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This website has no connection with any shipping company, cruise line, boat operator or other commercial organisation - There are no postcards for sale on this website
Gosport Ferries Limited
Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company
Page 2: From 1963
This is one of a series of pages devoted to postcards and photographs of the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company (PHFC), and its predecessors. This page covers the ferries from 1963, the year when the various original companies combined. Earlier ferries are shown on
Portsmouth Harbour Ferries - Page 1
. Ferries are currently (2007) operated as Gosport Ferries Limited, a subsidiary of PHFC.
A Brief History of Portsmouth Harbour Ferries from 1963
In 1963, the New Company changed its name to the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company, and took over the Old Company. The combined company had eight vessels,
Vadne,
Vita
, Venus
and
Vesta
from the New Company, plus
Ferry Queen
, Ferry Prince, Ferry Princess
and
Ferry Belle
from the Old Company. Two modern new vessels were built by Thornycroft's of Woolston, named
Portsmouth Queen
and
Gosport Queen
. They entered service in 1966, and have proved very reliable once some initial teething troubles were ironed out. Initially, a number of the traditional ferries were retained for standby and excursion duties. The new ferries were joined in 1971 by the larger
Gay Enterprise
, which ran excursions in the summer, and covered in the winter whilst the other two ferries were overhauled.
Gay Enterprise
was later renamed
Solent Enterprise
. She was joined by another excursion vessel, the
Southsea Queen
, in 1974, a much better-looking ship than the others then in the fleet.
Southsea Queen
was sold after only four years to the company running the
Hythe-Southampton
ferries. The remaining three ferries covered services until 2001, when the first of two new ships arrived, the
Spirit of Gosport
. In the same year, the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company Limited (PHFC) became the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company PLC, a holding company for various subsidiaries, one of which is Gosport Ferry Limited, which continues to run the ferries. The green livery was changed slightly when the name was changed.
Similar ferry
Spirit of Portsmouth
entered service in June 2005.
Spirit of Portsmouth
has an additional upper deck saloon with a bar to make her suitable for cruising (following the sale of
Solent Enterprise
). Initially,
Spirit of Portsmouth
was frequently retained for cruises, seeing little service on the ferry. From late 2006,
Spirit of Portsmouth
has been more regularly employed, and
Gosport Queen
is no longer shown on the Gosport Ferry Company website. It was announced that the cruises would be ceased from 2007, although subsequently a more limited timetable has appeared.
Successors to the original watermen continued to offers trips around the harbour, from the Portsea pontoon and from the beach near Clarence Pier in Southsea. In the mid-1980s they formed Portsmouth Harbour Tours, and subsequently began operating a circular waterbus service around the attractions of Portsmouth Harbour. The boast remained owned by the individuals, but proceeds were shared between them proportionate to the number of boats deployed. All boats received a pale blue livery - they are often referred to as the "Blue Boats". The Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company (PHFC) initially joined this consortium, using two Blue Boats of their own, the
Solent Prince
and
Solent Princess
. PHFC left this consortium in 1996.
For images of a 2006 cruise on
Spirit of Portsmouth
,
see:-
Spirit of Portsmouth Cruise: 7th September 2006
Ship Names on this Page:-
Gay Enterprise
Gosport Queen
Portsmouth Queen
Solent Enterprise
Solent Prince
Solent Princess
Southsea Queen
Spirit of Gosport
Spirit of Portsmouth
Ship Names on
Page 1
:-
Ferry Belle
(1924-1966)
Ferry King
(1918-1960)
Ferry Prince
(1939-1966)
Ferry Princess
(1948-1968)
Ferry Queen (1)
(1908-1956)
Ferry Queen (2)
(1959-1974)
Princessa
(1921-1958)
Sandringham
(1900-1941)
Vadne
(1937-1965)
Varos
(1921-1952)
Venus
(1948-1966)
Verda
(1929-1958)
Vesta
(1956-1974)
Vesta II
(1909-1948)
Viceroy
(1902-1929)
Vita
(1960-1974)
Solent Area Pages:-
Portsmouth Harbour Ferries - Page 1
Portsmouth Harbour Ferries - Page 2
- this page!
