Classic Fast Ferries · EDITOR/PUBLISHER: TIM TIMOLEON. ... La Alta Rapido, ... the hydrofoil,

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3

C L A S S I C

F A S T

F E R R I E S

Models, Models, ModelsFirst Westamaran

revisited

22 C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E S 7 – 2 0 0 3

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3

C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E S

THE ONLY PERIODICAL ABOUT THE HEYDAY OF PASSENGER HYDROFOILS, HOVERCRAFT & CATAMARANS – AS WELLAS RELEVANT NEWS n ISSUED IN PDF FORMAT. PLEASE CHECK OUR SITE ON THE WEB FOR NEXT ISSUE DETAILS:WWW.CLASSICFASTFERRIES.COM EDITOR/PUBLISHER: TIM TIMOLEON . ALL ARTICLES, ARTWORK & DESIGNS BYTHE EDITOR, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED n SUBMITTALS OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PHOTOS, OLD AND NEW, ANDRELEVANT NEWS ITEMS ARE ENCOURAGED! n EMAIL TO: CFF @ EMAIL.DKCOPYRIGHT 2000/2003 C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E SCOVER PHOTO : VOSKHOD PELEE FLYER 1 ABOUT TO TAKE OFF AT KINGSVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA EARLIER THISSUMMER. READ MORE ON PAGE 3 [JAN VAN DER DOE PHOTO]

C L A S S I C

F E R R I E S

F A S T

Connexxion FFF sells Voskhod in Malaysia

Dutch hydrofoil operator Connexxion FastFlying Ferries has sold one of its oldVoskhod-2s, La Alta Rapido, to a companyin Malaysia which has renamed it DangaBay. The vessel, along with two more Vosk-hods acquired in the Ukraine in 1997/98,had become surplus to requirement withthe introduction last year by FFF of threenew 79-seat Morye Voskhod-2Ms and putup for sale. Initially named Prins Johan Friso, thehydrofoil entered service with Fast FlyingFerries on the Velsen/IJmuiden–Amsterdamroute in April 1998. At the time of the deal being closed with

the Malaysian buyers at the end ofAugust, La Alta Rapido was sitting in theMetz shipyard at Urk receiving anoverhaul. It was taken from here toBeverwijk, near IJmuiden, late at night onSeptember 2 where it was loaded ontothe Spliethoff cargo ship Edamgracht. Itleft the Netherlands at 3 a.m thefollowing morning and arrived at itsdestination on September 28. Earlier this year Connexxion FFF sold itssole Meteor hydrofoil Prins Willem Alex-ander to Mahart PassNave in Hungary. The two other Voskhod-2s, Annemarieand Archimedes, remain in the Nether-lands and on the sale list.

Voskhod La Alta Rapido in the old Fast Flying Ferries colors on a drizzly October day last year. The hydrofoil has sincebeen sold and shipped to a company in Malaysia

[ PIETER INPIJN photo ]

The October CLASSIC FAST FERRIES is being published as two separate editions, numbered 7 and 8

C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E S 7 – 2 0 0 3 33

Pelee Hydrofoil Corporation, acompany based in Kingsville, OntarioCanada, has acquired a pair of Voskhodhydrofoils and introduced them on anew service on Lake Erie betweenKingsville and Pelee Island. The vessels arrived in Canada as longago as in 1991 but have been laid upfor most of their lives here. They werelast briefly operated by Shaker CruiseLines on Lake Ontario in 1998 asSunrise V and Sunrise VI and had beensitting in a Toronto shipyard untilpurchased by Pelee earlier this year. Renamed Pelee Flyer 1 and Pelee Flyer2, both hydrofoils have beenrefurbished and repainted but only oneof them, Pelee Flyer 1, has so far

been active this season. It wasintroduced in the western corner ofLake Erie on July 29. The vessels arefitted out for 67 passengers and cancarry up to 20 bicycles aft on weatherdeck. The fall schedule, which runs intoOctober weather permitting, consistsof four round trips between 0900 and1800 on Sunday–Thursday and fivebetween 1000 and 1900 on Friday

and Saturday. The trip takesapproximately 20 minutes each way. Another Canadian company, LesDauphins, has operated Voskhodhydrofoils in Quebec on a seasonalservice on the St. Lawrence Seawaybetween Montreal and Trois-Rivières andQuebec City since 2000. The companyowns five 68-seat Voskhods which itimported from the Ukraine in 1999.

