Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower Ryde were merged in the 19th century, as can still be seen in the town's central and seafront architecture. The resort's expansive sands are revealed at low tide. Their width means the regular ferry service to the mainland requires a long listed pier – the fourth longest in the United Kingdom, and the oldest surviving.
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, and Portsmouth and Fishbourne and a fast passenger-only catamaran between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier. The company is jointly owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners based in the United Kingdom and Fiera Infrastructure based in Canada.
Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, is a ferry company that carries passengers, vehicles and freight on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight. High-speed foot passenger catamarans, known as Red Jets, run between Southampton and Cowes, while vehicle ferries run between Southampton and East Cowes.
Ryde Pier Head railway station is one of three stations in the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Situated at the end of the town's pier, it is adjacent to the terminal for the Wightlink fast catamaran service connecting the island with Portsmouth on the English mainland. Passengers can use this to connect with the rest of the National Rail network at Portsmouth Harbour station, which is adjacent to the Portsmouth terminal. Through rail tickets for travel via Pier Head station are available to and from other stations on the Isle of Wight. These include travel on the catamaran service to or from Portsmouth as appropriate.
HSC Our Lady Patricia was 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 1986 to 2006, in conjunction with her sister ship HSC Our Lady Pamela, after which she was sold. She was scrapped at Marchwood in 2006.
TSMV Shanklin was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1951 and 1980. Renamed Prince Ivanhoe she went on to become a pleasure cruiser in the Bristol Channel but in 1981 sank off the Welsh coast on her first season.
There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel.
MV Wight Sky is a new design of roll-on/roll-off car and passenger ferry operating on Wightlink's Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight route.
HSC Manannan is a 96-metre (315 ft) wave-piercing high-speed catamaran car ferry built by Incat, Australia in 1998. After commercial service in Australia and New Zealand, she was chartered to the US military as Joint Venture (HSV-X1). Now owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, she mainly provides a seasonal service between Douglas Harbour and Port of Liverpool.
MV St Faith is a vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Wightlink on its route from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. As with former sister ship St Cecilia, there were plans to increase St Faith′s capacity by extending her length by 12 metres. Entering service in 1990, St Faith is the second youngest of Wightlink's 'St Class' ships, after St Clare. The name is taken from St Faith's Church, Cowes.
HSC Our Lady Pamela was a high-speed catamaran ferry which operated between the Isle of Wight and mainland England. She had operated on the Wightlink Ryde Pier to Portsmouth route since 1986 under Sealink along with her now scrapped sister ship HSC Our Lady Patricia. Both ships were named after the daughters of Lord Mountbatten, who had been the Governor of the Isle of Wight.
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 and was named Water Jet 2. In 1999, the year before it was sold to Wightlink, its name was changed to Supercat 18.
HSC FastCat Ryde is a high speed catamaran ferry. The vessel was originally built in Singapore for service in the Philippines as Water Jet 1. She was bought by Wightlink in 2000 and following an extensive refit entered service on the Ryde Pier to Portsmouth route in August of that year along with her sister ship HSC FastCat Shanklin.
The SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation, commonly known as SuperCat, is a shipping company that operates a fleet of high-speed catamarans (HSC) in the Philippines. It is now part of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corporation. Supercat was previously the sister company of SuperFerry, Cebu Ferries and 2GO Travel. Supercat operated 7 vessels in 7 ports around the Philippines.
Blue Funnel Group refers to a related set of companies providing boat charter, cruise and ferry services around the Solent and Isle of Wight in vessels up to 500 passengers. The Blue Funnel Cruises operating out of Southampton Port and the Solent Cruises operating out of Portsmouth and Cowes as well as the Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry operations are all run independently but co-operatively.
TSMV Brading was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1948 and 1986.
TSMV Southsea was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1948 and 1988.
United Kingdom 
