South Coast Passenger Vessels

Any who think that the end of long coastal excursions by paddle steamers of yesteryear brought a halt to a trip on the briny may be surprised to learn that there are still more than eighty vessels with Maritime and Coastguard Agency Passenger Certificates offering cruises on the South Coast today. There are the big beasts taking passengers across the Channel or to the Channel Islands. There are their more modest cousins ferrying passengers to the Isle of Wight including the latest state of the art ferry Victoria of Wight driven by hybrid battery technology. Then there is the plethora of smaller local vessels carrying between twenty and 250 passengers on shorter hops, often viewing some of the most spectacular South Coast scenery. Take a trip to Brownsea Island. View the Needles or the Jurassic Coast close up. Glide down Christchurch Harbour on boats with only 6in draft. Sail from Weymouth to Portland passing breakwaters and forts on a boat which delivered guns, ammunition and stores to them in WWII.