Tag Archives: southsea

A Tank Landing Craft

Before mum took her hovercraft back to the Island, we had a stroll along the waterfront at Southsea. The construction work was blocking off a lot of the space, but the park area was open (if a little soggy). There is a museum to D-Day which I have yet to visit. I will have to check it out at some point. Outside the museum, there is a tank landing craft from the Second World War. It can be visited if you are in the museum but, even from the outside, you have a close view of it. Tanks in the war were a lot smaller than they are now but even then, carrying a bunch of them required a big boat. I have no idea what it could have been like to head to a foreign shore in this thing.

Remains of a Church

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The Royal Garrison Church is a ruin along the waterfront in Portsmouth. It was originally built in the 13^th century but it was bombed in the Second World War and has not been rebuilt. It sits as a reminder of what has been before while it still has a graveyard around it so remains the resting place of many. The lack of a roof makes for some interesting lighting and the shapes of the walls and windows are more apparent. As I walked back to the station, the church was backlit and I couldn’t help grabbing a couple more shots.

My Usual Hovercraft Spot is Out of Bounds!

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The family was gathering for lunch for my birthday and my mum was coming across on the hovercraft to join us. Whenever I have previously been down at the hovercraft terminal, I have been on the beach just to the east of the slipway. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there is a large infrastructure project underway along the shoreline and that section is cordoned off. The only option is a small path on the other side of the terminal.

This was not an ideal spot as things are more backlit. I decided that video might be a better bet given the conditions. Even when mum was making her return trip, the light was still not great. We both stopped by to watch an earlier trip arrive and depart. As the departure headed out, the blast of propwash was a bit more than expected and my hat departed my head! Got to focus on the shot and then grab the hat later. Someone had caught it for me anyway!

Repairing the Beach

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There had been some pretty stormy weather shortly before we got to the UK. When we went to Southsea to pick up mum from the hovercraft, there was some work underway on the beach that sits below the terminal. By the look of things, the storm had moved the shingle around quite a bit and they needed to regrade the shoreline. Someone was busy working on it while the hovercraft was on its way over. They had to get out of the way before it arrived, of course, but they seemed to have done a decent job of it in plenty of time. I wonder how often they need to rework the shore to keep things where they need to be for the service.

Another Chance to Photograph the Hovercraft

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During our trip to the UK, my mum came across to spend some time with the family. She used the hovercraft to make the crossing and we went to Southsea to pick her up. Regular readers will know that I love hovercraft so it would have been churlish not to get some shots of its arriving – I mean her arriving! I skipped the long lens shots and instead focused on the approach and arrival. Here are those shots. Her return journey was frustrated by high winds, so we didn’t get a second chance to photograph the hovercraft when taking her back.

Can I Sneak In Another Hovercraft Encounter

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Our trips to the UK that involve some time on the Isle of Wight also are likely to include me trying to get a little time with the hovercraft. On our most recent trip, we didn’t go to the Island. However, we did pick up and drop off my mum when she came across and what form of transport did she use? Yep. I had a reason to be hanging around at the hovercraft terminal.

I did get some photos of the hovercraft but, this time, I decided to focus on some video of them coming and going. Not only were they running the regular service but there was also some training underway so we got an arrival that didn’t come up on the slipway but instead headed back out to see. Here is the video I edited.

Back To The Island So Back To The Hovercraft

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We left plenty of time to drive to Portsmouth to catch our ferry to the Isle of Wight so, naturally, traffic flowed smoothly and we got there with an excess of time. Nancy wasn’t in the least surprised that I decided to park up on the seafront at Southsea to kill some time. Oh, was this next to the Hovertravel terminal? Well, that’s lucky.

We had just enough time for one arrival and one departure before it was time to head to our ferry terminal. That wouldn’t be all though. The hovercraft passes the car ferry during its crossing so I was able to get some shots of it in operation from the deck of the ferry as we left Portsmouth. We also took a walk along the front at Ryde after lunch with Mum. Just enough time to see the hovercraft arriving and departing there too.

One interesting addition was Solent Express. This was used on Hovertravel’s services a few years ago but was withdrawn when the new hovercraft were commissioned. I had understood it was stored somewhere. Apparently, they needed space wherever that was because it is back at Ryde but still looks stored. There is plenty of seaweed around it making it look like it hadn’t gone anywhere for a while. I wonder what its future holds?

Trafalgar Anchor

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If you are used to a modern shape of an anchor, particularly one for a large ship, the old style of anchors in the days of the early 1800s will be rather strange looking. They look like a giant version of the sort of anchor you would see on a small boat. This example sits on the seafront in Southsea and comes from a ship that fought in the battle of Trafalgar. It seems in pretty good shape. I wonder whether that is a feature of the materials used or the result of lots of bits of it being replaced over the years.

A Little Hovercraft Video

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I got a few stills of the hovercraft but I also decided to film some video. For those that haven’t seen hovercraft in action, stills probably do not give a suitable impression of how they rise up above the surface yet still leave a wake. Quite a cool form of transportation and I do enjoy seeing them. Hope you enjoy the video.

Island Flyer

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Regular readers know I like the hovercraft. I didn’t make a specific visit to Ryde on our last trip to see them but I did get to see them on our two ferry crossings and we also stopped at Southsea where I got to see a couple of arrivals and departures. The new hovercraft have not had a trouble free introduction but I suspect they have had a few fixes embodied. The memory of introduction problems will probably last far longer than the actual problems but I don’t know for sure whether they are doing fine now or not. All I know is that the service was running while we were there.

I was rather pleased that one of the crossings ended up getting very close to the ferry as we headed in to Portsmouth. It provided a far more interesting angle on the hovercraft than I would normally get. Combine that with some shots from the beach at Southsea and I was happy with having got some shots of the new craft which I hadn’t really seen before. During the departure, I was conscious of the potential for spray sideways as they lifted off. What I hadn’t considered properly – pretty annoying given how I know to deal with jetwash when on a ramp – is that the departing craft got quite far offshore before you got blasted with their propwash. That was mixed with seawater – an ideal combination for electronic equipment! No permanent damage though.