W estama ran 3 7 0 0 V indile

N O V E M B E R
2001
n
7
classic
fast
ferries
november 2001 n 7
classic
f a s t
ferries
http://classicfastferries.go.to
Fast ferry photo-feature
magazine depicting the
history of hydrofoils,
hovercraft, catamarans
& other commercially
operated high-speed
ferries.
Editor & publisher
tim timoleon
e-mail: cff@email.dk
Issued 6-8 times per
year in pdf format.
Details on publishing
date for the upcoming
issue can be found on
our website.
All artwork and lay-out
designs by the editor,
except where noted.
Submittals of
manuscripts and
photos, old and new,
and relevant news
items are
encouraged.
IN side:
ScaleBox – PT.50 Fairlight
Vindile – A Swedish
viking battling the Baltic
Lake Ontario operators –
More speed, less haste
Where the river narrows
Voskhods on the
St- Laurent
Classic Shots
cover
PHOTO:
Arriving from the Virgin Islands
as deck cargo, Kolkhida
Katran 2 is being craned onto
the water at Québec City
(Seaflight Hydrofoils)
Turn to page 10 for more!
(c) 2001,
classic fast ferries
2 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
16.667 times smaller than lifeg a r r y f r y
by:
or the model brigade of classic fast ferries readers, here is my 1:16.667
scale Radio Controlled unfinished model of the former Sydney
PT.50 hydrofoil Fairlight. That's the scale you wind up with when you
increase the 1:25 scale general arrangement I worked off by 50%.
The hull is made from marine ply, which a model builder built for
me. The foils are made from solid aluminium, which I spent about 30
hours working on to get to the shape and finish I wanted, making them
as close as possible to full sized craft foil profile and section to ensure a
model that would fly properly. It would have been much easier to make
them out of wood also but I wanted strength and, more importantly, a
low centre of gravity for lateral stability as on the real craft.
SCALE
BB O
X
O X
editorial
Previous experience with a 1:40
scale PT.50 kit (featured in cff 5/2000)
proved to be very unstable and would
actually roll over on occasion.
Power is by a 35cc Kawasaki
"whipper snipper" motor, air cooled,
connected to a custom made contra
rotating gearbox driving 2 shafts for
originality. Unfortunately, it does not
have a reversing gearbox – which is
possible but very complex. A
centrifugal clutch is used to engage
and disengage drive at idle.
After much frustration with the
1:40 scale kit – electric motor and
batteries only good for 10 minutes
flying, if that – I came to the
conclusion that a hydrofoil model
had to have an internal combustion
Opposite, top: This back-light
shot beautifully shows the life
size-like appearance and attitude
of the scratch-built scale model
(Garry Fry)
_____________________________________
accessible engine and with the size
much less fragility of the model. The
photos shown here (opposite) are of the
unfinished model's very first run. I
couldn't believe the perfect attitude
and stability on first attempt.
The model, without full scale flaps
on bow foil, had very poor turning
ability and any helm produced a large
rooster tale which I attribute to the
oversize 6mm ss shafts and aft foil
bearings which, located on actual
Factory-made 1:40 scale kit PT.50 refitted with glowplug engine, incorrectly
labelled as Fairlight (Garry Fry)
engine for maximum enjoyment and
practicality.
I re-engined the Japanese PT.50 kit
with a marinised, watercooled glow
plug engine that did 13,000 rpm from
memory. The boat went like a rocket!
Unfortunately it went too fast even at
minimum revolutions to operate
hullborne, and no clutch or astern
gear. To hook up the battery to the
glow plug, get it started, put the top
back on and get the vessel into the
water before the engine cooked was
a major effort which was soon
abandoned.
At that point I concluded that the
only way to have a viable RC
hydrofoil was to make it much bigger,
enough to accomodate a large easily
shaftline position, interfere with clean
water flow between outside of rudder
and shaft bearing.
Removed rudders on subsequent
later run eliminated rooster tail
altogether but, as luck (?) would have
it, the throttle jammed open resulting
in a collision with the seawall
damaging bow foil and hull. The
damage has since been repaired but I
have not had the opportunity to finish
the model. n
also
see back cover
A not-soclassic
classic issue
Can you call hydrofoils
delivered six or so years
ago classic? Or even a
catamaran delivered in
1988? Hardly.
