A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightvessel was off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in England, placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. The type has become largely obsolete; lighthouses replaced some stations as the construction techniques for lighthouses advanced, while large, automated buoys replaced others.
The history of the many lightvessel stations of Great Britain goes back over 250 years to the placement of the world's first lightship at the Nore in the early 18th century.
Calshot Spit is a one-mile long sand and shingle bank, near the village of Calshot, located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England.
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Dibden, Hythe and Fawley, and the Fawley Refinery. On the slightly steeper eastern shore are the Southampton suburb of Weston, the villages of Netley and Hamble-le-Rice, and the Royal Victoria Country Park. To the south, Southampton Water enters the Solent between Calshot Spit and Hill Head.
Calshot Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Calshot Spit, Hampshire, England, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and defend Southampton Water as it met the Solent. The castle had a keep at its centre, surrounded by a curtain wall and a moat. Initially heavily armed, it had a garrison of 16 men and as many as 36 artillery guns. The castle continued in use for many years, surviving the English Civil War intact and being extensively modernised in the 1770s. During the 19th century, Calshot Castle was used by the coastguard as a base for combating smuggling. In 1894, however, fresh fears of a French invasion led to it being brought back into use as an artillery fort: a large coastal battery was constructed alongside the older castle and a boom built across Southampton Water, controlled from the castle.
Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.
The Spurn Lightship is a lightvessel, previously anchored in Hull Marina in the British city of Kingston upon Hull, England. It was relocated to a shipyard in October 2021 for restoration, prior to becoming a display together with the Arctic Corsair.
John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm founded by John Isaac Thornycroft in Chiswick in 1866. It moved to Woolston, Southampton, in 1908, merging in 1966 with Vosper & Company to form one organisation called Vosper Thornycroft. From 2002 to 2010 the company acquired several international and US based defence and services companies, and changed name to the VT Group. In 2008 VT's UK shipbuilding and support operations were merged with those of BAE Systems to create BVT Surface Fleet. In 2010 remaining parts of the company were absorbed by Babcock International who retained the UK and international operations, but sold the US based operations to the American Jordan Company, who took the name VT Group.
The United States lightship Huron (LV-103) is a lightvessel that was launched in 1920. She is now a museum ship moored in Pine Grove Park, Port Huron, St. Clair County, Michigan.
Ocean Village is a mixed-use marina, residential, business and leisure development on the mouth of the River Itchen in Southampton, on the south coast of England. Originally the site of Southampton's first working docks, the "Outer Dock" which opened in 1842, the area was redeveloped in 1986 and became the leisure marina it is today. After experiencing a period of stalled development with the late-2000s recession, Ocean Village underwent another series of major, multimillion-pound redevelopment projects. Current recreational facilities include a cinema, cafes, wine bars and restaurants.
RNAS Calshot was a First World War Royal Navy air station for seaplanes and flying boats, mainly operating as an experimental and training station, but also providing anti-submarine and convoy protection patrols.
The Supermarine S.6 is a 1920s British single-engined single-seat racing seaplane built by Supermarine. The S.6 continued the line of Supermarine seaplane racers that were designed for Schneider Trophy contests of the late 1920 and 1930s.
The Royal Northumberland Yacht Club is based in the Port of Blyth, Northumberland, England.
The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, and is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK. The volume of port traffic categorises Southampton as a Medium-Port City globally.
River Hamble Country Park is a 144.1-hectare (356-acre) Local Nature Reserve which runs along the west bank of the River Hamble between the villages of Botley and Bursledon in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is in Upper Hamble Estuary and Woods, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Solent Sky is an aviation museum in Southampton, Hampshire, previously known as Southampton Hall of Aviation.
Lightship Overfalls (LV-118) was the last lightvessel constructed for the United States Lighthouse Service before the Service became part of the United States Coast Guard. She is currently preserved in Lewes, Delaware as a museum ship.
TSS T/T Calshot was a tug tender built in 1929 by John I Thornycroft & Co, and completed in 1930 for the Red Funnel Line. Calshot was one of only three surviving classical tender ships which served the great ocean liners, another example is the SS Nomadic, which tendered the ill-fated RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage at Cherbourg, France. The third being the Manchester Ship Canal's Daniel Adamson. In her career, Calshot has tendered some of the most famous ocean liners ever built, such as the RMS Caronia, the Cunard Queens RMS Queen Elizabeth and RMS Queen Mary, the SS United States, and the White Star Line ship RMS Olympic. During World War II she was requisitioned by the British Admiralty for servicing troop ships and took part in D-Day. She was a registered vessel of the National Historic Fleet of the United Kingdom, holding Certificate No. 1.
MV Höegh Osaka is a roll-on/roll-off car carrier ship that was built in 2000 as Maersk Wind for A P Møller, Singapore. She was sold to Höegh Autoliners in 2008 and later renamed Höegh Osaka in August 2011. On 3 January 2015 she developed a severe list and was intentionally grounded in the Solent. Her 24 crew and a pilot were subsequently rescued.
