Isle of Wight ferry services Isle of Wight ferry services There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel. Since the Isle of Wight was separated from mainland Britain, probably about 7000 years ago, vessels have transported people and goods across the Solent. However the earliest record of an Isle of Wight ferry service is from 1420 when the Lord of the Manor in Ashey was responsible for boats crossing between Portsmouth and Ryde.
Politics of the Isle of Wight is a part of the South East England region for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections. The results of the 2014 European Parliament election on the Isle of Wight were as follows. "The following results are exclusively for the Isle of Wight; results are collated regionally prior to MEPs being assigned under the closed list proportional representation system." Turnout on the Isle of Wight was 35,600 out of an electorate of 111,879 (31.82%) The results of the 2009 European election on the Isle of Wight were as follows. "The following results are exclusively for the Isle of Wight; results are