what happened to high speed ferries?
Discussion
matchmaker said:
A bit like the HSS on Stranraer-Belfast. Couldn't use full power in Loch Ryan in case any small boats or people on the shore got swamped 
Think those boats ended up in Venezuela , where fuel is 1p a tanker load.They were great boats but as Matchmaker said, either end of the trip they had to slow to a crawl.
matchmaker said:
A bit like the HSS on Stranraer-Belfast. Couldn't use full power in Loch Ryan in case any small boats or people on the shore got swamped
I remember being on a friends yacht outside Poole harbour when one of the Condors came in. A shout of "wako" and everyone held on. Great fun 
matchmaker said:
A bit like the HSS on Stranraer-Belfast. Couldn't use full power in Loch Ryan in case any small boats or people on the shore got swamped
It was the same at the Belfast end, stena moved from Larne at the mouth of Belfast lough to Belfast just before the hss started. Their first couple of trips down Belfast lough had kids swept off their feet etc. with the waves so they had their speed limited. If they had stayed in Larne it could have been flat out from the off. The speed limit and the extra distance they had to travel negated much of the advantage of having the hss.
Johnnytheboy said:
If you think the Condor boats have a rough ride in service, you should try them when they are undergoing sea trials after dry dock. 
Remember this well, red faces all round.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W218cKL7Q4
Don't Irish Ferries still run an HSS type boat from Holyhead? Occasionally at least when the sea is calm enough... only time i was booked on it we got a phone call the previous afternoon asking us to arrive a couple of hours earlier as we'd been moved onto the standard ferry due to high winds.
matchmaker said:
uncinqsix said:
I went on that a few times when it was The Lynx on the Wellington-Picton run. What killed it was the speed restrictions in the Marlborough Sounds, put in place due to wake damage on the shoreline. By the end, it was only 45 minutes or so faster than the conventional ferries (3 hrs vs 3.45). Shame, because it was a good service when it started.
A bit like the HSS on Stranraer-Belfast. Couldn't use full power in Loch Ryan in case any small boats or people on the shore got swamped I got drenched in 1992 by a passing Seacat in Loch Ryan. I also remember pulling into Cairnryan on them Townsend Thoresen buckets back in the day.
Mum insisted as it was a 1/2 hour less of vomiting.
Edited by V8A*ndy on Monday 21st November 20:52
Riley Blue said:
mcelliott said:
Riley Blue said:
Hub said:
As well as cost and reliability, they can only run in decent conditions. The Condor ferry serving the channel islands is always being cancelled. It is also often full of people chundering.
They weren't known as the 'Vomit Comet' for nothing...I went on the sea cat from Harwich to Hoek of Holland before they were canned, the crossing there was bliss but on the way back people/vomit and cutlery was going everywhere. I felt abit queasy if I looked to the side and all I saw was sky/sea/sky/etc, but sitting at the front right in the middle was fine as the that point was relatively still 
Recently did Portsmouth to Cherbourg and that was lovely, also at only 3hrs it was over pretty quickly
Recently did Portsmouth to Cherbourg and that was lovely, also at only 3hrs it was over pretty quickly
I used to travel regularly to and from the Isle of Man and often used the seacat. They had Seacat IOM/Snaefell initially which was very similar to Condor 10, and one of the four engines was forever breaking down. They sent her anyway but obviously at reduced speed around 20kt so it was a long old trek to Liverpool. Later they got Manannan which is still in service and a nice vessel to travel on. I talked to a crew member who had delivered her from NZ (must be quite a trip) and said she'd easily do 45kt+, but generally they only do 32kt ish to save fuel.
Tom_C76 said:
Don't Irish Ferries still run an HSS type boat from Holyhead? Occasionally at least when the sea is calm enough... only time i was booked on it we got a phone call the previous afternoon asking us to arrive a couple of hours earlier as we'd been moved onto the standard ferry due to high winds.
Yes, Irish Ferries run the smaller 'Jonathon Swift' Holyhead and Dublin. It is scheduled to do two round-trips each day but is often cancelled as it struggles to cope with anything much worse than 'mill-pond' conditions.Stena's HSS Explorer between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead last sailed in early 2015 and during its final years was horrendously expensive to sail, often running on 2 or 3 engines only in order to cut costs and thereby slowing down considerably. It was rumoured to lose money each time it sailed. It was sold to a Turkish company in 2015 to be used as floating offices renamed the One World Karadeniz but, according to Wikipedia it's once again For Sale.
matchmaker said:
A bit like the HSS on Stranraer-Belfast. Couldn't use full power in Loch Ryan in case any small boats or people on the shore got swamped
But they sounded great with their LM2500 gas turbines.Many a summer sleep with windows open at the North West Castle was punctuated with the sound of the HSS boats docking.
Happy memories.
Jamp said:
I used to travel regularly to and from the Isle of Man and often used the seacat. They had Seacat IOM/Snaefell initially which was very similar to Condor 10, and one of the four engines was forever breaking down. They sent her anyway but obviously at reduced speed around 20kt so it was a long old trek to Liverpool. Later they got Manannan which is still in service and a nice vessel to travel on. I talked to a crew member who had delivered her from NZ (must be quite a trip) and said she'd easily do 45kt+, but generally they only do 32kt ish to save fuel.
Manannan is a good vessel.Originally built as a passenger ferry by Incat in 1998.
She also saw military service between 2001 - 2006 and operated as a helicopter carrier/ troop transport after being leased to the US Navy.
See USS Joint Venture (HSV-X1).
IOM Steam Packet Company bought her in 2008 following a refit and conversion back to a passenger ferry.
Certainly a very capable machine - capable of speeds in excess of 45 knots.
TommoAE86 said:
I went on the sea cat from Harwich to Hoek of Holland before they were canned, the crossing there was bliss but on the way back people/vomit and cutlery was going everywhere. I felt abit queasy if I looked to the side and all I saw was sky/sea/sky/etc, but sitting at the front right in the middle was fine as the that point was relatively still
I had a similar experience. I recall on the way back there was a Tannoy announcement."Hello, This is the Captain speaking. My name is "Jurg" (possibly). I would like to inform you that THE SHIP WILL ROLL."
And boy, did it roll.
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