And probably not.
Then again, while the
hydrofoils themselves
featured in this issue may
be fairly new, the design
and basic idea as such
obviously dates back much
further than this and
therefore is a classic, at
least in the world of fast
ferries. Moreover, since the
hydrofoil cannot be said to
have been the order of the
day, literally speaking, for
the past several years any
such new service being
introduced should be
encouraged and of interest
to readers of this journal.
The catamaran in the
other feature story this
month is a classic in that it
was among the first to be
built by the Westamarin
yard of Norway with
symmetrical hulls and
waterjet propulsion and
indeed the first fast ferry to
enter service in the Baltic
Sea between the Swedish
mainland and the island of
Gotland. At the time one of
the longest open sea routes
in the world operated by a
catamaran.
And... to (almost) any
story there's a history.
Share your story and
pictures with fellow
fast ferry modellers in
classic fast ferries !
SCALE
B O X
Mail to Scale :
cff@email.dk
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
3
Westamaran 3700 Vindile picking up speed at Visby,
heading for the Baltic and the Swedish mainland in 1988
(Mats Finnson)
he use of water jet propulsion in highspeed passenger catamarans took off in the
late seventies and came to the front during
the first half of the eighties. Pioneers in this
field were two Scandinavian yards,
Marinteknik Verkstads of Öregrund,
Sweden and Westamarin in Mandal,
Norway, soon to be followed by another
Norwegian yard, Fjellstrand based in
Omastrand near Bergen. However, both
Westamarin and Fjellstrand had been
building fast catamarans with traditional
propulsion, i.e. propellers/rudders, since
1971 and 1976.
The interest for this second generation
catamarans was significant, and as the
decade went on units were delivered by all
three yards to both established and new
operators in almost every corner of the
world, including of course Scandinavia.
GOTLANDSLINJEN
One of the newcomers on the fast ferry
scene in Swedish waters was Nordström &
Thulin, a shipping company based in
Stockholm. Trading as Gotlandslinjen, it
placed an order for a 37m water jet powered
W 3700 catamaran with Westamarin in 1987
for operation in the Baltic between the
mainland and the island of Gotland.
The previous year Westamarin had been
acquired by the Swede Ship group within
which was also Oskarshamns Varv, on
Sweden's south-east coast. Due to capacity
problems at the Mandal yard at the time it
was decided to build the structure of the
W 3700 at Oskarshamn, then have it towed
to Westamarin for completion.
4 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
The transportation of passengers and cargo
by sea between Gotland and the Swedish
mainland had been carried out since 1865 by
Rederi AB Gotland, more commonly known
as Gotlandsbolaget. In a move by the
Government to control this traffic, in 1977
Gotlandsbolaget was subject to a ten year
concession agreement in which fares and
schedules were dictated by the State. By the
time this agreement was due for renewal for
another ten years, several other companies
had bid on the contract. The company
winning the exclusive rights this time was
N&T Gotlandslinjen.
Prior to this there had been considerable
discontent among the public as to the car
ferries' timetable; some departures and
arrivals were on awkward hours which
catered for the cargo business rather than the
passengers it was felt. Also, packed ferries
during the peak season were unpopular –
although these were otherwise of high
standard and tailormade for the routes they
served.
Gotlandslinjen believed it could do things
better. One way of improving the service was
the introduction of a fast ferry alternative.
This also would appeal to air travelers,
particularly those living south of Stockholm
as Stockholm Arlanda airport lies quite a bit
off city limits to the north.
The catamaran would cut the travel time on
the longest of the two routes – between Visby,
Gotland and Nynäshamn, 60 kilometres south
of Stockholm – in half; from five hours by
conventional ferry to 2½ hours.
Also, it would open up for a new market; that
of day-trippers wanting a day out in either
Gotland or Stockholm.
f i n n s o n
m a t s
VINDILE
A SWEDISH
VIKING
NOT CUT OUT TO
CONQUER
THE BALTIC
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
5
The next day Vindile made a nonrevenue round trip to Stockholm to be
presented to the travel industry, media,
etc.
