Solent Heritage Charters
Where History Left Harbour
Step aboard the RIB "EmMa" and become part of a story that spans generations. Her name honours: Edward Emery, a torpedoman aboard HMS King George V who helped sink the Bismarck in 1941; his wife Violet Emery, who served her country as a Wren in the Women's Royal Naval Service; and Martin Mayer, a Jewish businessman from Mainz, Germany, whose family firm was seized by the Nazis — a man who escaped to England, joined the British Army, and after D-Day was stationed in Normandy, from where he set out to find the daughter he had been separated from for six years. Together, their courage, sacrifice and resilience represent the very best of the generation that shaped the waters you are about to explore.
Eighty years ago, the greatest seaborne operation in history assembled on these very waters. Our scheduled heritage charters put you right on them — fast, comfortable RIB passages through the places where it happened, with a skipper who knows every ship, every signal and every story. Small groups of ten, seats bookable online in under a minute. Every voyage aboard The Emery Mayer is a tribute not only to the memory of Edward, Violet and Martin, but to all those who have given their lives in service of freedom — in conflicts past, present and those yet to come. As we navigate the Solent, past the same shores from which thousands departed for the beaches of Normandy, we invite you to reflect, to remember, and to celebrate the enduring spirit that defines this extraordinary stretch of water.
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Southampton Water D-Day Heritage Tour
In the spring of 1944, Southampton Water was the beating heart of the greatest seaborne operation in history. More than three million men passed through this port on their way to Normandy; the docks never slept, the shoreline bristled with embarkation hards, and the water you'll travel carried an army to France. This two-hour RIB tour puts you on that water — not looking at history through glass, but crossing it at speed. And it isn't only D-Day. This is the water where the Spitfire was born, where Lawrence of Arabia hid from fame among the fast rescue boats, where flying boats raced for the Schneider Trophy, and where a secret house among the trees trained the agents who dropped into occupied Europe. Ten stories, ten waypoints, one unforgettable stretch of water — told by a skipper who knows every one of them, to a group never larger than ten.
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From our berth at Ocean Village we slip up the River Itchen to Woolston, where the Supermarine works built the first Spitfires, then cross the head of the water past Town Quay and the Western Docks, the embarkation port itself.
Down the western shore, Marchwood was the military port where sections of the Mulberry Harbours were built, the prefabricated invasion ports the Allies towed across the Channel to Normandy; at Hythe you'll hear how an RAF aircraftman called Shaw, better known as Lawrence of Arabia helped develop the high-speed launches that plucked downed airmen from the Channel.
Then the throttles open for the first fast leg, down to Calshot Spit, where we hold beneath the old flying-boat station to tell the story of RAF Calshot and the Schneider Trophy races. Along the New Forest shore at Lepe and the Beaulieu River entrance, the tour reaches its quietest and most remarkable chapter: abandoned Mulberry caissons on the beach, HMS Mastodon hidden at Exbury, and the Special Operations Executive's finishing school for secret agents upriver.
The run home crosses to the Hamble home of the Attagirls, the women ferry pilots who delivered Spitfires to the front line then passes Netley's vast Royal Victoria Military Hospital and the embarkation hards of Weston Shore, where the traces of 1944 can still be seen, before returning to Ocean Village.
Two-hour guided RIB tour with live commentary at every waypoint, your RYA commercially endorsed skipper, lifejacket, and a full safety briefing. Maximum ten guests, so every seat has a clear view and every question gets answered.
Up to 2 hours · From £45 per seat · Max 10 guests · Departs Ocean Village Marina
Up to 2 hours · From £65 per seat · Max 10 guests · Departs Ocean Village Marina
Our Location
2 Channel Way, Ocean Village Marina, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3TG
Pay-and-display parking is available at Ocean Village Marina in the Quay Car Park, Channel Way Overflow Car Park, and the car park by Tesco. Please note that Channel Way Marina, MDL Office, and Pacific Close car parks are excluded from public pay-and-display parking. Use postcode SO14 3TG (Channel Way, Ocean Village Marina, Southampton, Hampshire) to find these car parks in your sat nav or map app.
Additional parking is available on the opposite side of the marina at Ocean Car Park, SO14 3TJ.
