SAIL BACK IN TIME

Travelling with Red Funnel is more than just a way of getting to the Island – you’re setting sail on a historic route with an iconic brand seeped in history – 160 years of history to be exact!

The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited (better known as Red Funnel) was formed in 1861. In the same year Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert died, the American Civil War broke out, and Thomas Cook ran the first package holiday.

We’re the original operator to the Isle of Wight and have a distinguished and colourful history that has spanned over 160 years. In the early days of Red Funnel, we operated excursions to a variety of destinations on the Isle of Wight and along the south coast, with our impressive fleet of paddle steamers.

As changing habits and technologies (the invention of the car) brought an increased demand for holidays and travel, our fleet had to adapt to the needs of our customers with purpose-built vehicle ferries, hi-speed hydrofoils and catamarans, and most recently a dedicated freight ferry. Our first car ferries were very different to the “roll on roll off” style we sail today; all the traffic was loaded and unloaded from one end, and there was a turntable on the car deck to turn vehicles around!

We also operated a tug service out of Southampton, who were involved in towing the SS Titanic when she left the docks on her fateful maiden voyage! In the early 20th century, several of our vessels were called to support the Armed Forces in World War I & II, assisting in various campaigns including the evacuation at Dunkirk.