The schedueld service was inaugurated
four days later, on June 1st. Two daily
round trips were made from Visby to
Nynäshamn and one to Västervik, a town
some 300 kilometres further down the
coast. Journey times were 2 hours 30
minutes and 1 hour 50 minutes. The SEK
230 fare for a one way adult was approx.
forty percent more than on the operator's
conventional ferries. But, as they say, time
is money. As is speed. The main
machinery on Vindile would use 33% less
fuel per passenger compared with the
conventional ferries, on the other hand, it
would require between four and six trips
by catamaran to transport the same
amount of passengers as on these.
THE W 3 70 0
Top + Right:
Vindile getting
refuelled in the
Swedish port of
Höganäs on its
delivery trip from
Mandal to
Gotland on May
25th 1988
(tim timoleon)
Previous page:
Built to Det Norske Veritas 1A1 R45 Light
Craft classification and with a price tag saying
SEK 30 million, the catamaran was accepted
at Mandal on May 24, 1988 and left for
Gotland the following day. Earlier in the
month a sister vessel had been delivered to an
operator in northern Norway, and a third
W 3700 for another Norwegian customer was
being prepared for delivery later that same
month. The hulls of these were likewise built
by Oskarshamns Varv.
While the Norwegian craft were mixedtraffic versions carrying 186 passengers in
two saloons and with a cargo capacity of 65
cu.m, the Swedish vessel was an allpassenger catamaran fitted out with 322
seats, 259 of which in a main deck saloon
and 63 in a smaller compartment on upper
deck behind the wheelhouse and crew
quarters. The main deck saloon included a
mid-ship catering area and six toilets aft.
The contract full load service speed was
40.5 knots.
The catamaran was officially christened
Vindile by H.R.H.Queen Silvia in its home
port of Visby on May 27th. The name
chosen for the vessel dates
back more than 900 years
as it was used by the
Goth Viking Knobbur
on his fastest
ship.
The catamaran
after being refitted
with an antipitching triangular
section on the
centreline at the
bow in 1990
(tim timoleon)
6 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
The operating hours of Vindile was quite
impressive. Out of a working day of 16½
hours between 0630 and 2300 the vessel
would idle for only 190 minutes. This
required three different operating crews, each
consisting of captain, chief officer, chief
engineer, a deck hand and four cabin
attendants.
A DIFFICULT TASK
The new fast ferry service obviously was a
welcome alternative to the traditional way of
traveling to and from Gotland. Still, things
did not develop quite the way the operator
had hoped for.
It turned out the W 3700 was too small
for operation on open sea routes such as
those in the Baltic. Even in the summer
months these waters can get quite choppy
and the movements of Vindile would prove
so uncomfotable to passengers that
seasickness was a common sight on board.
The author traveled on the catamaran on
one of these occasions and witnessed
several passengers lying on the floor in the
aisles by the door to the open aft deck, as
they were not allowed out there while at
speed, trying to get a breath of fresh air and
focus on the horizon. All serving of
beverages and snacks also had to stop.
In order to minimize the inconvenience
to passengers (and crew) under such
conditions Vindile would normally be run at
relatively high speed, about 30 knots, to
better cut through the waves. Or operation
was cancelled alltogether. Thus, some 50
out of about 500 crossings were lost due to
bad weather during the three months of
operation, June through August.
A catamaran moves differently from a
monohull vessel. The waterline of the hulls
on a catamaran obviously is shorter than
that of a monohull of similar displacement
due to its greater breath which can prove
unfavorable if the waves build up to the same
length, or longer, than the catamaran's hulls.
The result is a high roll and pitch period
which is uncomfortable to those on board the
craft.
Top: Profile and general arrangement of Vindile
(Westamarin)
Above: The catamaran alongside at Visby, and
the bridge
(Mats Finnson)
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
7
It had been no secret that introducing a
catamaran in the Baltic was an experiment
in order for Gotlandslinjen to harvest some
first-hand knowledge as to operating fast
ferries in these waters. Even so, while partly
bad experience may be better than no
experience, the operator probably had
expected a different outcome of the first
season of trial service when it embarked
upon the project.
BornholmerPilen, and put into service on a
somewhat less demanding seasonal route –
although still in the Baltic – between the
island of Bornholm and Kastrup just
outside of Copenhagen and strategically
located adjacent to Copenhagen Airport.
