Waverley – Around the Isle of Wight
On Saturday 19th September a hardy group of ten photographers boarded a small boat chartered by TimeLine Events to follow Waverley as she circumnavigated of the Isle of Wight.
Joining Waverley in the Solent shortly after she has left Southampton and Portsmouth as she begins her circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. The 650 foot (198 m) chimney of the decommissioned oil-fired Fawley Power Station astern of Waverley.
Waverley calling at Yarmouth’s timber pier. Passengers were queued down the entire length of the pier, and it is a long pier at just over 600 feet (186m).
Yarmouth Pier is now shorter than it was. Originally 685 feet (207m) long when opened in 1876, it has since been shortened to 609 feet (186m). However, it remains arguably the longest timber-built pier in the UK.
A busy Waverley departs Yarmouth.
Hurst Castle, at the end of a long shingle spit, was built by Henry VIII to keep the French at bay. Completed during the 16th century, it was at the time one of the most advanced artillery fortresses in the England. The lighthouse dates from the 1860s.
Approaching The Needles Rocks. The 101 foot (31m) high lighthouse was first lit in 1859. Designed by James Walker it cost of £20,000 to build.
Around The Needles.
The concrete structures on High Down were built for test firing the rocket engines of Black Knight and Black Arrow rockets between 1956 and 1971.
The name of the formation comes from a fourth needle-shaped pillar that once stood in the gap between the second and third chalk stacks. Known as Lot’s Wife it collapsed during a storm in 1764.
Around The Needles.
Leaving The Needles behind.
Waverley rolling off Brighstone Bay.
St. Catherine’s Point is the southernmost point on the Isle of Wight.
Notice the radio mast on the hill behind St. Catherine’s Point. This mast is a short distance from the village of Niton. Marconi conducted some of his early radio experiments here. In 1901 he successfully transmitted a signal all of 186 miles (300km) to Cornwall. A ship-to-shore radio station was established around the same time. Niton Radio, callsign GNI, along with the remainder of the coastal radio network, closed in 1997.
The lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1840 after the catastrophic wreck of the Clarendon inbound from the Caribbean. The lighthouse was originally taller but was later reduced in height by 43 feet (13m) to prevent the light being obscured by fog. This lighthouse replaces the UK’s oldest medieval lighthouse, which dates from 1323, on nearby St Catherine’s Down.
The seaside resort of Ventnor lies below St. Boniface Down, the highest point on the Isle of Wight.
The 75 foot (23m) high granite obelisk on Culver Down is the Yarborough Monument, in memory of the Earl of Yarborough. The Earl was one of the founding members and first Commodore of what became the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. The monument was built in 1849 but later rebuilt on Culver Down during the 1860s.
The weather is visibly changing as Waverley steams off Portsmouth. The distinctive shape of the 560 foot (170m) Spinnaker Tower is visible ahead of the bow. A commercial sponsorship deal with Emirates airline has seen the previously all white tower repainted during 2015 in a less than fetching blue, gold and white colour scheme.
There is still enough sun around for a reflection.
Back to where the journey started earlier today and time for a final high speed pass down the port side of Waverley, obscuring her in spray.
With the light starting to go, Waverley paddles onwards to Yarmouth before returning to Portsmouth and her overnight berth at Southampton. Next morning Southampton was immersed in fog, delaying Waverley’s departure for a short time.
Thanks are due to Neil Cave of TimeLine Events and the crew of Anchorman, Dave and Emma.