trippers around the Firth of Clyde and nearby sea lochs until she was retired in 1973. She was then purchased by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for the princely sum of £1, restored to her original 1947 appearance and put back into service. She now carries out an extensive summer timetable of passenger excursions, calling at many seaside piers and ports around the British coast. Here is a link to her website https://waverleyexcursions.co.uk/ . She is the last passenger carrying seagoing paddle steamer in the world.

Oleanna was moored in Macclesfield. I left Pip and Tilly in charge and headed off to the railway station for a direct train to Southampton. The train I was booked on was cancelled. However I had noticed this when I checked online that morning and caught a train leaving an hour earlier. I arrived in Southampton four and a half hours later and walked to our hotel. I met Marion and John in the bar and we elected to eat in the hotel restaurant. Then an early night as we needed to be up and away by nine in the morning.

After breakfast we walked to the station to catch an excursion bus to take us into the port of Southampton to the cruise liner quay. There was the little PS Waverley moored in between two huge passenger cruise ships. We were welcomed aboard and found some seats outside on the top deck.

Time to set off. The crew let go the forward rope and the Waverley went into reverse gear. The bow moved away from the wharf whilst the stern was held by the still attached stern rope. We use this procedure on Oleanna sometimes if things are a bit tight or if it’s windy. We call it a “Reverse Andy”. Then the stern rope was let go and the Waverley did a 180 degree turn with the assistance of a tug and headed off down Southampton Water, the tug keeping alongside us for a while.

There were a few yachts around and a couple of motor cruisers to keep us company, people on board taking photos of us.

On approach to Portsmouth we slowed right down and a pilot boat came alongside from astern. We needed a pilot to get into the port of Portsmouth. A rope ladder was thrown over the side and the pilot stepped onto it and climbed aboard.

The Waverley’s normal berth at The Hard, next to Portsmouth Harbour station wasn’t available today so we headed further into the port past the Naval Dockyard. Both the UK’s aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, were at home base moored next to each other. There were also five destroyers there too. A couple of tug boats came to join us, one in front and one behind, and escorted us to the continental ferry port where a berth was available for us. We came to a halt a few metres from the side and the tugs pushed us gently in to moor alongside. Throwing lines were thrown to the waiting staff on the dockside and the main ropes followed. The ropes were arranged in what we on Oleanna call “innies” (as opposed to “outies”).

There were four bus loads of Portsmouth passengers to board. This took some time so we went down below to the café for some lunch. On the menu was fish and chips, macaroni cheese and chicken jalfrezi. I had the fish and chips.

Normally on the Isle of Wight cruise the Waverley calls at Ryde and Yarmouth. But these ports weren’t available today. There is unofficial speculation that this is because in the past the Waverley has had a “hard landing” there so the Isle of Wight ferry company has banned her from docking at its ferry berths.

We set off round the island in a clockwise direction. John was pleased about this because the last time he did this trip they went anti-clockwise, so this gave him a chance to unwind!

I went to have a look at the engine. It is oil fired, converted from coal in 1956. It is a Triple expansion steam engine (of course!). The engine room, and indeed many features of the ship, reminded me of the “Castles”: the Humber ferries I used to go on as a child when visiting my Grandma in Hull. They too were paddle steamers, built in the 1930s.

We stayed not far off the coast of the island, taking in the views of the various towns and villages on the way. Portsmouth to Ryde ferries crossed our path. I wished that I had brought our hand held VHF radio to listen to any communications taking place. This would have been especially interesting while coming into Portsmouth, listening in to the pilots and the tug boats.

Once we rounded the easternmost tip of the island at Bembridge we turned west and into the breeze. The top deck got chilly and extra layers were put on. We sailed close to Sandown and Shanklin, sounding the ships horn as we passed Sandown Pier. It was The Waverly’s farewell goodbye for the season. A loud deep throated steam driven horn, I thought it would be good to have one like that on Oleanna.

We passed Ventnor then St Catherine’s Point, the most southerly point and the headwind picked up further. The sea got lumpier too. I don’t think Pip would have enjoyed this bit of the journey. It was choppy for an hour or so. It was really quite cold so we went downstairs to the bar and enjoyed cups of tea and slices of cake. There were some in the bar that looked a bit like they had been there all day!

Approaching The Needles, the most westerly point of the voyage, and suitably refreshed we went back to the top deck. Obligatory photos were taken. The lighthouse was first constructed in 1859 and automated in 1994. There was a rocket testing base at The Needles where ICBM rocket engines were tested. It closed in 1971. Up until then it was a secret. It is now a National Trust property.

Now heading east again and the wind was behind us. Past Hurst Castle on the mainland. This is the narrowest point of the Solent where we passed a tanker ship coming the other way.

It was a lovely trip along the north coast. Passing Yarmouth we had to avoid a Lymmington to Yarmouth ferry. We carried eastwards along the Solent, passing Cowes and Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s prefered holiday residence.

After a while we were approaching Portsmouth again. Again we slowed to pick up a pilot, the pilot himself taking pictures of the Waverley before he boarded. We then turned into Portsmouth, past the navy ships and two tugs again came to assist in docking.

This was the final destination of the day for the Waverley, she was going to stay overnight here then the next day head off on her last South Coast voyage of the season, to Swanage and return. There were buses laid on to pick us up. A couple of buses took some passengers just the short distance to the ferry port terminal. Then they returned to take us to The Hard, near where John had parked the car. A third bus would take people who wanted to return to Southampton railway station. We had to make sure we got on the right bus otherwise we would end up in the wrong place.

Then back in the car to Marion and John’s home in Eastbourne in time for a nightcap and bed.

A great day out! Maybe next year we’ll do a Scottish trip on The Waverley’s home waters.