Although a domestic route, the catamaran
would take a shortcut passing through the
Falsterbo Canal in southernmost Sweden –
permission to pick up/disembark Swedish
Vindile did not return for the 1989 season
and while Gotlandslinjen looked into the
possibilities of introducing a larger craft
able to carry 400 passengers and 40 cars at
speeds of 45-50 knots, it would be another
eight years before another fast ferry
appeared in the area.
passengers was not granted – thus, combined
with the higher speed, cutting travel time on
the conventional ferries by some four hours
to 2 hours 45 minutes. Three round trips a
day between 06:00 and 22:00 were timetabled
until October.
TAKING THE SOUTHERN
ROUTE
The catamaran was sold off – for SEK 35,5
million, which was more than the contract
price – in December 1988 but leased back
to N&T Gotlandslinjen. It did not see any
employment between September of that
year and August 1989 when it was chartered
by a newly established Danish company,
8 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
Vindile passes the bridge across the
Falsterbo Canal at Höllviksnäs entering the
Öresund (tim timoleon)
Above:
Renamed Pilen 3 the catamaran was
operated between Kastrup and Malmö for a few
months in 1991 (tim timoleon)
Below :
Vindile was subsequently purchased by
BornholmerPilen in 1990 and renamed
Pilen 3 continued operating on the direct
Bornholm-Kastrup route between May and
October. In April the following year the
company decided to reroute Pilen 3 to
operate between Kastrup and Malmö;
Sweden's third largest city. By doing this
not only was the exposure to an often upset
Baltic Sea eliminated, now that the service
became an international route the operator
was allowed to sell duty free goods on
board. Later that year the rather off-lying
port of Kastrup was abandoned in favor of
Copenhagen itself.
Pilen 3 was to stay on the lucrative
Copenhagen-Malmö run for the next nine
years, operating in direct competition
with State-owned DSØ/Scandlines
Flyvebådene until taken over by
Scandlines last October.
Being sold once again earlier this year to
Italian fast ferry company SNAV, the
catamaran, now named SNAV Andromeda,
entered service during the summer in the
Bay of Naples and Sicily. n
W e s t a m a r a n 3 7 0 0 V i n d i l e
Built by Westamarin and Oskarshamns Varv, 1988
Yard # 95
Still only two years ago everything looked
bright and sunny for Pilen 3, as it is seen here
passing the small breakwater lighthouse in
Malmö harbor (tim timoleon)
Top:
The catamaran was sold in Italy
earlier this year and entered service with
SNAV in the Bay of Naples and Sicily
as SNAV Andromeda (Anders Ahlerup)
Centre:
Length overall 37m
Breadth, moulded 9.5m
Draft, max. 1.7m
Tonnage 332 grt
Passengers 322
Crew 8
Service speed, 50% payload 40.5 knots
(normally 35-37 knots)
Fuel consumption 916 kg/hr. at 100% mcr
Main engines 2 x Mtu 16v 396 tb84 /
2,040 kW at 1,940 rpm
Waterjets 2 x KaMeWa 63/s
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
9
O
P
R
A
T
O
R
S
All being of Russian origin, four of these are of the 140-seat Volga
Katran type, which is an updated version of the well-known
Kolkhida and a number of which were previously exported to
Alilauro in Italy, among others - and the rest are 70-seat
Voskhods, similar to those used by Dutch operator Connexxion Fast
Flying Ferries.
At the moment
there are at
least eleven
commercial
hydrofoils
within the
boundries of
Canada.
This is the
largest number
ever at any one
time
10 classicfastferries
E
lanked by one of North America's largest and most
cosmopolitan cities – Toronto – and the Wonder of the
mighty Niagara Falls as well as a number of other picturesque
and historic spots and villages on both the Canadian and U.S.
shores, you would think that fast ferries have been crisscrossing the western portion of Lake Ontario since the
beginning of time. Not so. In fact, it was not until recently
that taking the lake the fast way entered adulthood after a
series of earlier attempts.
7 – 2001
Driving around the lake from Toronto to
Niagara, for instance, takes in the region
of two hours – during rush hour
considerably longer – whereas the
hydrofoil brings you there in a little more
than an hour.
Royal Hydrofoil Cruises
The first hydrofoils to enter a scheduled
passenger service on the Lake were also
the world's largest commercial such.
