Sandbanks Ferry

Sandbanks Ferry is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the entrance of Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. The route runs from Sandbanks to Studland and in doing so connects the coastal parts of the towns of Bournemouth and Poole with Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck. This avoids a 25-mile journey by road on a return trip.

The ferry, along with the road that connects with it on the Studland side, is owned by the Bournemouth - Swanage Motor Road and Ferry Company, which initiated the ferry crossing in 1923, and a toll is charged for use of both road and ferry. The current toll for a car is £4.10 each way. The current ferry boat, named Bramble Bush Bay, was put into service in 1994 and can carry up to 48 cars. It is the fourth vessel to operate on the route.

The entrance to Poole Harbour is a particularly busy waterway, used by many private and leisure craft along with commercial vessels including large ferries serving routes to France. This often affects the ability of the ferry to maintain its nominal 20 minute frequency. More Bus cross the ferry frequently throughout the day, on route 50 from Bournemouth to Swanage.

The ferry operates from 7am until 11pm 364 days per year, and 8am until 6pm on Christmas Day. The normal service sees a departure every 20 minutes from each terminal, however a shuttle service operates at busy times to clear the queues. The service operates as normal in the vast majority of weathers, but very occasionally the service is suspended during exceptionally severe storms, or due to mechanical problems, or when large heath fires break out near to its southern terminal. Also, it is typically suspended for refit once every two years, usually for a fortnight in November.

Although the ferry itself has a good safety record, there have been several incidents involving its passage across the harbour entrance.

On 29 August 1976 a 14-foot sailing dinghy was driven into the side of the ferry by the outgoing tidal run following an engine failure. Although two of the occupants were pulled to safety the third occupant, a sixteen-year-old girl was unable to be pulled clear before the dinghy was pulled under the ferry by the current. She was able to free herself from the wrecked boat only to become trapped under the ferry in an air pocket beneath the bow ramp. She was subsequently rescued by her father, one of the dinghy crew who against advice, attached a rope around his waist and went under the ferry where he was able to locate the trapped girl, pulling her out and saving her life.

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Wikipedia