New lease of life for Canadian Voskhods

Voskhod Pelee Flyer 1 entered service on Lake Erie between Kingsville and Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada this summer [ PELEE FLYER photo ]

JAN

VA

N D

ER

DO

E photo, both


The long anticipated catamaranservice in British Columbia, Canadalinking Nanaimo on Vancouver Islandand downtown Vancouver isexpected to finally get off the runwaysometime this month. Initial start-update for the new year-round servicewas set to spring 2003, but theinauguration has had to be pushedseveral times due to a variety ofreasons.

Owned and operated by HarbourLynx, based in Nanaimo, the extens-ively refurbished former PhilippineKværner Fjellstrand Singapore FlyingCat40m catamaran, also named HarbourLynx, made its first public appearance inNanaimo on September 2. OnSeptember 26 sea trials weresuccessfully conducted with TransportCanada representatives. As this issueclosed for press HarbourLynx was

awaiting final documentation andapprovals from Transport Canada. Until November 30, three roundtrips have been scheduled every dayof the week; on Monday–Friday theseleave Nanaimo at 0715, 1045 and1530 and Vancouver at 0900, 1230and 1730. On the weekend alldepartures are one hour later. Transittime for the 37 nautical mile route isapproximately 75 minutes.

Western Canadacatamaran service soon to start

B O T H P H O T O S : Kværner Fjellstrand Singapore FlyingCat 40m catamaran Harbour Lynx was presented to the public at thebeginning of September but has yet to be introduced between Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver, British Columbia [ HARBOUR LYNX photo ]


France–Channel Islands catamaran comes and goesAnother catamaran service somewhatoverdue this season is that betweenFrance's Normandy port of Diéletteand the Channel Islands of Alderneyand Guernsey, established by LeConseil Général de la Manche. Marketed as Hugo Express andoperated by Socièté de Navigation deNormandie, a newly established ferrycompany under the French Connexgroup umbrella (not to be confusedwith Connexxion in the Netherlands),the catamaran was originally to havebeen introduced in July but wasdelayed for a few weeks and made itsfirst revenue crossing on August 7.

The vessel, Kværner FjellstrandFlyingCat 35m Victor Hugo, wasacquired by the CGM fromNorwegian operator Ofotens ogVesteraalens D/S in December 2002.It was refurbished to Frenchrequirement and repainted in SNNcolors at Cherbourg during the springand summer. Although a year-round service,Victor Hugo does not operate everyday as the route is subject to neaptides. Last month, for instance, six daysof operation was announced; onSeptember 15, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 22.During winter even fewer servicesmay be run.

Based in Diélette, the catamaranreaches Guernsey in 1 hour orAlderney in 45 minutes, Guernsey–Alderney takes 1 hour also. Earlier this year Le Conseil Généralde la Manche purchased also anotherKværner Fjellstrand design, FlyingCat40m Aremiti III, from an operator inFrench Polynesia. Renamed MarinMarie this too has been getting anoverhaul at Cherbourg during thesummer but has yet to enter servicewith the operator.

U P D A T E

Since this piece waswritten the service byVictor Hugo has beendiscontinued for the

winter. It is expected thecatamaran will resumeservice in April 2004.

M A I N P H O T O : Kværner Fjellstrand FlyingCat 35m Victor Hugo entered service between Normandy and the Channel Islands onAugust 7 and is seen here departing Diélette in the early morning sun on September 15. I N S E T : Meanwhile CGM's other catamaran,FlyingCat 40m Marin Marie, was being refurbished at the shipyard at Cherbourg [ JACQUES LEGANGNEUX photo, both ]


Troublesome start for Australian catamaransin north Norway

The pair of Austal Ships 41.3mcargo/passenger catamarans built inWestern Australia by Imagine Marinefor Norwegian operator Ofotens ogVesteraalens D/S were officiallynamed Salten and Steigtind in aceremony at Bodø in northernNorway on July 19. Shipped fromFreemantle, as deck cargo, on May 17,the new catamarans arrived inNorway somewhat late and could notmake it to the initial christening dateof June 24. However, both catamarans werepulled out of service already onAugust 6 as cracks in the aluminumhulls caused by vibration werediscovered. Following temporary repairs, Steig-tind reentered service and worked theBodø–Svolvær route till September 8– however operating at a reducedspeed, 27-29 knots as opposed to thenormal service speed of 32-33 knots –by which time the fully recoveredSalten was back. Steigtind was thenwithdrawn for the final strengtheningof the structure, the work of whichhas been more extensive and time-consuming than first anticipated theoperator reports, and was back onthe route from September 23.

