''Cruiser'' is a passenger vessel owned by Clyde Marine Services Ltd operating in the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

as part of the company's charter cruise fleet. Her former names are ''Southsea Queen'', ''Hythe Hotspur'' and ''Poole Scene''.

History

''Southsea Queen'' was built in 1974 by James & Stone of Brightlingsea for the Gosport Ferry Company for cruising and standby ferry duties. She was similar to ''

Solent Enterprise #REDIRECT Sundance (charter vessel) ''Sundance'' is a charter vessel owned by Capital Pleasure Boats and operating on the River Thames. Former names are ''Gay Enterprise'' and ''Solent Enterprise''. History The vessel was built in 1971 for the ...

'', from the same shipyard but with a flared pointed bow. However, at 119 GRT she proved too small for her job and just four years later was sold to White Horse Ferries for use on its

Hythe Ferry 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, Hampshire, Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tour ...

service. She was renamed ''Hythe Hotspur'' and repainted from her green with red band livery to a red and white livery. She was withdrawn from this service in 1995 and chartered to

Brownsea Island Ferries Ltd Brownsea Island Ferries Ltd is a company that operates ferries to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour from Poole and Sandbanks. It also operates cruises around Poole Harbour, Bournemouth, Sandbanks, the Jurassic Coast and the Isle of Wight ...

for service in

Poole Harbour Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being th ...

. She initially kept the name ''Hythe Hotspur'' but was later sold to Blue Funnel Cruises in 1997 and renamed ''Poole Scene''. She sailed from

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Quay until early 1998, when she returned to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In 1999, she was sold to Clyde Marine Services and renamed ''Cruiser''. As such, she operated as a charter cruise vessel out of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, cruising the

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

. This included the weekday Rosneath ferry service from

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...

Kilcreggan Kilcreggan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cille Chreagain'') is a village on the Rosneath peninsula in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland. It developed on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde at a time when Clyde steamers brought it within easy reach ...

on behalf of SPT, as a substitute vessel when was out of service. In 2007 Clyde Marine introduced ''Seabus'' on this route, but in 2012 SPT accepted the tender from Clydelink for the service. ''Cruiser'' and ''Clyde Clipper'' are the two passenger vessels listed in Clyde Marine's fleet.

References

External links

Clyde Maritime Services Clyde CruiserGosport FerryHythe Ferry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruiser Ferries of England Ferries of Scotland Gosport Ferry 1974 ships Ships built in Essex