The Gosport Ferry is more than a transport link; it’s a vital piece of local history. There has been some form of ‘ferry’ operating across Portsmouth Harbour since the 1500s. Once the naval base and dockyard started to develop under the reign of Henry VIII crossing the water gained in prominence as many of the dockyard and naval men lived in Gosport. At this time all passengers and goods were transported across the harbour by ‘watermen’ in ‘wherries’ (double ended rowing boats). In 1840 the waterman’s monopoly came to an end with the launch of a ‘floating bridge’ crossing the harbour every 15 minutes for 14 hours per day.
Facts:
- Today the ferry operates 18 ½ hours every day, with a service every 15 minutes.
- The ferry makes just under 54,000 crossings per annum. Essentially covering enough miles to circumnavigate the earth once a year!
- The Spirit of Portsmouth measures 32.68 metres in length. Lay our three ferries end to end and they would be the height of Big Ben!
- The ferry transports 2.5 million passengers annually.
- The engine that runs the ferries is actually a Scania lorry engine that has been ‘marinized’.
- At one time the Gosport Ferry had three generations of one family working together; father, son and grandson.
- The ferry takes foot passengers (plus dogs), bicycles, scooters, and motorbikes. Plus, motorized and standard wheelchairs. Accessibility is virtually guaranteed due to a ‘floating pontoon’ either side which rises and falls with the tide – meaning no nasty gangway to climb up or down.
- The ferry has transported many famous people including Timmy Mallet, Robert Pugh, Timothy Spall, Jayne Middlemiss, Neil Ruddock, Hugh Dennis, Jack Straw ex MP (Foreign Secretary), Prince William – visiting as ambassador for the Submarine Museum and HMS Alliance Fundraiser and Jim Davison.
- The ‘Veth Z Drive’ propulsion system means that the ferry can quite literally ‘turn on a sixpence’.
- The fleet includes the iconic Spirit of Gosport and Spirit of Portsmouth
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