Classic Fast Ferries · article in the June 2002 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES. this year. However, ... an Italian airship designer, ... The vessel's maximum speed was well

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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:HTTP://CLASSICFASTFERRIES.GO.TO 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 : THE SOLE RODRIQUEZ MEC 1 (MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY CRAFT) BUILT BEING PREPARED FOR SERVICE ATTHE SHIPYARD IN MESSINA IN JUNE 1992. TURN TO PAGE 9 FOR MORE [TIM TIMOLEON PHOTO]

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Fast Flying Ferries carries 1,000.000th

passengerLast month saw a landmark in the historyof Dutch operator Connexxion FastFlying Ferries. On April 10th the company,which operates three new 79-seatVoskhod-2M hydrofoils built by theMorye Feodosiya Shipbuilding in theUkraine between Velsen-Zuid and centralAmsterdam, carried its one millionthrevenue passenger. The young lady whobought the historic ticket from the ticketbooth in Amsterdam, Paulien vanLeeuwen, received an extra welcome inthe shape of flowers and a free monthlypass to the hydrofoil by ticket clerk

Henny Ravensteijn and FFF Unit ManagerPeter Eijer as well as the captains TheoBakker and Cor Blok. Later in the month, on April 28th, thecompany celebrated its fifth anniversary onthe route, on which occasion the threeVoskhods, which had carried the yardnumbers as temporary names since theirdelivery in May, August and October lastyear, were expected to have been finallygiven proper names by the Netherlands'Prins Willem Alexander.

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Fast Flying Ferries' passenger number one millionth receives a special welcome aboard Voskhod 604 by captainsCor Blok (right) and Theo Bakker in Amsterdam on April 10th. On the far left is FFF Unit Manager Peter Eijer

CONNEXXION FAST FLYING FERRIES photo

by Theo Bakker

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WaveMaster completes monohull for Ustica LinesCorrecting some of the info given inour April issue, the newbuild for Italianoperator Ustica Lines then underconstruction in Australia is a monohulland not a catamaran. Not counting thecompany's eight hydrofoils, which willincrease to nine later this month withthe arrival of a fourth Foilmaster, this isUstica Lines' first monohull.

The new vessel has been built byWaveMaster International inHenderson, Western Australia. To allappearance it is of the yard's 37.6mdesign and very similar to six unitsdelivered to Singapore in 2001/02. Asthis issue closed for press vesselspecifications had yet to reach us. The monohull has been named

Gianluca M. This name was previouslycarried by one of the operator'sKværner Fjellstrand FlyingCat 40mcatamarans which was transferred tothe Canary Islands and renamed lastyear. Gianluca M will be operated on anew international route this summerlinking Trapani in north-west Sicily andHammamet, Tunisia.

T O P +L E F T :WaveMasterInternational37.6m monohullGianluca M forItaly's UsticaLines at theFremantle BoatLifters premisesearly last month[ MARTIN GRIMMphoto, both ]


Exactly 30 years after it wasdelievered, Norway's lastWestamaran 86 catamaran inscheduled service, Kongsbussen, wassold off by PartrederietKystekspressen last month. The salefollowed closely to the disposal inMarch of another Kystekspressencatamaran, Fjellstrand 38.8m Ternen,reported on in our April issue. The W86 had been on the marketfor about a year and has beenacquired by a Swedish shippingcompany based in Stockholm, GustavMyrsten. This company currentlyowns another former Norwegian fastferry which is being used on aseasonal service between Nynäshamnon mainland Sweden and the Balticislands of Gotska Sandön and Gotland.However, the vessel, a Fjellstrand 26mmonohull originally delivered toSimon Møkster, Norway in 1981,Gotska Sandön, is no longer beingoperated as a fast ferry. Gustav Myrsten has previously beeninvolved in the fast ferry scene,including across the Gulf of Finlandbetween Helsinki and Tallinn and onSweden's west coast, but as this issueclosed for press it had not beenconfirmed for what route or task theW86 is intended. Kongsbussen was delivered byWestermoen Hydrofoil to FosenTrafikklag, Trondheim in April 1973. In1994 the catamaran was transferredto a newly established company,Partrederiet Kystekspressen, jointlyowned by Fosen and Møre ogRomsdal Fylkesbåtar, based at Moldeand more recently trading as fjord 1. For a history on Kongsbussen, seearticle in the June 2002 CLASSIC FASTFERRIES.