Delivered
during
1968-71
by
Westermoen Hydrofoil of Norway the
three 165-ton craft, of the Supramar
PT.150 type, had previously seen service
in the Canary Islands and Scandinavia
before being transferred across the
Atlantic to the United States towards the
end of 1977 to operate between Florida
and the Bahamas. Incidentally, this was
the third such trip for the prototype
PT.150 as this had been briefly operated
in the Caribbean in 1969-70 and then
returned to Norway.
Following repairs at Port Everglades –
the tow across the Pond had been tough
on the three sisters – and various
refurbishing, including reducing the
number of seats from the original 250 to
200, the service in the Gulf Stream
commenced in April 1978. As had been
the case earlier on, operating the large
PT.150s was not trouble-free though and
the service was discontinued in mid-1979.
Instead a newly established company,
Royal Hydrofoil Cruises, registered in
Panama, decided to have the vessels
moved to Lake Ontario for a proposed
service across the Lake between Toronto
and Fort Niagara and possibly Rochester,
both in the U.S.
Named Prince of Niagara, Princess of the
Lakes and Queen of Toronto and flying the
Panamian flag the majestic hydrofoils
entered service the following May on a 31nautical mile route between downtown
Toronto
and
Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ontario, only a stone's throw away from
the world-famous namesake Falls. The
Fort Niagara destination, on the U.S. side
of the Niagara River, had been abandoned
since it could not offer suitable docking
facilities for the hydrofoils.
Scheduled travel time was between 70
minutes and 1 hour 20 minutes, depending
on conditions. Of this as much as up to
27 minutes was consumed running off-foil
due to speed restrictions at both ends.
Initially up to eight round trips a day
were carried out between 0800 and 0120;
first and last departures both being from
Niagara-on-the-Lake. A two-class system
applied. The adult single fare was CAD 20
in 1st Class accomodation – in the bow
saloon on main deck offering a mix of
couch- and airline-style seating and
featuring large forward facing windows –
and CAD 17,50 tourist.
Virgin Hydrofoil
Services
Katran 2
arriving from
the Caribbean
and being
craned onto the
water at
Québec in 1998
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
11
Left: Royal Hydrofoil Cruises PT.150 Princess of the
Lakes out of the Lake (Ekberg)
_____________________________________
The 1981 season never got to a take-off,
however. A non-Canadian owned business,
RHC was denied a licence to continue
operating in Canada and the three PT.150s
were eventually returned to Port Everglades,
Florida for lay-up.
Canadian Lake Express
In mid-1991 a pair of Voskhod hydrofoils built
by the Gorki Sormovo yard arrived in Canada.
Ordered by Canadian Lake Express and named
Sunrise I and Sunrise II the 68-passenger vessels
were to be introduced between Toronto and St.
Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake. A series
of difficulties involving the authorities arose
however and the service never came about.
The timetable was subsequently reduced, as
were the fares charged, to a maximum of four
round trips a day between 0800 and 2320 to
better meet with the demand as well as
operating costs. The service was suspended
for the winter in October and was expected to
resume in April 1981 by which time any
possible ice would be gone.
Those traveling on the craft during these
first five months were mainly tourists and
shoppers whereas the idea of the hydrofoil
service being an attractive alternative to public
transportation or driving around the lake
never really caught on among commuters.
This obviously had to do with the fact that the
hydrofoils did not operate a year-round
service.
12 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
Waterways Transportation Services
Five years on, in 1996, another company,
Waterways Transportation Services, applied for
a coasting trade licence to operate an
Australian-built and -registered catamaran
between Toronto and St. Catharines for the
1997 season. The application was subsequently
altered to involve a U.S. registered catamaran,
also of Australian origin; Incat 30m Klondike
Express, which had previously operated between
Seattle, WA and Victoria, B.C. as well as in
Alaska.
While a license was obtained, no service was
implemented in 1997.
In September 1997 Waterways acquired a
36m catamaran, Condor 8, from Channel
Islands operator Condor. Delivered by the
Marinteknik yard in Singapore in 1988, the
300-passenger vessel had been employed
on Condor's seasonal service between St.
Malo, France and Jersey/Guernsey. It left
Europe for Canada, as deck cargo, in
October.
