Wightlink ferry trip

Ever wondered what you look like from the bridge of a Wightlink ferry in the Solent?

We had the chance to find out recently when we were privileged tocross theSolent asguests ofCaptain Mike Bechley.Actually in the excellent conditions yachts were easily visible.

We discovered that changing your course at the last minute is a bad idea when the ferry is looming over you. That's because the captain has been monitoring you from a great height for some time already - and has planned his course around you accordingly.

gunwharfquay

View of Gunwharf Quay

The bridge is like a ballroom with four repeated steering positions and two sets of radar. Captain Mike foundthe radar useful whenmaking a crossing once in thickfog - he didn't see a thing between the Camber inPortsmouth andthe Fishbourne pier.

Steering is via three wheels which control forward, backwards and sideways movement with four separate propellors. So the boat can crab sideways at 4.5kn. Thereis no throttle as such, and the engines run at constant revs. Instead the fine adjustments on the steering wheels control the speed of the boat.

We enjoyedthe crabbing demo when we had toholdposition outside Fishbourne to make way forthe outgoing ferry.

Navigation used daymarks on the island and mainland shores. InPortsmouth there was lots of fine tuning to make the turns in and outof the Camber.I thoroughly recommend the experience and many thanks to Anne Billard for organising it.