this year. However, the inaugurationhas had to be pushed forward toaround midsummer due mainly tothe refurbishing of the vessel whichhas proved more extensive and thustaking longer than first anticipated. Itwas decided to have this workcarried out by a shipyard in Victoria,Vancouver Island rather than in thePhilippines. Prior to being acquired by Har-

bourLynx/NanaimoHarbour LinkCorporation last year, the catamaranhad been laid up sitting in the water inthe Philippines for nearly two yearswhich had caused some damage tothe hulls. Another major work hasbeen that of the vessel's engineswhich were sent to Detroit Diesel inKamloops for a complete overhaul.Also being done are upgrading ofsafety features to comply with

Norwegian Westamaran 86 emigrates

A B O V E : Westamaran 86 Kongsbussen alongside at Trondheim in April last year . . .

[ PIETER INPIJN photo ]

. . . and in Stockholm same time this year [ ANDERS AHLERUP photo ]

A new catamaran service in BritishColumbia, Canada is expected to getunderway sometime next month.Operated by HarbourLynx, a privatelyowned company based in Nanaimo,and linking Nanaimo on VancouverIsland and downtown Vancouver, theformer Philippine Kværner FjellstrandSingapore Flying Cat 40m catamaranwas initially to have been introducedon the route in the first quarter of

Catamaran to re-enter service in western Canada


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T u r n t o f i n d o u t w h a t t h i s i s . . .

A B O V E : HarbourLynx's KFSingapore Flying Cat 40m catamaranarrived in Canada from the Philippines inJanuary [ HARBOUR LYNX photo ]

lift ship and arrived in British Columbiaon January 16th .

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trips will be operated Monday–Thursdayand Sunday/Holiday, four on Friday andtwo on Saturday. Scheduled trip time forthe 37 nautical mile route is 75 minutes. Originally delivered in 1997 to NegrosNavigation, the 300-seat catamaran, Angelof Freedom, left Cebu, the Philippines onDecember 28th 2002 on board a heavy

Canadian Coast Guard regulation, newcarpeting and seat covers as well as a fullnew paint job. During the main season, mid-May tomid-October, four round trips a day bythe yet to be renamed vessel are beingtimetabled between 06:45 and 21:30.During the rest of the year three round

SUPRAMAR AG photo


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n 15th May 1953 the Swiss-Italian lake of Lago Maggiore saw the birth of a new age inpassenger transportation on water – the fast ferry.On that day a small 30-seat hydrofoil of theSupramar PT.10 type, Freccia d'Oro, commenced aregular passenger service between Locarno,Switzerland and Stresa, Italy. Incidentally, Lago Maggiore was also the placewhere forty-seven years earlier, in 1906, EnricoForlanini, an Italian airship designer, experimentedwith a small hydrofoil boat having a displacementof 1.65t and submerged foils (the Supramar PT.10was of the surface-piercing V type) and which waspowered by a 75hp engine. But the time was notyet mature for this novel type of craft and it wouldtake almost half a century from the beginning ofdeveloping the hydrofoil technology until itscommercial break-through. The long period ofrealization was to a great extent due to the non-availability of suitable propulsion engines.

