THE CAPTAIN of Mudeford Ferry has hailed the “phenomenal” response their ghost ship cruises as hundreds of visitors join tours of the large ships off the coast of Bournemouth beach.
Having started their tours in June, Mudeford Ferry take customers on a two-and-a-half-hour voyage out to the ship, sailing within 50 metres of some of the vessels.
The ferry’s captain Paul Derham, uses his intimate knowledge of the cruise industry to entertain his customers, having travelled the world as a deputy captain for P&O Cruises and worked on the Aurora cruise ship.
He said: “When we came out of stage two, we found that our ferries weren’t as busy as we thought they would be.
“So as an additional service, we started doing tours of the cruise ships anchored off the Bournemouth coast.
“I had previously worked at P&O cruises for 27 years so when I saw my old ship, the Aurora, out in the bay, I got in touch with the captain about doing tours of the boat.”
After suggesting two ‘ghost ship’ tours on the Mudeford Ferry Facebook page, Paul was inundated with messages and requests to join, forcing him to add to add extra dates.
The capacity on the ferries has been reduced from 80 to 30 to conform with social distancing rules.
In the first week of cruises, all four tours from Monday through to Thursday were filled within four hours.
The popular tours are dependent on weather conditions, tides and how busy the Mudeford Ferry is, as Paul is continuing to prioritise the original ferry service over the trips to the cruise ships.
He added: “The interest in the tours has been phenomenal that the only for us to manage it is for us to put out a post on our Facebook page at 8am when the weather is appropriate about the tours and ask for people to call us to find out if there is availability.
“The tours are two and a half hours long and most of time, they end in a round of applause from customers.
“It is good because I have that connection with P&O so for people who are interested, I tell them a bit about life of the boat and anecdotes from my days on the ship.”
To book on the tours, refer to the Mudeford Ferry Facebook page for tours and call 07968 33 44 41 for availability.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel