COURIER 1847 ferry

[aukepalmhof]

Alderney Post gives by this 37p stamp:

As with any island, the harbour in Alderney is vitally important. The famous breakwater begun in 1847 was the key element in a plan to enclose Brave Bay, creating a safe haven for the British Navy.
The stamp show the scene at the harbour with passengers disembarking from SS COURIER, the first of two vessels bearing the name, which provided Alderney chief link with Guernsey in the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th.
Also shown are fishermen who used the harbour – as their successors still do – loading crab pots onto small boat as they prepare to take them out and drop them in their favourite locations.

The COURIER was built by Ditchburn & Mare in Blackwall for the South Western Steam Packet Co., Southampton.
Tonnage 265 gross, dim. 167.0 x 22.5 x 10.8ft.
Powered by steam engines manufactured by Maudslay of Deptford, 200 nhp., speed 15 knots.
1847 Delivered to owners.

Used in the passenger- cargo service between Southampton to Le Havre, France of Guernsey.
Was used till the early eighties.

Alderney 1998 37p sgA122/123, scott125/126

Source: Railway and other Steamers by Duckworth & Langmuir.

[D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen]

(Alderney 2012, 53 p. on souvenir sheet)