The PT.10 was the first commercial product ofthe newly formed Swiss company Supramar AG,which, under the leadership of Baron Hanns vonSchertel, had gathered the experts in hydrofoiltechnology and development from post-warGermany in Switzerland. The hydrofoil was built bya small shipyard at Lake Lucerne, very near to theSupramar headquarters, at Hergiswil. It had alength of 14.2m, displacement of approximately10t and was built from wood, with high-tensilesteel foils. It was powered by a Daimler Benz typeMB 507 D diesel engine delivering 800hp. At thetime this was the only light-weight engine availablewhich suited the requirements for propelling ahydrofoil. The vessel's maximum speed was wellabove 40 knots. For two summer seasons, i.e. in 1953 and 1954,Freccia d'Oro was operated daily under themanagements of Navigazione Lago Maggiore and alocal railway company. NLM's first own hydrofoil, a

It is exactly fifty years ago this month that the roadfor today's plethora of fast ferries started to get paved


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Supramar PT.20 built by the Rodriquez shipyard inItaly, did not enter service until ten years later

though, in 1964. However, by that time anotherPT.20 had already been in service on Lake Garda

for six years. As can be imagined, there were a lot of teething

troubles with the novel craft and Supramartechnicians had some exciting night jobs to execute

in order to secure the uninterrupted service byFreccia d'Oro the following day. Tourists were

attracted by the fast and smooth – although a bitnoisy – ride, during which they could inhale the

beauty of Lake Maggiore through the panoramicwindows of the glass-top passenger cabin.

At season's end in 1954 the hydrofoil wasbrought back to Lake Lucerne where it would

serve as a test and demonstration craft forSupramar for a number of years. Following this the


foils were removed and the vessel used as atraditional displacement craft by a hotel on theLake for its guests. Nothing remains of the firstPT.10 today though; it was scrapped in the late60s. Shortly after the inauguration of Freccia d'Oroon Lake Maggiore, Carlo Rodriquez visited theservice and was fascinated by what he saw. Beingan ahead-looking engineer and businessman, hestarted the construction, at his own risk, of thefirst PT.20 hydrofoil at the Messina workshopunder license to and with the technical know-how of Supramar AG. A Supramar engineer washired to supervise construction. The prototypePT.20, Freccia del Sole, was launched in 1956. It would be a few more years before the icewas finally broken for the commercial hydrofoiland, as they say, the rest is history. But theSupramar PT.10 Freccia d'Oro was no doubt astarting point and May 1953 a date worth toremember. n

A detailed story on the Lago Maggiore hydrofoiloperation past and present appeared in theMay/June 2001 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES


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n interesting hydrofoil that does not look like any of the others from Rodriquez Cantieri Navali,particularly at a closer look, is the MaximumEfficiency Craft, MEC 1. Launched in 1991, the big difference between thisand the well-known PT and RHS craft is that thedesign does not have the traditional shaftingbetween a centrally positioned power plant and thepropellers at the aft foil. Instead it uses hydrostatictransmission technology. A pair of rear mountedMWM TBD 604B V8 diesels power a RexrothHydromarine propulsion system made up ofhydraulic pumps and motors, fitted at the base of thecentral struts of the aft foil, each of which directlydrives a tractor propeller on the leading edge.Resulting from this untraditional rear-most locationof the main engines is that, contrary to all otherRodriquez hydrofoils on which the bow foil carriesmost of the craft's weight while underway, around65 per cent of the MEC 1 is supported by the aftfoil, the rest by the bow foil. Also, interiorwise thisoffers the advantage of one big uninterruptedpassenger saloon on lower deck rather than the twosmaller ones each side of the engine room onprevious vessels.

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A B O V E : Lookingsomewhat worn and missing a

few important parts, the soleRodriquez MEC 1, MEC Ustica,is seen here in Napoli on March20th 2003. Note design and size

of the bow foil[ LEONARDO LELLA photo ]

L E F T : Then the future forthe untraditional hydrofoil designlooked much brighter when this

photo was taken eleven yearsago during trials off Messina in

1992


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Both foils have hydraulically controlled trailingedge flaps that are connected to a seakeepingaugumentation controller developed by RodriquezElectronics. Incorporated into the vertical struts ofthe rear foil are trailing edge rudders. In fact, the MEC 1 could have been even moredifferent from the rest in the Rodriquez family ofhydrofoils, which all feature surface-piercing foils ofthe V or W type, had the initial plans of replacingthe original canard configured surface piercing foilsystem with a fully submerged one as part of theexperiments materialized. With a length overall of 25m and maximumpassenger capacity of just under 150, the twin-deckMEC 1 is a medium-size hydrofoil for short andmedium range routes. At the time of itsappearance the only other hydrofoil models

