TBH I have never thought that Lee on Solent was the place for these Hovercraft. As someone who remembers the original SRN2 that flew from Eastney to Ryde, I have often thought that such brilliant vessels have deserved a better fate than to be broken up....but the 'museum' in Lee is really a desolate looking, out of the way home to the X channel ferries and the other hovercraft it is home to. Given that Portsmouth Dockyard is now home to historic ships perhaps that could be extended to the 'flyers' now we have such a depleted navy requirement! Southsea is the only commercial route left for these vessels in UK so there is a definite 'connection'! There was to be an extension to the existing Southsea/ Ryde service this summer to Sandown but that has been shelved because it involves exiting the Solent into the English Channel making it too expensive!

Ideally the Princess Anne should be under cover to protect her - she has weathered the all too frequent howling gales of Lee on Solent for long enough. I agree that she should be preserved, the hovercraft was (and still is) a truly innovative vessel. As a travel agent I booked many on Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd (Ramsgate-Calais) - it would be sad to see them all disappear without a trace. I just hope they manage to keep our hovercraft running for years to come....it's still a great site seeing it coming up the ramp at Clarance Pier! Mind you...it was more spectacular when the old SRN2 first made its way up the beach at Eastney....it used to hit the pebbles and stones flew everywhere!!! They are definitely more comfortable than the vomit comets though.. I really don't like the Cats! Pity hovercraft technology hasn't really progressed further (gas guzzlers) and they are mostly only used by the military, coastguard and aid agencies...great idea!