UPDATED: Britain’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is set to sail up the Solent and enter her new home in Portsmouth on Wednesday morning (16th August).
The 65,000-tonne carrier, the biggest warship ever to be built in Britain, has been undergoing sea trials since setting sail from Scotland’s Rosyth dockyard in June.
She is now set to make her historic arrival into Portsmouth on Wednesday at approximately 07:10 where she will be the latest in a long line of famous Royal Navy ships to call the port home.
It was initially indicated that the carrier would enter Portsmouth on Friday, but weather conditions meant the exact date of the historic moment could not be confirmed until today.
Islanders are expected to gather on Ryde Esplanade to witness the historic moment.
UPDATE TUESDAY: It has been confirmed that HMS Queen Elizabeth will approach Portsmouth Harbour from the Eastern Solent via the Nab Tower (off Culver Down) at 05:50 and reach the Outer Spit Buoy at 06:50. Arrival at the harbour entrance will be at 07:10 and the carrier is due alongside at the Royal Naval Dockyard at 07:25.
Tomorrow’s arrival at Portsmouth will be accompanied by a flypast of Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, plus Hawk jets of 736 NAS from Culdrose.
Assuming good visibility in the morning, the Isle of Wight offers an ideal viewing platform, as HMS Queen Elizabeth sails past the eastern side of the Island.
Recommended viewing points:
• Sandown Bay
• Culver Down.
• Foreland (Bembridge)
• Seaview – Duver Road and Springvale Road
• Puckpool Park
• Appley Walk
• North Walk
• Ryde Seafront
Wightlink have confirmed that they have cancelled the 06:47 catamaran sailing from Ryde Pier and the 07:15 from Portsmouth. In addition, the cross-Solent operator will be running a revise car ferry timetable tomorrow, details of which can be found at https://www.wightlink.co.uk/go/service-status/.
Hovertravel will be running at slightly different times to the normal timetable, as announced yesterday.
