![]() ![]() Unfortunately the service, and the last attempt at a commercial local commuter hydrofoil service ended dramatically when they were both destroyed by a Brazilian passenger liner turning for Greenwich Buoys. Where the departure and destination points were near the Thames, the hydrofoil taxis were generally faster than a cab in road traffic. On a demonstration run against the tide it made the journey from West India Dock pier to Westminster pier – about 5 1/2 miles – in only 12 minutes, making 27.5mph or 23.9kts. Hydrofoil Taxi – 1978Ĭatamaran Cruises Limited started operating a Thames taxi service from West India Dock pier in Spring 1978 using two Russian Volga 275 hydrofoils, a later version of Herbert Snowball’s personal hydrofoil the Hydro Ski 1, which carried five passengers and the pilot at up to 30 knots. His three younger children, who were sent to boarding school the year before, arrived home for their Easter holiday to find everything in the hotel gone, and their father now living in a caravan. Katherine’s Dock, and because he had put up The Clarendon Hotel in Shanklin as collateral, lost that too. Not only did he lose the hydrofoils and the London lifestyle, he lost his flat in The Ivory House in St. The bankruptcy of Airavia Ltd left Snowball heartbroken. The hydrofoils were sold back to Poland and the Soviet Union in 1977, and Airavia Ltd was liquidated that December. The Kometa hydrofoil service was also uneconomic, and the Russian hydrofoils stopped operating after 10th September 1976.Īiravia had operated the Raketa service for just as long as the Hoverservices HM.2s between similar piers, and without any grants. Services continued, but he had lost his millions. In addition, the summer tourist season was not enough to support the service year round – tourist numbers dropped off dramatically in autumn and winter with the cold, wet Thames becoming a deterrent to sightseers.īy March 1976, Snowball was bankrupt. Inflation and weariness of backing another money pit were the likely reasons. Unfortunately, by the time that Airavia launched its service, the GLC was no longer in a position to assist financially or otherwise, such as pushing for integration of hydrofoils with London Transport services. If you have symptoms of coronavirus stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days.įor information about coronavirus please click here.Raketa in front of HMS Belfast. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We would be grateful if you can be patient and not contact us regarding your order before these times are up so we can reduce the pressure on our customer service team. ![]() Please also note that postal services and couriers are experiencing similar challenges so please allow longer delivery times than usual. Unfortunately it is currently taking a little longer to process and dispatch orders than usual, so please allow 2-3 working days for shipment. We are working exceptionally hard to process orders and respond to customer enquiries as quickly as possible. Please note that we are receiving a particularly high volume of orders, enquiries, telephone calls and emails. We are continuing to work in these challenging times so that we can serve the needs of our customers. In these unprecedented times due to COVID-19 we are listening to the latest advice from the government and their health specialists. CLOSE An important message from Express Chemist ![]()
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