PS Ryde

PS Ryde is a paddle steamer commissioned and run by Southern Railway as a passenger ferry between mainland England and the Isle of Wight from 1937 to 1969. She saw wartime service and later became a nightclub. After many years abandoned at moorings on the River Medina, scrapping started but was halted. A group is now trying to obtain the vessel for preservation.

PS Ryde 1937 – 1939
PS Ryde was commissioned by Southern Railway in 1936 as a sister ship for PS Sandown. Costing £46,000 she was built by William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton on Clydeside. After her launch on 23 April 1937 she replaced the PS Duchess of Norfolk on the Portsmouth to Ryde Pier passenger ferry service.

HMS Ryde 1939 – 1945
In 1939 PS Ryde and PS Sandown were requisitioned by the Royal Navy. She was renamed as HMS Ryde and initially both were used as Minesweepers in the Dover Straits. After two years Ryde was converted to an anti-aircraft ship and served on the Thames Estuary and at Harwich. In May 1944 she travelled to Portsmouth from where she embarked to the Normandy coast to take part in the naval component of Operation Neptune on D-Day.

PS Ryde 1945 – 1970
Reverting to her pre-war name on her return to Southern Railway in August 1945 PS Ryde worked on her former route and undertook a variety of chartered trips. However, the nationalised British Railways began to commission more modern motor vessels and in 1969 it was decided to retire her.

Ryde Queen 1970 – 2012
Avoiding the scrap yard PS Ryde was bought by two Isle of Wight entrepreneurs and in September 1970 she began a new career as a nightclub. Renamed as the Ryde Queen she replaced the smaller PS Medway Queen in moorings at Binfield Marina on the River Medina near Newport. In 1977 she caught fire but was repaired. However, by the late 1980s her popularity waned and the nightclub was closed. She remained derelict and abandoned on her mooring gradually deteriorating. In August 2006 her funnel collapsed and she is now possibly beyond repair.

In September 2009 it appeared the vessel had been thrown a lifeline to potentially see it restored to its former glory. It was announced that enthusiasts were attempting to raise enough funds to buy the steamer which has been in the hands of receivers after her owner, Island Marina Holdings went into administration. Trustees of the PS Ryde, a not for profit company registered charity number 1135576. The main aim of the project would be for the vessel to once again be in the condition to sail across the Solent as a tourist attraction. It is estimated that this would be possible if around £7 million of funding was available. Funds of £1,000 a month for mooring fees and £600,000 for the move to a dry dock would need to be raised, with the remainder coming from National Lottery funding.

In early 2010, work began to dismantle the vessel. Firstly with asbestos removal. The Paddle Steamer Ryde Trust are attempting to save her. Owners Island Marina Holdings had been liquidated and the PS Ryde Trust are still working to negotiate a deal to save the vessel.

In 2012, the ship's bridge collapsed and is now beyond repair indefinitely. The PS Ryde Trust has failed to negotiate a deal to save the vessel and PS Ryde is now being scrapped.