Britain's best ferry operator - as voted by you! ๐
Thank you to everyone who voted for us in the
@BritTravAwrds
2023 - we're incredibly proud to have won gold in the Best Ferry Operator for Routes from/to UK Ports category!
A big congratulations to our peers atโฆ
What a tremendous day for us and the
#IsleofWight
! Our new environmentally-friendly flagship ferry, Victoria of Wight, has been officially named by HRH The Countess of Wessex. Watch the best bits ๐บ
Look what we shipped across today! ๐
This huge rail tamper is heading to the Island to help with improvements to the service between Shanklin and Ryde. The machine travels along the tracks, lifts the rails and levels the ballast underneath ๐ค๏ธ
The Island Line is back! ๐๐
Absolutely delighted to see the new carriages coming down to our FastCat port in Ryde this morning.
The new trains are a big improvement, with upgrades ranging from better interiors to plug sockets, free WiFi and wheelchair spaces.
Hey there, Jarvis Cocker! ๐
It's that time of year where we spot a sea of celebrities descending on the Island. The Pulp frontman will be performing at
@IsleOfWightFest
tomorrow evening! ๐ธ
Spotted any big names on your journey to the festival? Share them in the replies! ๐ธ
โค๏ธ With a heavy heart, it's time for us to bid farewell to our eldest ferry, St Cecilia. She will be retiring to the Mediterranean, with her last sailing taking place next Friday, 25 January.
Happy birthday to St Faith, whose first journey as a member of our fleet was on 16 July 1990! ๐
Here's to 30 years of serving the Isle of Wight ๐ฅณ๐ณ๏ธ
Did you know ๐ค
Shanklin on the Isle of Wight was the sunniest spot in the UK in 2020! 262 hours, 19 minutes and 2 seconds of sunshine beamed down on the seaside town. Here's hoping we can all enjoy some of those rays this summer! ๐๐๏ธ
Our new flagship
#ferry
Victoria of Wight is beautiful both inside AND out. Take a peek at her interior - including over 20 lounge and seating areas, huge food outlets and stunning panoramic windows ๐
Have you ever wondered why we sometimes take the slightly longer route around Spitbank Fort? ๐ค
If youโve travelled on our Portsmouth โ Fishbourne route, you may have noticed that weโll occasionally sail along the Southsea coast for longer than usual before turning towards theโฆ
๐ In case you missed it earlier, it's been a big day for us here at Wightlink. Here's a birds-eye view of our brand new ship Victoria of Wight being launched.
Read more about it โฌ๏ธ
Victoria of Wight was hard at work this Easter! ๐ช๐ณ๏ธ
Our flagship had her busiest weekend since entering service over the bank holiday, carrying more than 2๏ธ0๏ธ,0๏ธ0๏ธ0๏ธ of you to and from the sunny
#IsleofWight
over four days. That's a record for a Wightlink car ferry!
๐This year, we have shipped approximately 2700 Christmas Trees to the Isle of Wight. ๐
Thatโs a lot of festive freight. ๐ Share a photo of your Christmas Tree in the comments! ๐ท
We were delighted to welcome
@LewisPugh
at our Portsmouth port today! The swimmer and ocean advocate is aiming to be the first person to swim the entire length of the English channel and stopped off on his way to check in with the superb Solent Oyster Restoration Project.
The world's last seagoing paddle steamer is set to return to Ryde Pier! ๐
PS Waverley will make three calls at the pier on 5, 13 and 16 September as it embarks on excursions to the Solent forts, the Needles and around the Isle of Wight.
Launched in 1946, the steamer has a richโฆ
If you've used the route over the past couple of months, you may have noticed some works going on at Ryde Pier ๐ ๏ธ
The works focus on the tramway, where a dedicated walkway is being created that will allow pedestrians to travel up and down separately from cars and bicycles ๐ถ
๐ It's been an immensely proud day for us here at Wightlink as we've welcomed home our new, environmentally-friendly flagship ferry,
#VictoriaofWight
. Here she is arriving in Portsmouth Harbour ๐บ
Find out everything there is to know about her โก๏ธ
We carried some very special cargo across to the
#IsleofWight
today!๐ณ๏ธ
The first of Island Line's new trains - former London District Line stock that have been completely refurbished - shipped on our Portsmouth - Fishbourne route๐
Who's looking forward to travelling on them?
PS Waverly paid a visit to Ryde Pier in preparation for her upcoming excursions. ๐
Returning again to Ryde pier on 5, 13, 16 September! ๐งญ
Donโt miss your opportunity to step aboard the famous Waverley, tickets still available ๐
It's refit season! One-by-one over the next few months, our ferries will be heading away to undergo their annual maintenance routines ๐งฐ
Right now, Wight Sky is getting her spruce up - here she is at the dry docks in Falmouth ๐ณ๏ธ
โด๏ธ A new dawn beckons for cross-Solent ferry travel - Victoria of Wight has impressed during her first sea trials, completing three days of sailing. We take the keys at the end of the month and she'll be in service later this summer.
โก๏ธ
Look who we had on board today! ๐
Shane Richie was making his way across to the
#IsleofWight
where he's filming a programme all about great UK holiday destinations. We can't wait to see it air! ๐บ
Happy birthday to our eldest, St Faith! ๐๐
Her first day in service was way back on 16 July, 1990, so that's 3๏ธโฃ1๏ธโฃ years sailing the Solent ๐
๐ฎ Just look at this!
The super-detailed Lego model of Victoria of Wight was assembled by Martin Stock. We couldn't believe how much time and energy went into it and, what's more, Martin had never been on the ship before making her! ๐งฑ๐ณ๏ธ
As we mourn the passing of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, we are lowering our flags to half mast. He lived a life of selfless service to the country and our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen and the entire British Royal Family.