officially in the Sicilian yard's product catalog werethe 31.2m 210-seat RHS 160F, which would bereplaced in 1994 by the Foilmaster and whichbasically is an updated and restyled version of theformer, and the 35.8m 254-passenger RHS 200,however, none of which had been delivered since1984. In a commuter configuration the MEC 1 wouldhave 110 seats in a main saloon on lower deck, atthe rear of which are also the vessel's two toilets,and 36 seats in an upper saloon behind thewheelhouse, which is not raised on this design. Inthe less cramped standard version for 110passengers there would be 90 and 20 seatsrespectively, allowing for luggage areas to be fitted.The vessel is air conditioned throughout. The test program started in early 1992 in the

There is one big undivided downstairs saloon on the MEC 1rather than two smaller ones – one advantage of the mainengines being located aft on the MEC 1 rather than amidshipsas on all other Rodriquez hydrofoil designs

The bridge on the MEC 1


Straits of Messina and continued over the nextfew months. The summer was spent preparingthe vessel for service with Aliscafi-SNAV acrossthe Straits between Reggio di Calabria onmainland Italy and Messina, and included thefitting out of the passenger areas and a completeexterior paint job. Incidentally, still in 1992 SNAV had six of theconsiderably smaller PT.20 hydrofoils of late 50sto mid-60s vintage on its roster which it used onthe classic Messina–Reggio commuter route andelsewhere in Sicily. Fitted out for 120 passengers the vesselentered service in October as MEC Ustica.Having previously been an anonymous all-white,or un-painted if you wish, the hydrofoil nowsported an extremely well thought-out and verybecoming paint scheme of bright red, black andwhite making it one of the best-ever lookinghydrofoils since the early days. Red is considereda 'fast' color (remember Ferrari?) and so this wasa fortunate choice and should be used moreoften on hydrofoils and other fast ferries.Unfortunately, while indeed experimenting withvarious color schemes including different shadesof green, red and even beige (however not onthe same vessel!), SNAV did not adopt this newand attractive design as a standard for its fleet.Although, in fairness, the first Foilmaster whichwas originally to have been delivered to SNAV

just made it to receive a very similar paint job tothat of MEC Ustica – before the contract wasaltered and the vessel went to Siremar insteadand was repainted in the house colors of thiscompany. In more recent years the SNAV fleetof hydrofoils and catamarans has been painted aless exciting dark blue and white which doesnothing to enhance the usually nice lines of thehydrofoils (or camouflage those parts that maynot be) or to honor the designers at Rodriquezwho developed them. The nice exterior was followed-up on on theinside where red and white dominated. Seats inthe main saloon were arranged in three rowsrather than two down the sides with a centralaisle, as on the standard versions, giving the cabina more airy feel.

L E F T : Thenice exterior is

followed up on onthe inside where

red and whitedominate.

Compare thisview with the oneon opposite page(p. 10) of the raw,unfurnished main

saloon

B E L O W : The vessel entered service withAliscafi-SNAV across the Straits of Messina inOctober 1992 as MEC Ustica. Red is considered a'fast' color and should be used more often onhydrofoils and other fast ferries!


But the Maximum Efficiency Craft project gotpuffed somewhere along the line and a plannedlarger MEC 3 design featuring a fully submergedfoil system never got off the runway. MEC Usticaappears to have been idling for far more hoursthan it has been operating during the elevenplus years that have passed since the trialscommenced in January 1992. While no longerincluded on SNAV's fleet list of active craft, theobviously non-standard vessel is still owned by

the company. For the past two years at least MEC Ustica hasbeen sitting in a maintenance yard in Napoli.Then earlier this year the rather worn lookinghydrofoil was moved to Napoli's commercialharbor where it is currently anchored acrossfrom Molo Beverello, the landing point for all theconventional and a lot of the fast ferriesoperating to and from Capri, Ischia, Sorrento andother points in the Bay of Naples. n

