Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry.
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.
Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tourists, and forms an important link in the Solent Way and E9 European coastal paths.
MV Balmoral is a vintage excursion ship owned by MV Balmoral Fund Ltd., a preservation charity. Her principal area of operation is the Bristol Channel, although she also operates day excursions to other parts of the United Kingdom. The Balmoral is included on the National Historic Ships register as part of the National Historic Fleet.
The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The ferry crosses the tidal river from East Cowes to Cowes. The first floating bridge between the two towns was established in 1859 and the crossing is one of the few remaining that has not been replaced by a physical bridge. The service is owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Council, which has run it since 1901. Prior to ownership by the local authority the service was run by The Floating Bridge Company and The Steam Packet Company. The ferry currently used is named No. 6, the sixth to be owned by the Isle of Wight Council, and ninth in total. It was built in 2017 and can carry up to 20 cars. The Cowes floating bridge remains the only way to cross the River Medina between the towns without taking a ten-mile trip via Newport. The current vessel was installed on 14 May 2017, but after a string of technical issues the service was suspended by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and a passenger-only replacement service provided by a small launch. After several months of service suspension and intermittent operation, full service finally resumed early in 2018.
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.
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 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.
MV Red Eagle is a Raptor-class vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The largest of its class, Red Eagle is the current flagship for Red Funnel.
MV Red Osprey is a Raptor Class vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was built by Ferguson Shipbuilders in Port Glasgow.
MV Red Falcon is a Raptor Class vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was built by Ferguson Shipbuilders in Port Glasgow.
MV Red Jet 4 is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, along with sister ships Red Jet 6 and Red Jet 7.
MV Schiopparello Jet is a passenger catamaran ferry, formerly known as Bo Hengy and Red Jet 5. She operates on routes from Piombino to the Tuscan archipelago on behalf of ferry operator Toremar. She was built in 1999.
MV Red Jet 3 is a passenger catamaran ferry formerly operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight along with sister ships Red Jet 4, Red Jet 5 and Red Jet 6. She was built by FB Marine on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom at a cost of £2.73 million and entered service in 1998. The ship reached a speed of 37.4 Knots during a publicity cruise on 14 July 1998 before entering into regular service on 27 July 1998. This entry into service meant that the older Shearwater 5 and Shearwater 6 hydrofoils were no longer needed to provide backup for the Red Funnel high speed service and they were withdrawn. The high speed fleet then consisted of Red Jet 1, Red Jet 2 and Red Jet 3.
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 Red Jet 7 is a British high speed catamaran ferry operated by the ferry company Red Funnel on its Southampton-Cowes route, alongside the company's other current Red Jets 4 and 6. Constructed on site at the Wight Shipyard where Red Jet 6 was also built, it has been built to a similar specification as its predecessor. Red Jet 7 was launched on 6 June 2018 and underwent system tests prior to being placed into service for 24 July 2018, in time for the surge in traffic over Cowes Week.
Red Jet 1 was a high speed catamaran passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was built by FB Marine in 1991 and was the first waterjet propelled craft to operate on the route.
Red Jet 2 was a high speed catamaran passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was built by FB Marine in 1991. She is identical to her sister ship, Red Jet 1.
MV Norris Castle, the third vessel in the Red Funnel fleet to carry the name, was built in 1968 by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston and operated as a car ferry between Southampton and East Cowes until 1994. Mrs Joan Lacon, owner of the namesake building, Norris Castle, named the ship. Originally designed to load and discharge through the bows, in 1976, she was converted to drive through operation, with mezzanine decks and an extended superstructure, by Boele in Rotterdam. As built, she was 191 feet 3 inches (58.29 m) long with a capacity of 734 GT. After rebuilding she was extended to 221 feet 2 inches (67.41 m) and 999 GT.
MV Cowes Castle was a car ferry operated by Red Funnel between Southampton and Cowes/East Cowes. Subsequently sold to Jadrolinija in 1994 for further service in Croatia. She was scrapped in 2008.
United Kingdom
Red Funnel 
Croatia