Following the standard tug-of-war with
the authorities as well as other operators in
the area obviously not welcoming new
competition, the former C.I. catamaran,
now renamed Waterways 1, entered service
in the spring of 1998 between Toronto and
Jordan Harbour, Ontario, close to St.
Catharines. This service, too, was rather
shortlived.
The catamaran returned to European
waters last year to enter service with SNAV
in Italy.
Opposite, bottom: Sunrise V, one of a pair of Voskhod
hydrofoils briefly operated by Shaker Cruise Lines
(Jeff Cameron)
Below: Seaflight III and Seaflight I showing off on Lake
Ontario
Shaker Cruise Line
One of the companies objecting to the
introduction of Waterways 1 was Shaker
Cruise Lines, based in Toronto. This
already operated a cross-Lake service, using
a 275-passenger 20-knot ferry, between
Toronto and Port Dalhouise, only two
miles from Jordan Harbour, and Niagaraon-the-Lake. Moreover, it intended to
introduce the two former Canadian Lake
Express Voskhod hydrofoils, which had
been laid up at Toronto since their arrival
there in 1991, in 1998.
Renamed Sunrise V and Sunrise VI these
entered service on two routes linking
Toronto and Port Dalhouise and Lewiston,
an historic village about seven miles from
the Falls, on the U.S. shore of Lake
Ontario. The international route was
operated on Friday-Sunday only with either
two or three round trips a day. Crossing
time was 75 minutes.
Both craft were exposed to misfortune,
however. Sunrise VI was damaged by wave
impact and Sunrise V suffered a bent
propeller shaft
and foil damage
after having
struck an
underwater
object off Port
Weller and had
to be towed
to Toronto for
lifting and
inspection.
The vessels
remain in
Toronto and
their future
looks uncertain.
classicfastferries
7 – 2001
13
Hydrofoil Lake Jet Lines/Seaflight Hydrofoils
Never before seen on Lake Ontario, a third fast
ferry operator entered the scene in 1998.
A Canadian company, Hydrofoil Lake Jet
Lines, had been formed to operate a pair of
Kolkhida hydrofoils previously operated in the
Caribbean by Virgin Hydrofoil Services.
Virgin Hydrofoil took delivery of its first
Kolkhida, Katran 1, in 1995 and introduced it on
the 40-nautical mile route between St. Thomas
and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in April
of that year. A few months on, in September,
the area was hit by hurricane Merlin which
caused a lot of damage to the vessel, which was
moored in St. Thomas at the time, such as
broken windows, lost life rafts and foil damage.
The hydrofoil was taken to San Juan, Puerto
Rico for repairs.
In the meantime a second Kolkhida, Katran 2,
arrived in the USVI from the Volga shipyard in
Russia. This operated successfully on the St.
Thomas-St. Croix run until May 1996 when it
had to be pulled out of service for inspection
following an emergency manoeuvre to avoid a
collision with a whale (which was saved).
Replacing Katran 2, which was dry-docked in St.
Thomas, Katran 1 was returned into service on
June 10th.
Less than a month later hurricane Bertha
swept in on the islands. Katran 2, still
undergoing repairs in St. Thomas, had to be
removed from its high position on dry land and
lowered onto the water. Both hydrofoils were
tied up to a breakwater wall and secured with
two anchors each at the Crown Bay Marina.
There was no damage to neither of the vessels
this time.
At the end of July 1996 work on
Katran 2 was concluded and Virgin
Hydrofoil now had a two-vessel
operation for the
first time.
14 classicfastferries
7 – 2001
In early
September a
third brand
new Kolkhida,
Katran 3,
arrived in
San Juan –
and so did
hurricane
Edward.
This was
followed a
couple of
weeks later
by another
hurricane,
Hortenzia.
Thanks to the
experienced team
of Virgin Hydrofoil the vessels got
out of these attacks unharmed as well.
While the first two Kolkhidas
returned to the scheduled inter-island
service, Katran 3 was primarily being
used as a charter vessel.
Towards the end of the year yet
another unit, Katran 4, was finished by
the Volga yard and shipped to the
Caribbean as deck cargo on board a
freight ship.
Now with four vessels at hand,
operation was expanded to include
sightseeing tours around St. Thomas
and St. John, a weekend service
between St. Thomas and Puerto Rico
and charter services to Tortola in the
British Virgin Islands.