Fresh out of the paint shop the MEC 1 is being prepared for service with Aliscafi-SNAV in the Rodriquez shipyard in September 1992

R I G H T : Close-up of the rear foil/shaftlessdesign on MEC 1, andB E L O W : MEC 1 profile and generalarrangement


Although the Kystekspressen W86catamaran Kongsbussen was the last tooperate a timetabled, albeit not verystrenous, service in Norway beforebeing sold in Sweden last month (seepage 4), there are still a couple ofWestamarans left in the country. Twoof these were alongside at Bergen atthe end of April, Westamaran 86sStarcruise and Miljødronningen. Starcruise (photo above) wasoriginally delivered by Westamarin inSeptember1975 to Øygarden & SotraRutelag as Øygar for operation in theBergen area. In 1986 it was acquiredby Hardanger Sunnhordlandske D/S,also in Bergen, and renamed Teisten asthis name had become available withthe withdrawal from service of thecompany's PT.50 hydrofoil. Thecatamaran was disposed of by HSD inJune 1995 and extensively refurbishedduring the following spring, includinghaving large forward facing panoramicwindows fitted, and renamedStarcruise. It is being used as a chartervessel and on tourist excursions on

the Geiranger, Hardanger and Sognefiords during the summer months. Miljødronningen (below) was originallynamed Fjorddronningen. Delivered inJanuary 1976 this entered service innorthern Norway with Troms FylkesD/S. It was renamed Fjorddronningen IInine years later with the arrival of a new

Fjorddronningen to TFDS and sold in1996 to an environmental organization,Norsk Miljøvernforbund, which was touse it as an exhibition vessel along thecoastline. The project appears to havecome to a stand-still however. Allfixtures in the passenger saloon hasbeen removed.

The other Westamarans

TERJE MOEN photo

TERJE MOEN photo


(cont'd from page 2)

However, the Prince had to cancel theengagement and as this issue closed forpress Connexxion FFF was finding anew date for the naming ceremony. Following successful trials on August26th 1997 with a Meteor hydrofoil, FastFlying Ferries commenced operationbetween Pontplein in Velsen, nearIJmuiden, and Amsterdam Centralstation on April 27th 1998. This was thefirst such waterborne commuter servicein the Netherlands. The time inbetween was used to extensivelyrebuild three used Voskhod-2s, likewiseacquired in the Ukraine, at the Metzshipyard at Urk on the IJsselmeer. Thesehad previously served on the Black Seabut had been laid up in Odessa for anumber of years. The hydrofoils entered service withFFF as Annemarie, Kusnirov and PrinsJohan Friso, however, two of them were

later renamed. By the end of 2001 the hydrofoilshad proved themselves and becomevery successful. Averaging 700passengers a day – a figure whichcontinued to grow throughout 2002 –this was well above what was requiredto break even and it was decided tohave the original Voskhod-2s replacedby three new ones of the Voskhod-2Mtype, the unfinished hulls of which werealready sitting in the Morye shipyard.This was a perfect opportunity for FastFlying Ferries to have the vesselscustom-built to a great extent, and thusthe type is also being referred to as theVoskhod-2M-FFF. The 2M is a seagoing variant of theVoskhod-2 with a heavier hull andlarger foils (which are also bettercorrosion resistant) resulting in betterstability and thus a smoother ride.

Other differences include smaller andfewer windows of real glass, withaluminum framing, as opposed to theplexiglass ones used on the Voskhod-2 and a bigger wheelhouse. The hydrofoils are operated everyday of the week. On Monday–Fridaythe first service departs VelsenZuid at06:30 and the last connection is fromAmsterdam, at pier 7 just behind theCentral station, at 19:30. Between06:30 and 10:00 and 15:30 and 19:30a hydrofoil leaves every 30 minutes,during the rest of the day thefrequency is hourly. On Saturday,Sunday and public holidays a 60-minute frequency applies all daybetween 09:30 (from Velsen) and18:00 (from Amsterdam). Scheduledtrip time is 25 minutes, with a five-minute turnround, which is the fastesttravel between the two points.

