CHAOS STRUCK ISLE OF WIGHT CAR FERRIES 50 YEARS AGO …
Frustrated motorists blockaded the terminal at Yarmouth after having been forced to sleep overnight in their cars due to ferry cancellations on the morning of Sunday 2nd September 1973.
Police were called to make the motorists move after they had prevented vehicles from embarking and disembarking from the Yarmouth to Lymington car ferry by parking across the marshalling yard entrance.
The problems for the British Rail ferry operators had begun on the Saturday when the Cuthred – operating between Fishbourne and Portsmouth – was taken out of service with engine trouble.
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On Saturday evening, the Farringford – leaving Yarmouth for Lymington – struck an object in the water, damaged a paddle and had to be towed across the Solent by a tug.
On Sunday night, the Fishbourne struck and sank an unmanned yacht near the Fishbourne terminal. This caused a further 6-hour delay as divers moved the yacht from the fairway to allow the car ferries to operate.
Further trouble occurred early on the Monday evening. As the Freshwater was docking, a suspicious package was spotted on a seat. The captain – fearing he was carrying a suspected bomb on board – called the police.
The suspicious object turned out to be a sandwich hamper.
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Isle of Wight Times, Thursday 6th September 1973
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