Saving Swiftsure: Bid to return fondly remembered ferry to North Devon waters

A local campaign has managed to raise almost £3,000 so far to return the former Appledore to Instow ferry back to the area.

The 26 foot passenger ferry Swiftsure was built for the Johns family by Hinks shipyard in Appledore and between 1951 and 2011 it provided the only ferry service linking Appledore and Instow.

For 60 years, Swiftsure was a local icon, ferrying thousands of visitors and locals between the two villages. Many people will have memories of chugging across the river with Norman Johns at the wheel.

The boat was sold to a ferry operator on the Isle of Wight in 2011, where it was used as a water taxi. However, the current owner has ceased operating and now plans to scrap it.

Appledore man Jason Le Masurier has been fundraising to preserve the ferry and he said it would be a tragedy for the Swiftsure to be scrapped.

Above: Jason Le Masurier with the campaign poster for the return of the historic Appledore to Instow ferry. Credit: Liz Le Masurier

He added: “We are aiming to raise £4,000 to transport, store and begin renovation of the boat so that it can hopefully be returned to use. She will be temporarily stored and renovated at a farm in Instow.

“When I was a kid, after a day of learning how to sail with the yacht club cadets, Norman would always wait for me if he saw me running from the yacht club to catch the ferry at Instow quay.”

Another resident, Nancy Murgatroyd, said: “I grew up in Instow and the ferry was part of our lives.”

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Local man Frank Bayley recalled how he used the ferry regularly back in the late 1950s and 60s to travel from Instow to Appledore to visit his gran and the rest of the family.

If you would like to donate towards the campaign to save Swiftsure you can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-swiftsurethe-original-appledoreinstow-ferry-back-home