Fastcat service in Western Solent

[Badger]

You may have noticed that during August and on the pretext of supporting Cowes week traffic, a large yellow fastcat has been operating as a "special" service between Lymington and Cowes.A source has told me that they are now alledgelly considering making this a permanent service and increasing the amount of vessels and ports in operation.If this is the case we will now have to deal with fast ferry traffic and the jet skis that follow them all over the Western Solent.

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[Twister_Ken]

I've seen them roaring down the Solent without knowing where they were going from or to. Where do they park in Lymington?

(Actually a Gosport-Cowes-Hamble-Lymington service would seem like quite a good idea for yotties, but I'm not sure how many others it would attract.)

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[Rob_Webb]

\"Park\"!

.... berth, Ken, berth.....

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[farr]

Red Funnel will be doing a Gosport to Southampton service during the Boat Show - I'd love them to make that permanent.



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[jamesjermain]

It was certainly still in operation yesterday and I, too, have heard reports that it is to continue for as long as it has sufficient numbers of passengers to make it profitable.

I sympathise with worries about washand jet skis, but I too, think it would be a 'good thing' if it proved successful. It could be a useful service for day trippers from Lymington adn the New Forest to Cowes and Ryde, say, and for yachties to all parts of the Solent. I wouldn't use it myself, of course...

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[Andrew_Bray]

According to notices posted locally in Lymington, the 'yellow cat' service runs until 25 August

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[Rob_Webb]

And another thing.....

..... you'll have to add to the joys of the W.Solent this Bank Holiday weekend will be the Cowes-Torquay powerboat race - all 80 kts of it!

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[Oldhand]

I vote to keep the West Solent a "wake" free area, it is so much better sailing than the East Solent with all the ferry wake.

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[Aries]

Having just got back from a trip from Gosport to Lymington, here are the answers to a few questions.

The Fastcat service was running from 2nd until 25th August. At Lymington, the Fastcat moors alongside the railway station, immediately above the ferry terminal. (It does a 180 just below the Bertheon fuel berth. A tight fit).

It is very big coming up the river. We had just got to the starting platform when it appeared behind us and followed us, and a lot of other boats into the river. With two car ferries crossing in the Long Reach, it was a very busy time. As soon as the ferried had cleared, the Fastcat zoomed past (What about 6 Knots in the river?)

The marina's were full, but the harbour master was doing a good job of organising the Town Quay and the moorings. They were even rafting three deep on the pontoons out in the mooring piles.

As far as the C-T-C powerboat race, there did not seem to be too many this year. The racing boats behaved themselves, although the helicopter doing about 100 Kn just above the water was worrying. The problem was with the power boats that wanted to be on both sides of the circuit before the boats set off (it seem they do a large circle off of Cowes before they set off). They just rushed across everybody, regardless of each other and of any sailing craft (and there were a lot in the area, as the wind dropped as we were passing there - only for a few minutes).

However, overall, a very pleasing weekends sailing.


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[LadyInBed]

We must have practically bumped into each other, I made my first visit to Lymington this w/e, tied up on the Town Quay, and really enjoyed it.

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[l'escargot]

I suspect it's all just part of an advertising war.
Red Funnel were always the Cowes Week and SBS ferry, until a few years ago when Wightlink sponsored a Cowes Week starting platform/boat for everyone to see as they came into Cowes. This year they decided to run one of their Fastcats through the western Solent from Cowes to Lymington for everyone to see as well.
Red Funnel are retaliating by setting up a Cowes/Portsmouth service, Portsmouth being traditionally Wightlink.
Both Cowes/Lymington and Cowes/Portsmouth have been tried before and not been viable, I'll be surprised if they last this time.

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