Fast Flying Ferries carries . . .

. . . and Mahart buys FFF MeteorAnother recent Connexxion FFFdevelopment was the sale at the end ofMarch of the company's first hydrofoil,Meteor Prins Willem Alexander, toHungarian operator Mahart PassNaveShipping. The Meteor, which had been on themarket for some time, was acquired inLatvia in 1995 and used on tourist trips

on the IJsselmeer in 1996–97 beforethe introduction in May 1998 of theVelsen–Amsterdam commuter route. The yet to be shipped and renamed120-seat hydrofoil will join Mahart'sexisting fleet of one Meteor, fourVoskhod and four Polesye hydrofoils onthe Danube and will mainly be used onthe company's international route

between the Hungarian and Austriancapitals of Budapest and Vienna. FFF's three original Voskhod-2s,Annemarie, Archimedes and La AltaRapido, plus a 54-seat Polesyeacquired by the company last year,Meteoor II, have also been put up forsale following the introduction intoservice of the new Voskhod-2Ms.

PIETER INPIJN photo


Western Canada . . .(cont'd from page 5)

This is not the first time withKværner Fjellstrand catamarans inthe area. In 1991 the Norwegianshipyard, then part of the Kværnergroup, established an operatingcompany, Kværner FjellstrandShipping, and transferred threeFlying Cats to western Canada thefollowing year. Two of theseentered service in February 1992with Royal Sealink Expressbetween Vancouver and Victoriaand the third some five monthslater with Nanaimo Express onthe current Nanaimo–Vancouverroute, operating a similar scheduleto that of HarbourLynx of eightservices a day. However,passenger response wasdisappointing and both routeswere closed down in 1993.

Red Funnel, the long time operatorof conventional and fast ferriesbased at Southampton, U.K., will betaking delivery of its fourth high-speed catamaran later this month. A pair of FBM Marine 31mcatamarans, Red Jet 1 and Red Jet 2,entered service on the company'scross–Solent route betweenSouthampton and Cowes, Isle ofWight in 1991 and these werejoined in 1998 by a larger restyled

33m design, Red Jet 3, also built byFBM. The arrival of this meant thefinal goodbye to the company'sremaining pair of Rodriquez RHS 70hydrofoils. Red Funnel had beenoperating hydrofoils alongside itstraditional tonnage since 1969. The new vessel, Red Jet 4, wasdesigned and built by North West BayShips of Tasmania and is bigger still. Ithas a full length of 39m and passengercapacity of 275.

A low wash catamaran, it iscurrently on its way, as deck cargo,from Tasmania to England whereit is expected to arrive at thebeginning of this month. There willbe inspection and demonstrationrun arrangements for guests heldat the Red Funnel Southamptonterminal on May 15th and 16th . NWBS designs and builds adiverse range of aluminum craft,including catamarans, typically of25–50m in length, trimarans andmotor yachts. The company'smain shipbuilding hall allows forthe simultaneous construction oftwo multi-hull vessels to 70mlength overall.

Red Funnel introduces 39m catamaran

The new Red Funnel 39m catamaran Red Jet 4 under construction at North West Bay Ships inTasmania earlier this year

[ NORTH WEST BAY SHIPS photo ]

L E F T : NWBS 39mcatamaran Red Jet 4 beingprepared for shipment fromTasmania to UnitedKingdom last month. It isexpected to be lowered ontoSouthampton waters inearly May[ NORTH WEST BAY SHIPS photo ]


Whilewe're

waiting forEttore M

. . . we can enjoy this nice shot taken only recently ofthe Foilmaster which was delivered by Rodriquez toUstica Lines last year, Natalie M . The new one,Ettore M , is expected to enter service with thesteadily growing operator later this month, and willbring the number of Foilmasters to four and totalnumbers of hydrofoils owned by the company to nine.

RODRIQUEZ CANTIERI NAVALI photo

n o t s o

Documents

Classic Fast Ferries · article in the June 2002 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES. this year. However, ... an Italian airship designer, ... The vessel's maximum speed was well