Spithead & D-Day Anchorage Tour
Spithead has watched over five centuries of naval history — reviews of the fleet, the loss of the Mary Rose, the comings and goings of empires. But nothing in all those years compares to the first days of June 1944, when the greatest armada ever assembled rode at anchor between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, thousands of ships waiting in silence for a single decision to be made in a house behind the Portsmouth hills. This two-hour RIB tour takes you into the heart of that anchorage.
Departing from Seaview on the Isle of Wight, you'll thread between the Victorian sea forts that guarded the fleet, hold station on the anchorage itself, and — when conditions allow — round Bembridge Foreland to Sandown Bay for one of the war's best-kept secrets: PLUTO, the pipeline under the ocean that fuelled the liberation of Europe. Every mile is narrated live by a skipper who knows every ship, every signal and every story, and with never more than ten guests aboard, you'll hear all of it.
From Seaview we run west along Ryde Sands and Puckpool, the Island's defended shore, then head out to the great Palmerston sea forts — No Man's Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort, the Victorian "follies" that earned their keep a century after they were built, anchoring the boom that locked the Solent's front door. Off Southsea seafront you'll hear where the last landing craft left England, before we hold station on the Spithead anchorage itself: the very water where, in June 1944, the invasion fleet gathered in its thousands.
From the anchorage, the view opens to Stokes Bay and Portsmouth — the embarkation hards, and Southwick House beyond, where Eisenhower made the decision on which everything turned. The route home passes St Helens Fort, and then, conditions permitting, Route B rounds Bembridge Foreland beneath Culver Down to hold in Sandown Bay for the story of PLUTO — the secret pipeline laid under the Channel to fuel the armies ashore. A fast, exhilarating run brings us back past Priory Bay to Seaview.
A note on Route B: the extension to Bembridge and Sandown Bay depends on weather and tide, and your skipper decides on the day — safety always comes first. Whichever route we sail, you receive the full two-hour tour and every story.
Two-hour guided RIB tour with live commentary at every waypoint, your RYA commercially endorsed skipper, lifejacket, and a full safety briefing. Maximum ten guests, so every seat has a clear view and every question gets answered.
Up to 2 hours · From £65 per seat · Max 10 guests · Departs Seaview / Isle of Wight
Before You Sail
Where we meet.
We meet near the Approved Boats office at Ocean Village Marina — 3 Channel Way, Southampton, SO14 3TG — right by the water's edge. Your skipper will be there to welcome you aboard; please arrive 15 minutes before departure so we can fit lifejackets, run through the safety briefing and get you on the water bang on time.
Parking.
Pay-and-display parking is available in the marina's designated car parks, just a short stroll from the pontoon. Please avoid the Channel Way Marina, MDL Office and Pacific Close car parks — they're private, and a parking ticket is no way to end a great day. Allow a little extra time in high summer; Ocean Village is a popular spot.
What to wear.
Dress for the water, not the forecast — it's always a touch cooler and breezier out there, which is half the fun. Layers, a windproof and or waterproof jacket, flat closed shoes and sunglasses with a strap will see you right. We provide lifejackets, so whatever the Solent throws at us, you'll stay warm, dry and grinning.
The few rules we have.
Listen to the safety briefing (it's short, we promise), keep hands and feet inboard when we're alongside, and let us know about any medical conditions before we sail — quietly and in confidence if you prefer. Your skipper's word is final on the water; it's what keeps the adventure fun.
One housekeeping note: there's no loo on board, but there are facilities at the marina — a strategic visit before departure is the mark of an experienced sailor.
Children are welcome from age 8, cameras are positively encouraged, and questions are what your skipper lives for.
That's it — see you on the pontoon.
Want the Boat to Yourselves?
Love the Sound of This? There's More Where It Came From
Take the whole boat. Loved the ride? Imagine it with just your crew aboard. Our private charters put the entire RIB at your disposal from £475 — your route, your pace, lunch wherever you fancy — with skipper and fuel included.
Make a night of it. Our exclusive Appley Manor Escape crosses the Solent to the Isle of Wight for dinner and a night at Appley Manor Hotel, returning the next morning — everything included, from £375 per person. The day trip that became a mini-break.
Big day coming? We do those too — weddings, proposals and celebrations by bespoke charter.