HSC Wight Ryder I
Encyclopedia
HSC Wight Ryder I is the first of Wightlink
Wightlink
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.Their core routes are car ferries from Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Fishbourne...
's new purpose built high-speed passenger catamarans to operate the Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
ferry route. It was introduced along with sister ship HSC Wight Ryder II. Both vessels left their construction site in the Philippines in June 2009, and began service in September 2009. In preparation for the new vessels berth improvements at both Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier
Ryde Pier
Ryde Pier is an early 19th century pier serving the town of Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.- Before the pier :Before the pier was built, passengers to Ryde had the uncomfortable experience of coming ashore on the back of a porter and then, depending on the state of the...
were carried out. The vessels form part of a multi-million pound investment by Wightlink across its cross-Solent routes. The existing vessels, FastCat Ryde
HSC FastCat Ryde
HSC FastCat Ryde is a high speed catamaran ferry which operates between the Isle of Wight and mainland England. The vessel was originally built in Singapore for service in the Philippines as Water Jet 1...
and FastCat Shanklin
HSC FastCat Shanklin
HSC FastCat Shanklin is a high speed catamaran ferry which operated between the Isle of Wight and mainland England. She operated on the Wightlink Ryde Pier to Portsmouth route from 2000 to 2009 along with her sister ship HSC FastCat Ryde. Prior to working for Wightlink, the ship worked in Singapore...
will be phased out on arrival of the new ones by the Spring, when they will be sold on to new owners in Bristol.
Unlike previous high-speed passenger catamarans owned by Wightlink, the new vessels no longer feature yellow and white 'FastCat' branding. They will be branded in a Wightlink livery similar to the much larger car ferries adapted for smaller ships.
The new vessels have been criticised for being too slow and too small, with a decreased seating capacity of 260 compared to 294 previously, with concerns passengers will be left behind. Wightlink later stated that a new timetable would be introduced along with the ferries offering more services during the day to prevent this from happening.
A private naming and dedication ceremony took place on 17 September 2009 following the issuing of the passenger certificate after a trial evacuation of around 250 passengers. The vessels were initially expected to go into service on 21 September, with two days of discounted travel enabling passengers to trial the new vessels, however this was later postponed and occurred towards the end of September.
Following the launch, further problems occurred with Wight Ryder II suffering from a generator glitch. This was followed by more problems on a later crossing involving a bang. The vessel was taken back to Ryde Pier on the other engine to be switched with an older FastCat vessel to keep timetables running. Wightlink were criticised by passengers for low levels of communication after the screens went blank and passengers were told to leave their seats. The older FastCats were once again drafted in the following weekend when engineers discovered fuel contamination affecting both vessels.