Southsea Hoverport is a hoverport in Southsea, Portsmouth, England, run by Hovertravel, with hovercraft services between Southsea, and Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Adjacent to Clarence Pier, it is the UK's only scheduled hovercraft link, and the world's longest running hovercraft service.
The journeys occur every fifteen minutes, and take under ten minutes. The journey time is more than two times faster than the catamaran between Portsmouth and Ryde, and more than four times faster than the ferry between Portsmouth and Fishbourne.
The hovercraft route between Southsea and Ryde opened in July 1965. At the time, it did not have a timetable. Instead, the 38-seat SR.N6 hovercraft just ran when it had enough passengers. As of 2021, the hovercraft can carry 78 passengers.
On 4 March 1972, one of the hovercraft travelling from Ryde to Southsea capsized 360m away from Southsea Pier, due to strong winds. It was carrying 27 people. Five people died as a result, including seven-year-old Julie O'Connell and 48-year-old David Jones, whose bodies were never found.