Spirit of Portsmouth Cruise: 7th September 2006
Blue Funnel Cruises
Hovertravel
Hythe-Southampton Ferries
Portsmouth Harbour Tours
- The "Blue Boats"
Solent Steam Packet Ltd
- SS Shieldhall
Associated Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
-
Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
-
Home Page
References:-
It's Shorter by Water - The Gosport Ferry 1875-2001
- Michael Wright (2001)
The Gosport Ferry - A Short History 1883-1983
- P.D.Childs (1983)
Crossing the Harbour
- Leslie Burton & Brian Musselwhite (1987)
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Table of Ship Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Gay Enterprise
1974
Gosport Queen
1966
Portsmouth Queen
1966
Solent Enterprise
1974
Spirit of Gosport
2001
Spirit of Portsmouth
2005
Modern Ferries
In 1963, the New Company changed its name to the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company, and took over the Old Company. The combined company had eight vessels,
Vadne,
Vita
, Venus
and
Vesta
from the New Company, plus
Ferry Queen
, Ferry Prince, Ferry Princess
and
Ferry Belle
from the Old Company. Two modern new vessels were built by Thornycroft's of Woolston, named
Portsmouth Queen
and
Gosport Queen
. They entered service in 1966, and have proved very reliable once some initial teething troubles were ironed out. Initially, a number of the traditional ferries were retained for standby and excursion duties. The new ferries were joined in 1971 by the larger
Gay Enterprise
, which ran excursions in the summer, and covered in the winter whilst the other two ferries were overhauled.
Gay Enterprise
was later renamed
Solent Enterprise
. She was joined by another excursion vessel, the
Southsea Queen
, in 1974, a much better-looking ship than the others then in the fleet.
Southsea Queen
was sold after only four years to the company running the Hythe-Southampton ferries. The remaining three ferries covered services until 2001, when the first of two new ships arrived, the
Spirit of Gosport
. In the same year, the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company Limited (PHFC) became the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company PLC, a holding company for various subsidiaries, one of which is Gosport Ferry Limited, which continues to run the ferries. The green livery was changed slightly when the name was changed. My visits to Portsmouth during 2003/2004 saw the 1966 ferries in regular use on service, with
Spirit of Gosport
often only appearing to take the evening peak service.
Similar ferry
Spirit of Portsmouth
entered service in June 2005.
Spirit of Portsmouth
has an additional upper deck saloon with a bar to make her suitable for cruising (following the sale of
Solent Enterprise
). Initially,
Spirit of Portsmouth
was frequently retained for cruises, seeing little service on the ferry. From late 2006,
Spirit of Portsmouth
has been more regularly employed, and
Gosport Queen
is no longer shown on the Gosport Ferry Company website. It was announced that the cruises would be ceased from 2007, although subsequently a more limited timetable has appeared.
Gosport Queen
Two modern new vessels were built by Thornycroft's of Woolston, named
Portsmouth Queen
and
Gosport Queen
. They entered service in 1966, and have proved very reliable once some initial teething troubles were ironed out. Each vessel can carry 500 passengers, and enormous improvement on the earlier vessels, and the two new ships replaced the four previously required at peak periods. From 2006,
Gosport Queen
was no longer shown on the Gosport Ferry Company website, presumably withdrawn and providing spares for
Portsmouth Queen
which is still shown.
Additional photographs of Gosport Queen
Fincom postcard GOS100 of
Gosport Queen
in PHFC colours arriving at the Gosport Pontoon.
Gosport Queen
in PHFC colours at the Gosport Pontoon.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 10th April 1976.
Gosport Queen
in PHFC colours at the Portsmouth Pontoon.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, June 1976.
Sea-Chest postcard SO942 of
Spirit of Gosport
arriving at the Gosport Pontoon.