Operating the remote Nordlands-ekspressen service, Salten and Steigtindeach carry 214 passengers inattractive surroundings in a singlesaloon forward and up to 30 Euro

pallets/12 tonnes of refrigerated cargoaft. A historical report on the Nordlands-ekpressen service appeared in the June2003 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES.

One of the two Austal Ships/Image Marine 41.3m cargo/passenger catamarans, Steigtind, that entered service with OVDS in north Norwaythis summer [ RUNE HANSEN / OVDS photo ]

B E L O W : Godmother Gry Mølleskog is about to let go of the champagne at the namingceremony at Bodø on July 19. Steigtind is at left, Salten at right [ OVDS photo ]


Further to our review in the May 2003 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES on the Rodriquez MEC 1 hydrofoil design, "What happened to maximumefficiency?", we are sorry to announce that the condition for the 12-year old test craft recently took a turn for the worse, as can be seen inthese photos. As reported in the above article, the hydrofoil, MEC Ustica, was moved from its lay-up at the Napoli maintenance base to thecommercial part of the port, Molo Beverello, earlier this year. Having been tied up here for six months, on September 14 water started topenetrate the vessel. Attempts to pump out the water seemed successful at first, but on the night of September 15 the hydrofoil sank. Itwas raised from the sea floor on September 18 (above) and taken to a spot adjacent to the Alilauro yard (below). The only unit built, the Maximum Efficiency Craft was launched in 1991. Following a test program thehydrofoil was fitted out for 120 passengers and entered service with Aliscafi SNAV across the Straits of Messina in October 1992.

What happened toMaximum Efficiency, indeed!

LEONARDO LELLA PHOTO, both


First WestamaranrevisitedThis is not a fast ferry. But it isnevertheless relevant to thisjournal in that it is both classicand used to be a fast ferry. Delivered by Westermoen Hydro-foil in Norway in 1971, thecatamaran was the firstWestamaran 86 built. Contrary tothe hydrofoils Westermoen hadbeen building under license toSupramar since 1962, the Westa-maran was an in-house designdeveloped by Harald Henriksen. The construction of the proto-type W86 commenced in 1970ahead of an order for the vessel. Acontract was however signed inOctober of that year and the 26m142-seat catamaran, Fjordglytt,entered service the following Juneon a multi-stop route betweenBergen and Årdalstangen in theSognefjord with Fylkesbaatane iSogn og Fjordane.

KENT SKOOG photo


The Westamaran soon would prove a very successful product, not leastfor Westermoen. For instance, between 1962 and 1970 the yard had builta total of ten Supramar hydrofoils, whereas during the same span oftime 1971–79 thirty-three Westamarans of various types were delivered. Fjordglytt remained with FSF until sold twenty-four years later, inOctober 1995, to a Swedish operator, Koster Marin, which had itextensively rebuilt. This work included replacing the pair of 1,100 hpMTU diesels by 720 hp Detroit Diesel engines, remodeling thesuperstructure and interior layout of the passenger saloon and removingthe original wheelhouse and substituting it with a completely new one. Renamed Kosterfjord and fitted out for 274 passengers, the nowmedium-speed catamaran entered service as a commuter and excursionvessel in the archipelago on Sweden's west coast in the spring of 1997. The immaculately kept 32-year old former W86 still is very much aliveand doing well, as these views taken at Strömstad earlier this summershow. n

P H

O T

O S

B Y

K E

N T

S K

O O

G


hat you do for a living in 1:1 scalecan also evolve into something you dofor the fun of it at a somewhat smallerscale. That is the case with TheoBakker and Mark van Rijzen, bothhydrofoil captains with ConnexxionFast Flying Ferries in the Netherlands. Mark acquired his first modelhydrofoil, a radio-controlled PT.50made by Sanko Seimitsu in Japan inthe 1980s, already some while back,whereas Theo got into the swing ofthings only recently. In addition to the Japanese PT.50,now appearing as the NorwegianTeisten, Mark has a Kometa-Mhydrofoil which he succesfully bid onat an internet auction in June. Sincethe seller was not prepared to shipthe partly finished model, Mark had tocollect it himself – in Germany. Asmall excursion of some 1,300kilometers out and back. Also radio-controlled, the Kometa ismade of fibre glass to a scale of 1:29and thus is rather large. It wasmanufactured in Italy by Sidera Model,supposedly also in the 1980s. Markexpects to finish the model during theupcoming winter months. Theo likewise was the lucky winnerat an internet auction of a PT.50similar to that of Mark's. To givereaders an idea of what these kits sellfor these days, Theo has informed usthat he paid €176, including shipping.The model came with the originalMabuchi RS-540S motor, sincereplaced by Theo with a Graupner

Speed 600 BB SP, but without NiCabatteries and the RC unit (not originallysupplied by the manu-facturer). Theo,too, will refurbish the model over thewinter and intends to turn it into one ofthe Swedish PT.50s that used tooperate between Malmö and Copen-hagen, Denmark in 1965–84.

