Embassy made her first trips of the 1960 season on Saturday 2nd July running the Swanage service with departures from Bournemouth at 10.45am, 2.30pm, 4.15pm and 6pm and from Swanage at 11.30am, 3.15pm and 5pm.
On Sunday 3rd July she was scheduled to leave Poole Quay at 1pm for a Bournemouth departure at 2.30pm for an afternoon cruise giving one hour ashore at Totland Bay due back at 6.30pm. There was then an evening cruise at 7.45pm towards the Needles Lighthouse due back at 9,30pm after which she sailed back for arrival in Poole at 10.30pm.
Then from Monday to Friday she was scheduled to run to the Isle of Wight from Bournemouth at 10am and 2.30pm (3.30pm on the Thursday) to Yarmouth on Monday and Friday and to Totland Bay on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday she called each way on her positioning run from Poole at Swanage and on Monday and Friday sailed direct to Bournemouth. On Thursday there was another evening cruise, as on Sunday towards the Needles lighthouse.
The 10am departures from Bournemouth connected with a Motor Coach tour of the Isle of Wight Monday to Friday. These were very popular with up to five and sometimes six coaches waiting to collect Embassy’s passengers in the peak weeks at either Totland or Yarmouth. This excellent business model meant that Cosens could charge day trip fares for what was in effect only a three hour round trip between Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight as well as taking money for no outlay in the form of a commission from the coach companies for the island tour.
In any case most passengers preferred the shorter trip by sea and then onward around the island by road in a motor coach instead of an all day trip around the Island by sea. On the coach they got a better view of the scenery close up. They could get out at various stops to walk about. And they didn’t have the worry of the possibility of being seasick while sailing round the more exposed southern tip of the Island.
Monarch opened the season at Bournemouth on Tuesday 31st May and finished on Thursday 8th September. Embassy started on Saturday 2nd July and was scheduled to finish on Thursday 22nd September. That gave Monarch a season of fifteen weeks encompassing just short of 100 operating days. Embassy had a season of 12 weeks encompassing little more than 70 operating days. Cosens would have liked to have run on more days but by then the market was such that there was just not enough business there to justify that.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
This article was first published on 2nd July 2020.