๐It's time for another one - happy birthday to St Clare, who turns 19 today!
Her first ever official voyage between the Isle of Wight and the mainland was on 20 July 2001 ๐
Just over an hour to go until St Cecilia's last round sailing with us before she heads to Sardinia ๐๏ธ
She's made millions of memories and touched so many lives across her 32 years with us - so it'll be an emotional day.
๐ Full steam ahead! After a tight boarding on St Clare last night (the driver had to lower his suspension so it didn't hit the roof!) this Ivatt Locomotive made its way to
@IWSteamRailway
ready for this weekend's Three Island Ivatt's event.
๐
Have you ever wondered why we sometimes wait to enter or exit Portsmouth Harbour?๐ค
Portsmouth is one of the busiest harbours in the country, used by Naval, Commercial and leisure traffic.โด๏ธ
Movement in the harbour is well controlled by the Kings Harbour Master from theโฆ
๐ Happy anniversary to St Faith! She joined our service 33 years ago today, on 16 July 1990! ๐
St Faith was the first Isle of Wight ferry to weigh more than 3,000 gross tonnes; she was built in England by the same yard that built St. Cecilia, who is now in Sardinia! โด๏ธ
Not only do we get to sail to the beautiful Isle of Wight - we get to serve the amazing waterfront city of Portsmouth, too.
Districts like Old Portsmouth are steeped in history - from this spot, you'll regularly see our ferries leave Gunwharf port ๐บ๏ธ๐ณ๏ธ
๐ Happy birthday St Clare!! ๐
She's been in service since 20 July 2001, so today marks 18 years in the Wightlink fleet. She's been through a lot in that time - including being stretched to fit more cars on!! - but she remains a vital part of the team. ๐ฅ
๐ถ A huge thank you to our staff Scott, Mike and Dave at Ryde, who last week spotted a dog having a ruff time half a mile out at sea. The trio formed a human chain and grabbed Bertie by the scruff of the neck, pulling the exhausted pup up to safety.
โก๏ธ
A fantastic festival Friday was rounded off by this guy last night! ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ
Looking forward to another sunny belter of a day at Isle of Wight Festival today ๐
A big thanks to Rodel for the pic ๐ธ
#IOW2021
๐๐ A great big happy birthday to Wight Light and Wight Sky, who both turn 1๏ธโฃ0๏ธโฃ today!
The twins began serving our Lymington to Yarmouth route on this day back in 2009!
๐
#WightlinkHistory
2018: Victoria of Wight enters service. She'll carry more than 1,000 passengers and up to 178 cars. She's designed to be the most environmentally friendly ferry to sail the Solent.
Who's looking forward to boarding our new ship?
#isleofwight
๐ Last week, the UK said its final goodbye to St Cecilia, now known as Nando Murrau, as she heads off to join the Delcomar fleet.
She's on her long journey over to Sardinia and is currently off the coast of Portugal. Here she is on her way from Southampton in her new livery.
๐ทFerry Archives ๐ท
Battista Boazio was an Italian draftsman and cartographer. In 1591 he published this map of the Isle of Wight.
There have been many changes over the years, the home of our current-day ports arenโt named on the map yet!
Fishbourne, was once known asโฆ
Tomorrow marks a huge day for us as Victoria of Wight is officially named by HRH The Countess of Wessex at our Fishbourne port. From around lunchtime, we'll be live streaming the main event on our Facebook page, so tune in ๐บ
๐
๐ She's coming home! Our new ยฃ30 million flagship ferry, Victoria of Wight, has now begun her tow to the Solent to join the rest of our fleet.
Follow her progress โก๏ธ
Itโs always an interesting day navigating through the Solent during
@RoundtheIsland
Race; Alexander Ralph captured the tight maneuverers made by our FastCat Captain to reach Ryde Pier safely! โต
๐ค๐ณ๏ธโ๐ Eurovision winner
@ConchitaWurst
is the latest big name to be announced for this year's
@IWPride
! Join her in Ryde on the
#IsleofWight
this summer and make the most of our early bird ferry fares.
๐
It's been a blustery few days as Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin hit our shores โ๏ธ
Thank you all for your understanding in these difficult conditions and thanks, also, to our colleagues, who've worked exceptionally hard to get everybody home safely ๐
๐ธ
@PhotographyRue
It was a pleasure to have the legendary
@frankbrunoboxer
, aboard Victora of Wight at the weekend! ๐ฅ
Frank, former heavyweight champion of the world, visited the bridge and requested to have a go at being Captain! ๐จโโ๏ธ
๐ธcredit - his bodyguard, Paul Hunter.
Remembrance Day honors those who have served to defend our country and way of life.
We remember the Armed Forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, the vital role
played by the emergency services and those who have lost their lives as a result of conflict.
๐ณ๏ธ You've probably seen Victoria of Wight's many seating areas, the panoramic views, the movie room and the kids play area. But have you ever been below deck?
Have a sneaky peek at what it's like behind the scenes ๐ฅ
#VictoriaofWight
We're busy doing all sorts at Wightlink HQ today, raising money for Children In Need.
And one of the team has proved pretty handy with Photoshop - see what he's done with our FastCats and Victoria of Wight! ๐ป๐จ
๐ง Work on getting
#VictoriaofWight
into service continues apace. She's now been successfully trialled around the Solent and stocked with everything from soft drinks to toilet roll.
โก๏ธ
We're delighted to hear that Rupert the donkey is making a strong recovery from his serious colic last Monday ๐ฉบ
After helping him get to the mainland last week with free travel, we couldn't help but pop outside and say hello as he waited to sail back home to
@iowdonkeys
today.