Gosport Queen
is in the foreground, with sister
Portsmouth Queen
in the distance at Portsmouth.
All ferries in Gosport Ferry Limited colours.
Gosport Queen
arriving at Portsmouth in later Gosport Ferry colours.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th June 2003.
Gosport Queen
arriving at Gosport.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th June 2003.
Portsmouth Queen
Two modern new vessels were built by Thornycroft's of Woolston, named
Portsmouth Queen
and
Gosport Queen
. They entered service in 1966, and have proved very reliable once some initial teething troubles were ironed out. Each vessel can carry 500 passengers, and enormous improvement on the earlier vessels, and the two new ships replaced the four previously required at peak periods.
Additional photographs of Portsmouth Queen
Photo Precision postcard PT2922 of
Portsmouth Queen
in PHFC colours arriving at the Gosport Pontoon.
Dennis postcard G-1101 of
Portsmouth Queen
in PHFC colours arriving at the Gosport Pontoon.
Gosport Queen
in PHFC colours, arriving at the Portsmouth Pontoon.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, June 1976.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard L6/SP.11423 of
Portsmouth Queen
in Gosport Ferry colours leaving the Portsmouth Pontoon.
Photo: © P.Titmus.
Portsmouth Queen
arriving at Portsmouth in later Gosport Ferry colours.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th April 2003.
Portsmouth Queen
arriving at Portsmouth in later Gosport Ferry colours.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th April 2003.
Portsmouth Queen
at Gosport.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th April 2003.
Portsmouth Queen
arriving at Portsmouth from Gosport.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th June 2004.
Portsmouth Queen
arriving at Portsmouth from Gosport.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th June 2004.
Gay Enterprise - Solent Enterprise
The new ferries were joined in 1971 by the larger
Gay Enterprise
, which ran excursions in the summer, and covered in the winter whilst the other two ferries were overhauled.
Gay Enterprise
was later renamed
Solent Enterprise
. She was joined by another excursion vessel, the
Southsea Queen
, in 1974, a much better-looking ship than the others then in the fleet.
Southsea Queen
was sold after only four years to the company running the Hythe-Southampton ferries. In 2005,
Solent Enterprise
was sold to
Capital Pleasure Boats
on the Thames, to be renamed
Sundance
. Her cruises will now be taken by the
Spirit of Portsmouth
.
Additional photographs of Gay Enterprise
Dennis postcard of
Gay Enterprise
.
Purchased on board in August 1977 whilst on a harbour cruise.
Photograph of
Gay Enterprise
, taken from
Viking Victory
.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, June 1976.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, August 1977.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, August 1977.
Official PHFC postcard of
Solent Enterprise
.
A retouched version of the card above of
Gay Enterprise
.
Purchased on board on a cruise from Gosport to Southampton.
Ferry Publications postcard 0308 of
Solent Enterprise
.
Dennis postcard G.1107L of
Solent Enterprise
at Gosport.
The fully enclosed pontoon was built in 1983 - compare with
earlier photograph
.
Dennis postcard G.1107L of
Solent Enterprise
at Gosport.
The fully enclosed pontoon was built in 1983 - compare with
earlier aerial photograph
.
Solent Enterprise
at Cowes, in blue Gosport Ferry colours received 2001.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.
Solent Enterprise
at Cowes, in blue Gosport Ferry colours received 2001.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.
Solent Enterprise
at Gosport, in blue Gosport Ferry colours received 2001.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th June 2004.
Solent Enterprise
in Southampton Water.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 11th September 2004.
Southsea Queen (1974-78)
The new ferries were joined in 1971 by the larger
Gay Enterprise
, which ran excursions in the summer, and covered in the winter whilst the other two ferries were overhauled.
Gay Enterprise
was later renamed
Solent Enterprise
. She was joined by another excursion vessel, the
Southsea Queen
, in 1974, a much better-looking ship than the others then in the fleet.
Southsea Queen
was sold after only four years to the company running the
Hythe-Southampton
ferries.