While the hydrofoils were popular
with tourists, business travelers and
commuters, the owners were starting
to get tired of the constant threat
from the hurricanes and therefore
decided to transfer two of the
hydrofoils to less temperamental
surroundings.
In August 1997 the first vessel,
Katran 4, arrived as deck cargo in
Quebec City where it was lowered
and taken along the St. Lawrence
Seaway to Toronto under its own
power. The second hydrofoil, Katran
1, followed in April 1998.
Having obtained the necessary
certification and permission to run in
Canada and renamed Seaflight I and
Seaflight II, the hydrofoils entered
service between Toronto and
Queenston in May.
Spring-launching of Seaflight I
and Seaflight II in Toronto
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15
A l l p h o t o s i n a r t i c l e : S e a f l i g h t H y d r o f o i l s, e x c e p t w h e r e n o t e d
Opposite: Seaflight I and the Toronto skyline with the famous CN Tower at sunset
At the end of August Seaflight I was involved
in an incident when at speed it hit some
moored leisure craft, sinking one of them.
There were no injuries or damage to the
hydrofoil though.
Back in the Caribbean hurricane George hit
Puerto Rico in October 1988, again causing
damage to the remaining pair of Katrans being
tied up here. At this point the management of
Virgin Hydrofoil decided to give up the fight
with the hurricanes and to have Katran 2 and
Katran 3 transferred to the Lake Ontario
operation as well. Following repairs, these
entered service as Seaflight II and Seaflight IV.
Becoming surplus to requirement, however,
these have since been put up for sale.
Approaching the millennium, the company
changed its marketing name to Seaflight 2000
which this year was altered to Seaflight
Hydrofoils.
This year one roundtrip between Toronto
and Queenston was scheduled on FridaySunday between May 19th and June 30th; from
July 1st one round trip on Wednesday was
added and from September 1st the service
returned to the weekends-only schedule. A
shuttle service, included in the hydrofoil fare,
runs to and from Queenston dock and either
Niagara Falls or Niagara-on-the-Lake. In
addition, one-hour sightseeing trips exploring
the Toronto waterfront was offered on Friday
evenings in July and August.
Top: Defunct Shaker Cruise Line's pair of
Voskhods being laid up next to the Seaflight craft
at its maintenance base in Toronto
Right: Little man checking large foils on
Seaflight III
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7 – 2001
A one way adult was CAD 35 to Niagara Falls
and CAD 40 to Niagara-on-the-Lake, with
savings on a return. These fares were inclusive
of complimentary beverages. Reduced rates for
seniors and students and children up to the age
of 10 applies. A limited number of bicycles can
be carried for those wanting to explore the
Niagara region by bike.
The hydrofoils are also available for private
functions and event charters.
Plans for the 2002 season include adding
more departures and destinations in the western
portion of Lake Ontario. n
Volga
Volga Shipbuilding's
engagement in hydrofoils
dates back to 1955 when,
at the time known as
Krasnoye Sormovo, it
took on the father of the
hydrofoil in the USSR Rotislav Alekseev - to
finish his first commercial
hydrofoil design for inland
waterways, the Raketa.
Launched in 1957, the
design became very
popular and widely
spread and units can be
seen in service to this
day. Up through the
seventies and eighties the
yard continud building
hydrofoils in large
quantities; both
experimental craft and
production vessels such
as the Meteor, Kometa
and Voskhod. The Katran
hydrofoil is a refined
variant of the Kolhida,
which did also appear in
the 80s as replacement
for the Kometa.
The Seaflight Hydrofoil Katrans carries 140
passengers in two main saloons plus five
to seven crew
seven crew.
Katran hydrofoil
The sea-going Katran is designed to operate in
tropical or moderate climate, up to 50 miles from a
port of refuge and on inland seas or large lakes
where the distance between two ports of refuge
does not exceed 200 miles.
The main engines are two MTU 12V 396 TE 74
diesels with an output of 2,520 kW at 1,900 rpm,
giving the vessel a service speed of 34 knots.
The foil arrangement comprises two main bearing
foils fore + aft, a midship foil and a stabilizer
above the bow foil. Bow and stern foils and struts
are of stainless steel, whereas the mid-foil and
stabilizer as well as the supports of the forward
and aft foils are made of aluminum-magnesium
alloy.
