THE Dorset Belle has been given a new name and is set to start a new chapter on the south coast.

WeFerry says it is delighted to announce the imminent arrival of its new flagship, the Dolphin Princess.

The pleasure boat is expected to arrive at its new homeport of Brixham, Devon, ‘shortly’.

She will operate in the harbours of Torquay and Brixham on wildlife coastal cruises to spot wildlife including pods of dolphins and porpoises, seals and seabirds.

Daily Echo:

The 49-year-old traditional steel purpose-built passenger vessel, sold by Island Cruises, has been repainted orange, red and yellow.

As reported by the Daily Echo, the Dorset Belle was seized by police as part of an investigation into the deaths of Southampton 18-year-old Joe Abbess and Sunnah Khan, 12, after an incident at Bournemouth beach.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the tragic incident on May 31 did not involve a vessel.

Over recent weeks WeFerry/Funfish has been working with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency in Dorset to organise the vessel’s purchase and bring her to Devon for a new era.

Dolphin Princess will be the largest of the WeFerry fleet operated by John Ford & Ross Gritton.

John has years of experience on the coastal waters around Brixham working with commercial and leisure craft.

He has previously collaborated with Torbay Lifeboat, taking WeFerry vessels out to participate in RNLI drills and exercises.

The Dolphin Princess was built in Poole by J Bolson in 1974. She previously operated in Cardiff Bay and returned to serve Bournemouth Pier in 2021.

The boat is expected to make her first passenger cruise around the bay this July after arriving in Brixham. 

WeFerry owner John Ford said: “WeFerry are extremely proud to bring this beautiful flagship addition to the Funfish fleet and offer even more leisure cruising capacity to residents and visitors alike, and especially keen for her to become a loved member of the Torbay community.

!She will also be supporting local charity events, and offering increased capacity to our extremely popular Fish n Chip cruises in partnership with Rockfish.”