The sheer number of these ferries and the frequency of their sailings, often in direct competition with one another, would leave one to expect an inevitably large number of accidents. On the contrary, the number of incidents have been amazingly few and most of them of a minor nature. The most disastrous accident to a ferry in these waters was caused by enemy action, namely the Portsdown, which struck a mine in 1941. Not too surprisingly the most serious ferry accidents occurred along the Dorset coast and off the Channel Islands, and not in the sheltered waters of the Solent and Spithead.

It fell to the Weymouth mail packets to provide the first serious accident. The fast cutter Francis Freeling had been built in Portland in 1809 specially for the service and was named after one of the Post Office administrators. On 6th September 1826 the vessel left Weymouth and, with its crew of 18, was never seen again. Apparently it had been run down by a large Swedish brig off Portland, because some time later the captain reported such an incident. Devastated by the sad news the port raised a public subscription for the crew's dependents. Rather shamed by the public's demonstration of generosity the Post Office later granted pensions to the widows and orphans.

The introduction of the steam vessels on to this service almost cut the passage time by half but they did bring their own problems, as in the case of the small steam paddler, Meteor, which had been built in 1820 and had served on the Irish Sea crossing from both Holyhead and Milford Haven before transferring to Weymouth in April 1828. On the morning of 23rd February 1830 the vessel left Guernsey under the command of Lieutenant Ross Connor in not particularly favourable weather - the visibility was poor due to a heavy sea haze. By the evening the Meteor was off Portland Bill in very dirty conditions - a thick fog shrouded all signs of the coast. So not surprisingly the vessel ran on to rocks at Church Ope. Demonstrating a fine presence of mind the mate, Edward Thresher, struggled ashore and with the aid of ropes all the passengers and crew were landed safely. The mail finally arrived at Weymouth at 2am the following morning, having been brought overland. Later that night the passengers' luggage and possessions were looted by crowds of local people who had gathered at the stranded vessel. Over 50 years later, on Christmas Day 1883, there was an almost replica wrecking when another Weymouth ferry boat operated by the Great Western Railway, the South of Ireland went aground on rocks at Warbarrow Bay, to the east of Lulworth in dense fog. This vessel, as its name suggests, had previously operated on the Milford to Waterford service. On this occasion the South of Ireland was returning from Cherbourg with just one passenger. Fortunately the passenger and crew of 23 were saved but it proved impossible to refloat the vessel and it became a total wreck.

The Lymington to Yarmouth is perhaps the most famous Isle of Wight ferry route, due in no small measure to Lord Tennyson's poem 'Crossing the Bar', which was written whilst he was on board one of the little ferry steamers. Some of the most famous Victorian literary figures and artists used this crossing to visit Tennyson's house on the Island. And, of course, with the opening of Osborne House in 1846, the Island came into far greater prominence heightened by the coming of the railways, when most of the ferry boats were owned and operated by the various railway companies. Many travel writers have suggested that the Lymington crossing is the best way to reach the Island and it can certainly claim to be the most picturesque ferry route.

Although the first little steam vessel came into service in April 1830, the local boatmen still made the crossing in sailing boats, possibly because many of the locals could not afford the steamer's fares. In April 1837 a 23 foot wherry carrying 12 passengers - mainly women and children - unfortunately capsized in a sudden and heavy squall. All the passengers and the boatman were swept overboard and ten were drowned. The boatman, John Webster, survived by gripping the mail bag in his teeth whilst holding up a young girl, who later died in his arms. At the subsequent inquiry no blame was attached to Webster, in fact he was complimented for his brave actions. Webster died seven years later at the age of 76 years.

Several years were to pass before there was another ferry boat incident. In March 1851 the Duke of Buccleuch, which had operated on the Southampton to Cowes ferry route since 1829 was in Southampton Water just off Calshot when it collided with a small Lymington yacht, Sea Dog. The yacht sank almost immediately but the three crewmen were thrown clear and were quickly rescued by the steamer's boat. There was no sign of the owner, but as the Duke of Buccleuch cruised around in the area, faint cries for help were heard and the commander, Captain Calpine, jumped overboard with a lifeline and managed to rescue the man.

Another Southampton steam ferry was involved in a far more serious incident. It was the Alma, which had been built in 1894 for the London & South-Western Railway Company and came into operation on the Southampton to Le Havre service. It was the very first cross-Channel steamer to have two-berth cabins for first-class passengers, making it a very comfortable and fine vessel with a good turn of speed - 19 knots. In April 1902, it appears to have been going too fast for the prevailing weather conditions - a very thick fog. The Alma struck the Cambrian Princess near the entrance to Spithead, and although no ferry passengers were injured in the collision, the Cambrian Princess capsized and sank with the loss of 11 lives. The Alma continued on the Le Havre service for another ten years before being sold and spending its last years off the coast of Algiers.

Perhaps of all the ferry boats that used these coastal waters the most beloved were the paddle steamers, many of which operated on the Portsmouth to Ryde crossing, first for the London & South Western Railway Company and later for the Southern Railway. Some of the most popular were the 'Duchess' series - two of which, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Connaught, were fondly dubbed the 'ugly sisters'! But it was another 'Duchess' that hit the headlines in 1909 - the Duchess of Kent. On 3rd September it left the mainland for Ryde with 400 passengers but in less than ten minutes it collided with the Transporter, a steamship carrying coal. When the collier backed off the paddle steamer began to take in so much water that the captain decided to ground it on Southsea beach at a spot close to Victoria pier. All the passengers were safely landed but the vessel needed urgent repairs before attempts were made to refloat her. Obviously she became a two-day wonder with hordes of sightseers gathering to view the 'stranded whale'. The vessel, after a complete overhaul, remained on the crossing until 1933 when it was sold and for the next four years was employed as an excursion steamer at Blackpool.

The Duchess of Kent grounded on Southsea beach 1909.
All 400 passengers were landed safely.

Of all the ferry boats that used these waters surely the Ibex can lay claim to be the most unfortunate. It was a fine steamship with a schooner rig, which had been built in 1891 for the Great Western Railway Company to operate from Weymouth on the Channel Island crossing. The vessel had been specially ordered to compete with the Lydia, a fast new vessel operated by the rival London & South Western Railway Company's Southampton to the Channel Islands service.

The sorry chapter of accidents started in 1897 when the Ibex struck some rocks off Jersey, whilst reportedly 'racing' the Frederica, another LSWR steamer. The captain was suspended for six months for negligence. Three years later, in January 1900, the vessel was under a different captain when it struck rocks off Guernsey and sank with the loss of two lives. This commander was also suspended for six months. The later wrecking came nine months after another ferry disaster when the Stella, again an LSWR steamer from Southampton, had foundered after striking the Casquets rocks just to the northeast of Alderney with a terrible loss of 105 lives.

Two months later the Ibex was refloated and after a complete overhaul and repaint was brought back into service. For the next 13 years it operated quite safely without any serious mishap. But on 18th April 1914 whilst off Portland the vessel collided with the disabled schooner Hannah Croasdale causing considerable damange to both vessels. Then to crown an inglorious career, three years later, on 19th September 1917, Ibex collided with a Great Western Railway steamer the Aletta some 20 miles from Weymouth. Unfortunately the steamer sank but all the crew were saved. The Ibex was finally broken up in 1926; no doubt there were many deep sighs of relief when it was heard that the Ibex had 'crost the Bar' for the last time!

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