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7 – 2001
17
W
h
e
r
e
the river
Formed in 1999 Les Dauphins
du
St-Laurent,
based
in
Montreal, is another young
Canadian hydrofoil operator
which commenced operation last
year. The company owns five 68seat
Voskhod
hydrofoils,
Cassiopea II, Corona Borealis, Polina
III, Sirius I and Vega I, previously
employed on the River Dnepr
between
Kiev
and
Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.
Les
Dauphins
operates
seasonal services, normally JuneSeptember, on the St. Lawrence
Seaway to and from Montreal
and Trois-Rivières and as far as
Québec City. A distance of some
250 km, or 160 miles, if you take
the scenic north shore highway
running almost parallel to the St.
Lawrence and which is covered
in four hours by the Voskhods.
In addition 2-hour excursion
trips from Montreal to the
historic village of Vercheres are
being operated.
The 2001 schedule was from
June 22nd to September 4th.
However, the vessels can be
chartered by organized groups,
for events, etc. outside of these
dates as long as it is during the
navigational season, of course.
Winters can be pretty harsh in
Canada!
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7 – 2001
One round trip to Trois-Rivières and
Québec was being operated every day of the
week, departing Montreal 07:30 and arriving
at Trois-Rivières 09:30 and Québec 11:30.
Between June 22nd and July 30th the reverse
journey left Québec 15:30 and Trois-Rivières
17:30 arriving back at Montreal at 20:00.
From August 1–September 4 the service
left/arrived one hour earlier.
The Vercheres service, which includes a 15minute guided tour of the village, departed
every two hours between 10:00 and 19:00.
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons some
15,000 passengers were carried between
Montreal and Québec.
Examples on fares charged on the Les
Dauphins hydrofoils in 2001: Montreal–
Trois-Rivières (or v/v) CAD 39 adult one
way and CAD 69 return, and Montreal–
Québec CAD 79 and CAD 129 respectively.
Round trip tickets were offered with an open
return valid throughout the season. The
Vercheres excursion tour was from CAD 34;
for an additional five dollars you could
prolong your stay here and participate in a
one-hour walking tour of the village and
return to Montreal on a later service. Reduced
fares applied to children, students and people
of the Age d'Or – the Golden Age. Bicycles
are carried on the craft Dutch-style and cost
CAD 5.
Plans for the 2002 season include adding a
second round trip to and from Québec and
possibly a stop en-route at Sorel, on the south
shore, plus a new Tour of the Port sightseeing
trip to be operated seven times a day. Also,
operations are expected to commence in May,
rather than June, and the timetable will be
divided into four periods instead of two with a
differentiated price scale. n
Above : Polina III is one of five former
Ukrainian Voskhods owned by Les
Dauphins du St-Laurent and operated
between Montreal and Québec
(Les Dauphins du St-Laurent)
' Where the river
narrows'
– The Algonquin Indian word for
(the province of ) Québec; Kebec
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19
classic sh
ots
PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN, COLLECTION OF G. FRY
Garry Fry, who also reports on his scratch-built PT.50 Fairlight model in
this issue, says about this charming classic shot:
One of the old hydrofoil engineers I worked with when I was a
deckhand told me a story, that an inbound ship's master called his
crew in excitement to "have a look at this" as the then brand new
Fairlight approached them in the western channel on its way to
Manly in 1966.
As the hydrofoil went past he remarked, "Isn't that the
most beautiful thing you've ever seen! "
And who can blame him for that comment.
Garry believes congratulations ought to be extended to the
naval architects and designers at the Rodriquez shipyard for
refining the appearance of the original Supramar PT.50, which
appeared back in 1959, into the most handsome, well-proportioned
and timeless fast ferry design of all times. If the PT.50/S, as this variant
was known (also see the July/August 2001 classic fast ferries) , was
launched today it would still look as futuristic as it did in 1966.
Fairlight arrived in Sydney, Australia from Messina as deck cargo on
November 8th, 1966 and entered service four days later with Port Jackson &
Manly Steamship Co. between Circular Quay and Manly as well as on
sightseeing tours of Sydney harbor. It was withdrawn from service in 1986
and eventually scrapped two years later.
"Isn't that
the most
beautiful thing
you've ever
seen"
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