MV Cowes Castle

Ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Company and built at their Woolston shipyards, she was launched, on 11 November 1965, by the Governor of the Isle of Wight, Lady Brabourne, daughter of Lord Mountbatten of Burma.[1] The third member of the company's Castle class, she was an improved version of the 1962 built Osborne Castle.

As originally built, she was 191 ft 2 in (58.27 m) long with a beam of 42 ft (13 m) and a capacity of 786 GT.[2] Two Crossley Premier diesel engines driving twin screws gave her a maximum speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).[3] She had a bow ramp for loading at slipways at each end of the route and side doors for loading from the pontoon at Cowes.

In September 1975, it was decided to convert her and her sister ship, Norris Castle, to drive through operation. Along with an increase in length, this increased her capacity by 25 to 30 cars.[1] The conversion was carried out by Boele of Rotterdam and she reentered service on 15 December. After conversion, her length was increased to 221 feet (67 m) and her capacity to 912 GT. She was licensed to carry a maximum of 866 passengers and 65 cars or 22 lorries.[4]

A gate was fitted at the stern, allowing her to utilise the link span at Southampton. She would load over the stern at Southampton and over the bow at East Cowes. A bow thruster was fitted in February 1976. Before this, she occasionally had trouble berthing at Southampton in high winds and was often assisted by the small tug, Bonchurch.[1]

In addition to her normal service operations, Cowes Castle undertook charter cruises, along with her sister ships. A regular event was the cruise to watch the firework display at the end of Cowes Week. She was also used as the venue for the annual general meetings of the company, moored at Royal Pier. On 16 May 1969 she was used for sightseeing cruises around Spithead for the 20th Anniversary revue of the NATO fleet by Elizabeth II.[2]

• Simplon Postcards