Last month Theo came acrossanother interesting model which isn'ta hydrofoil but a true-to-the-originalreplica of the Incat/Aluminium Ship-builders 49m wavepiercing catamaranCondor 9 that Condor operatedbetween the UK/France and theChannel Islands in 1990–2002.

L E F T + B E L O W : The PT.50 as itappeared when acquired by Theo Bakker.The model was manufactured in Japan in

the 1980s and is radio-controlled

s c a l e

Dutch tidbits

B E L O W : Graupner's waterjet-driven model of Condor's Incat/Aluminium Shipbuilders49m vawepiercing catamaran Condor 9


This kit was produced by Graupner inGermany for a number of years (itwas discontinued last year) and is asemi-scale model to 1:45 scale basedon the actual design drawings. Thehulls, deck and superstructure are ofvacuum-moulded ABS plastic. Theradio-controlled model is powered bytwo waterjet units and can also beequipped with sound, lights, etc. Theoreports that his Condor 9 is able tomake a 360 degree turn on the spoteither starboard or port. This is doneby using a Navy twin stick on the RCunit, starboard waterjet full ahead andport waterjet full astern, or vice versa. The finished model has a LOA of1,080 mm, beam of 410 mm andweighs 5,800 grammes. Next development in Theo'smodelling career will be the scratch-building of a 1:25 scale operatingmodel of the Morye Voskhod-2Mhydrofoil which he works on ascaptain in everyday life, based on the

original drawings from the building yardas well as his own documentation. Infact, this work will be carried outtogether with some mates from a localship modellers club, and the plan is toproduce a small number of hulls so thatother members can build the Voskhod

of their choice as well. In addition, Mark and Theo each hasa static model of the Connexxion FFFVoskhod-2M which they acquiredfrom the builder in the Ukraine whenthe full-size vessels were delivered tothe company last year. n

A B O V E : Static model of the Voskhod-2M in Connexxion Fast Flying Ferries colors[ THEO BAKKER photo ]

The unfinished Kometa-M and attractively painted PT.50 belonging to Mark van Rijzen.Above the box for the Kometa with various parts that have yet to go onto the vessel

[ MARK VAN RIJZEN photo, all ]


Another newly established company isVenezia Lines which introduced a pairof 320-seat Cirrus 120P surface effectships in the north Adriatic in May.Built in Norway by Eikefjord Marineand Brødrene Aa, the vessels, SanPawl and San Frangisk, were originallydelivered in 1989 and 1990 to VirtuRapid Ferries in Malta. Both craft havesince been leased for shorter periodsof time for operation elsewhere,including in Brazil and Libya, however,San Frangisk has been true to itsoriginal Malta–Sicily routes for most ofits career. Between May and SeptemberVenezia Lines operated San Pawl andSan Frangisk on a diversified routenetwork on alternate days of the

week into Venice and Trieste, on theSlovenian border, from seven differenttowns on the Istrian coast; Mali Losinj,Rabac, Pula, Rovinj, Porec and Umagin Croatia and Piran in Slovenia. Venezia Lines investors include VirtuFerries in Malta and ACTV, the publictransport company of Venice.

San Pawl and San Frangisk details

Cirrus CIRR 120P surface effect ship San Pawl, built in Norway by Eikefjord Marine in 1989, was one of two entering service with VeneziaLines in the north Adriatic this summer [ VENEZIA LINES photo ]

Length overall 35.25 mBeam 11.5mPropulsion 2x 1,920kW MWM TBD 604BV16XLift fans 2x 350kW MWM TBD 234 V8Service speed, normal 40 knotsPassengers Tourist 285 (main deck) , VIP 35 (upper saloon)

The vessels operate from six ports inCroatia and one in Slovenia to Venice andTrieste in Italy on alternate days of theweek

There's this month...Look out for the CLASSIC FAST FERRIES O c t o b e r S p e c i a l following hard on the heels on this issue

Venezia Lines introduces SESs in the north Adriatic

Documents

Classic Fast Ferries · EDITOR/PUBLISHER: TIM TIMOLEON. ... La Alta Rapido, ... the hydrofoil,