Here you go folks - get your teeth into this! All corrections with proof please :-) Fleetwood Ferries to the Isle of Man: The first ship to carry passengers between Fleetwood and the Isle of Man was the “James Denistoun”, sailing for Douglas August the 15th to the 29th. Sir Peter Hesketh owned this and two other former Clyde steamers “Cupid” and “Express”. The “Express” also sailed to Bardsea twice daily from July the 18th. Then, in 1845, after a covered wooden section for passengers had been added to Fleetwood’s iron wharf, the North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company introduced a twice weekly service to Man, on a year round basis, using the paddle steamers Orion and Fenella. In 1842, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company began a summer ferry service to the Island from Fleetwood, using the Mona’s Isle. The first class fare was 4s and 6d. In 1847, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company started to run a steamer between Fleetwood and Douglas. The Steam Packet Company began to sail from Douglas to Fleetwood from the 1st of July 1876, using the steamer “Douglas”. There was a direct link to the Preston and Wyre Railway’s trains. Over the years most of the company’s vessels worked the Fleetwood-Douglas route, the most notable being Mona’s Queen, Viking, Lady of Mann, King Orry, Ben-my-Chree and Manxman. During World War 2, in 1940, Liverpool’s daily Isle of Man ferry service was transferred to Fleetwood, being transferred back in 1946. The “Mona’s Isle V” last sailed to Man on the 11th of September 1961. She carried the message in flags “Deeply regret. Fleetwood Goodbye”. The Steam Packet Company had withdrawn its ferry service due to concerns about the safety of the wooden landing stage, and the fact that railway tracks to the berth were in an open road. In 1969, the ferry “Stella Marina” was chartered to North West Hovercraft Limited, who re-introduced services between Fleetwood and Douglas, Isle of Man between April and October. During later years the Stella Marina was used as a local discotheque when moored. She also gave Illuminations night cruises from the 16th of September. In 1971 P and O persuaded the Docks Board to improve facilities at the North End berth and summer season sailings resumed once more, with the “Mona’s Isle” departing from the newly-built berth. A Car Ferry service to Douglas from Fleetwood was launched by the Steam Packet Company in 1975, and in 1978, the Company started a seasonal passenger service from Fleetwood, which ran until 1997. 1994 saw the introduction of the Sea-Cat and a fast, twin hull service was also established. The Sea-Cat “Isle Of Man” sailed for the Steam Packet Company on the 28th of June, taking just 94 minutes. The service ended after the 1995 season. The first sailings for several years between Fleetwood and Man took place on the 2nd and 30th of July 2008. The two one-off day trips were made by the Sea-Cat catamaran “Snaefell”, operated by the Steam Packet Company. Another two followed on the 20th of June and the 18th of August 2009, and one in 2010, but the service was then axed, as the “Snaefell” had become too old. A regular service to Douglas had been scrapped in 2005.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:49:16 +0000
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