Waverley Paddle Steamer

A short trip on the Waverley paddle steamer from Southampton
We noticed an advert for one day cruises on the Waverley paddle steamer in the local paper and decided that we might like to give it a try. The advert gave a price of £34 each with a second pensioner going half price but when we checked on the internet it gave a price of £37. On phoning they confirmed £37 was the correct price but with the half price second ticket we thought it was still worth it so we went ahead and booked.
All we had to worry about was the weather which a week ahead did not look good due to approaching high winds and rain. However nearer the day the forecast was for the bad weather to be postponed to later so we were looking forward to a pleasant trip.
On the day, which was a Saturday, we duly got up early and were in the car park at the dockside in Southampton with about 45minutes spare. We were expecting a high parking cost of about five pounds for the day so it was a bit of a shock to discover that it would be £10 payable on exit. The parking scales which were the highest for 5-24 hours looked to be specifically targeted to obtain the greatest return from day trip users. Luckily we found out about the charges before we got on board so made sure we had £10 in coins for our return. Other people were not so fortunate and had great trouble in feeding ten pound notes through the machine.
Our first impression on seeing the ship head on was that it was quite a small boat but sideways on the length makes it look a lot larger. It did not help that the dock level was above the boat deck due to the low tide. I had seen the Waverley some years before when it sailed from Largs on the west coast of Scotland so I was familiar with the two funnels and wide paddle chambers.
The trip was billed as ‘Yarmouth and the Needles’ but by the time of the trip we had forgotten the details and just looked forward to a cruise on the water. There were probably less than a hundred people boarding at Southampton so we had plenty of room to wander around the ship as we pleased and at the start we went on to the top observation deck. We were surprised how smoothly the ship reversed from the dockside and how quickly it gathered speed. Once out in the water it had to stop and manoeuvre to start its forward motion and this operation took some time with both the Isle of Wight and Hythe ferries waiting patiently for us to gather speed. We stayed on the top deck whilst the ship moved down Southampton Water and into the Solent on its way to Portsmouth.
During this part of the voyage we went down for a coffee and biscuit in the restaurant. The latte coffee turned out to be a bit of a disappointment probably due to the weak milk but the movement of the ship was barely noticeable so we could have been sitting in our own house. The furnishings of the restaurant and the ship in general were all of wood which gave it the appearance of an old railway carriage.
I took the opportunity of this quiet spell to have a look at the engine room which was open to view on the lower deck. The view was of three pistons driving the paddle wheels on either side of the ship. Although the sight was impressive after a while I began to think there must be more to it than at first sight and bought a small pamphlet from the onboard shop giving details of the mechanical arrangements. Sure enough there is considerably more than meets the eye. The ship is powered by two oil fired boilers; there was one originally with two exhausts hence the two funnels but this was replaced for a second time in 2000 by the two. The boilers supply steam at 150psi to the first piston. The exhaust steam from the first piston drives the second and the exhaust from the second drives the third at an inlet pressure of about 1.0psi. This exhausts to the condenser which is held at 25inches of vacuum by the air extraction equipment. The condenser is cooled by pumping sea water through the tubes. In addition there is equipment for pumping the condensate through the boilers, equipment for changing the speed of the paddles and equipment for steering. All this equipment would make up a power station on land so we were particularly impressed by the reliability and hard work that must go into maintaining and operating the ship.
The steering equipment means the ship can be operated from the bridge but there is an emergency steering wheel at the rear which had I not read the book I would assume was just there for decoration. The steady pounding noise of a diesel driven ship is not there in a paddle steamer and in general it was very quiet but after a while you recognise a dede dede dede-dede dede deda sort of musical sound that was rather comforting. I also noticed a couple of flat screen monitors on the bridge and one in the engine room which obviously were not there when it was built but then I suppose neither were the rules and regulations.
We returned to the outside deck area as the ship approached Portsmouth and manoeuvred past yachts, ferries and hovercraft. Portsmouth seems to be a busy dock area and especially so when there is a festival on the Isle of Wight. The movement of visitors to the ‘Bestival’ took precedence over our ship and we were not allowed to disembark or embark passengers through the dock terminal although we were allowed to dock. This meant that over two hundred passengers had to board a special Gosport ferry boat which left the dock for a few yards before it pulled alongside the Waverley so that the passengers could be transferred. The few passengers going to Portsmouth then went in the reverse direction. We also had to wait until the regular Gosport ferry had left before continuing on our journey.
Eventually we left Portsmouth about half an hour late and sailed back westwards near the coast of the Isle of Wight. The large number of passengers that boarded at Portsmouth meant that the ship was quite busy so we were a bit apprehensive about the queues at the restaurant. In the event we did not have to wait very long. The menu was rather confusing as it gave the lunch and dinner menus on the same sheet and it was not until we ordered that we found out that it was still on the lunch menu. We found the food adequate but nothing special; a typical ferry meal.
After lunch/dinner we went back on deck to see the sights as we sailed along the north coast of the Island. We cruised past Osborne House followed by Cowes were we manoeuvred past the ferries entering and leaving the port. The swell became greater the further west we went until as we approached Yarmouth it was quite choppy. The swell combined with the running tide meant that we could not enter Yarmouth so this part of the trip was cancelled which conveniently compensated for the delay we had at Portsmouth. Nevertheless we sailed on towards the Needles. As we rounded the lighthouse on the Needles we were exposed to the full force of the south westerly wind which produced a very choppy sea. The Waverley is not called an ocean going paddle steamer for nothing and coped with the seas quite well. That is until we decided to turn round when we got to Freshwater bay. We had just decided that the ship was going to go all along the south coast back to Portsmouth and went inside to escape the wind but at this point the ship turned round in the rough seas and we had great difficulty in keeping our feet. After we had managed this manoeuvre however the pitching of the ship returned to normal and we slowly returned and rounded the Needles once more. A few of the passengers were looking a bit apprehensive in the choppy seas and one was violently sick over the side of the ship. Luckily for her and those close to her the wind was blowing away from the deck. The surprising thing was that no one seemed to notice this episode and the woman herself walked back to her seat as if nothing had happened.
After returning round the Needles the sea become calmer in the shelter of the island and we sailed past Yarmouth once more. Having seen the sights on the way there we decided to return to the restaurant for an afternoon cup of coffee. This time I tried the cappuccino but it was very much like the latte in being made of weak milk. Once again we returned to the outside deck for our approach to Portsmouth. Passing the outside of the lounge windows we could not help but notice the same people who boarded at Portsmouth were still in the same seats not having moved throughout their journey. Whether this was from fear or to prevent anyone else claiming their seat was open to doubt.
The run in to Portsmouth was again busy with shipping including the large ferry from Spain which is due to be discontinued shortly. The passengers at Portsmouth were able to transfer straight to the dock terminal as normal so we did not have to wait long before our journey resumed. The ship seemed very quiet without the Portsmouth contingent and we were able to get a prime seat in one of the lounges for our return to Southampton. We had had a long and unusual day so we were quite tired when we eventually docked at Southampton. We were among the first to leave the ship handing in our tickets as we left. This was the first time that anyone had asked to see our tickets so we had boarded and had a full days cruising on trust that we had bought a ticket which was quite unusual in this day and age. We duly paid our parking ticket from the £10 in coins that we had saved all day and drove home.