TO RHS 70 -A TRAVEL REPORT - Classic Fast Ferries · regular fast ferry service along with the ......

F O U R / s | A P R I L 2 0 0 5 | V O L U M E S I X

w w w . c l a s s i c f a s t f e r r i e s . c o m

A P R I L S U P P L E M E N T A P R I L S U P P L E M E N T A P R I L S U P P L E M E N T A P R I L S U P P L E

TO RHS 70-A TRAVEL REPORT

22 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES 4-S / 2005

4 / S n A P R I L 2 0 0 5 n V O L U M E S I X E43200504S

NEWS AND ARTICLES ABOUT CIVIL HYDROFOILS, HOVERCRAFT & CATAMARANS | EDITOR/PUBLISHER : TIM TIMOLEONALL ARTICLES, LAYOUT & ARTWORK PRODUCTION, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED : TIM TIMOLEON | PUBLISHED IN PDFFORMAT | WWW.CLASSICFASTFERRIES.COM | SUBMITTALS OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PHOTOS, OLD AND NEW, ANDRELEVANT NEWS ITEMS ARE ENCOURAGED! | EMAIL TO : CFF @ EMAIL.DK | COPYRIGHT 2000/2005 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES.COVER PHOTO : THE WHEELHOUSE ON FRECCIA DEI GERANI , THE LAST OPERATIONAL RHS 70 HYDROFOIL IN ITALY/ ANDREA PASQUALINI photo

Days are numberedfor the RHS 70 hydrofoils

in Italy.But the beauty of Lago di

Como stays on

T R A V E L R E P O R T B Y A N D R E A P A S Q U A L I N I

RHS 70 Freccia dei Gerani passing the breakwater and approaching the berth at Como/ ANDREA PASQUALINI photo

A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND A DAY

THIS PRESENTATION IS A S U P P L E M E N T TO THE APRIL 2005 C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E S

A T R I B U T E T O L A K E C O M O A N D I T S R H S 7 0 s

________________________________________________________________________________________________

CLASSIC FAST FERRIES 4-S / 2005 33

hen Freccia delle Betulle, the lastsurviving RHS 70 hydrofoil originally delivered to NaviComo, was withdrawn fromservice last November, only one other RHS 70is still in revenue service in Italy. This, Freccia deiGerani, was originally delivered in 1977 to LakeGarda and moved to Lake Como in 1995 and isthe last of the six RHS 70s that Rodriquez/Navaltecnica delivered for service on the threeLakes of Maggiore, Como and Garda innorthern Italy from 1974 to 1977. It is the lasthydrofoil to have joined the NaviComo fleet, atleast for the time being, while the first wasPT.20 Freccia del Lario in 1964. Withdrawal of the surviving PT.20s and RHS70s on the lakes was planned since 1990 as anumber of new catamarans were delivered.When Lake Como got its three catamarans in2001 and 2002, the last remaining PT.20 Frecciadelle Azalee was retired and scrapped, soonfollowed by RHS 70 Freccia delle Gardenie. The other two small hydrofoils, Freccia delleBetulle and Freccia dei Gerani, were kept in serviceas the catamarans proved to be a not alltogethersuccessful design and weren’t able to keep up aregular fast ferry service along with thecompany's three larger RHS 150 hydrofoils. Freccia dei Gerani was withdrawn in early 2003,but the need for a reliable fast ferry serviceconvinced NaviComo to overhaul it and put itback in the game while the catamarans werealternately running, being maintained orupgraded. When Freccia delle Betulle suffered amajor mechanical failure last autumn and anoverhaul of the 30-year old hydrofoil wasconsidered too expensive, NaviComo decidedto withdraw it from service and moored it at aservice pier in Como. It was moved in January

2005 to the maintenance yard at Dervio whereit will be used as a spares resource for Freccia deiGerani and then scrapped. NaviComo expects to operate Freccia deiGerani for another year at the most, or up to thenext major breakdown, since the three RHS150s and three overhauled catamarans areconsidered sufficient to requirements. This laststatement is quite controversial, as the servicespeed of the catamarans is several knots belowthat of the hydrofoils and so the fast ferryproduct has become less competitive than itused to be when compared to roadtransportation (private cars or buses). Moreover, a fleet of six fast ferries is theminimum to cover the demand during thetourist season, leaving NaviComo with no back-up units. It is rumoured however that one orboth of the older RHS 150SL hydrofoilsbelonging to NaviMaggiore and NaviGarda maybe moved to Lake Como, but this has yet to beofficially confirmed. Most of the towns on the Lake that are servedby the fast ferries are important to the locals aswell as visitors, either because they link toinland roads, railway and bus stations orbecause they are notorious tourist resorts, orboth. For instance, Como and Lecco are thedestinations of thousands of daily commutersincluding students attending high schools anduniversity facilities. The east coast towns link tothe national railway network to Milan andbeyond, while Argegno and Menaggio, on thewest shore, link to lots of inland towns and toSwitzerland through a local transit network. There is however one big problem that affectcommuters. The single-track railway and thelocal roads, dating back to the 19th century, are

The first RHS 70and PT.20

hydrofoils to enterservice on LakeComo, Freccia

delle Betulle (left)and Freccia del

Lario, together atComo on a lovely

summer's day.The PT.20 was

delivered in 1964and the RHS 70

ten years later/ TIM TIMOLEON

photo


Being a regular Como–Varenna round tripservice (SR214 northbound, SR213southbound), Freccia dei Gerani would departComo at 1400 and arrive at Varenna 59 minuteslater, with scheduled calls at Argegno, Lezzeno,Lenno, Tremezzo, Bellagio and Menaggio – adistance of 37.5 kilometers. The return tripwould leave Varenna at 1504 and arrive back inComo at 1600. Our group however decided wewould get off at Bellagio in order to have abouthalf an hour before the return trip to shootphotos of the breathtaking scenery and ofcourse Freccia dei Gerani while underway (as wellas some other conventional ferries) and stillhave enough time on the hydrofoil to enjoy theride. The cost for this round trip is currently€ 18,20 adult. The weather is at its best when I leave Milan,driving on the highway to Como. Snow-coveredmountains in the background and an almostspring-time warm sun offer a wonderful sceneryand feeling; only a cold breeze on arrival inComo reminds me that it is still only February.As the whole group gathers near the NaviComoticket office, we start chatting and exchangingopinions about the past, the present and thetwin-hull future of fast ferry service on ourbeloved lake. Freccia dei Gerani arrives right on schedule andapproaches the berth as usual. Since the port ofComo is normally crowded with private andtourist boats, hydrofoils come hullborne rightbefore the breakwater, which protects the innerport and promenade, then proceed very slowlysouth-west in the port area before making a u-turn in order to berth with the starboard side toone of the three piers. A deckhand prepares forthe standard berthing procedure by stepping onthe gangway on the side of the access door nearthe berthing cleats with a hawser ready in hishands. Once hooked to the pier and fastened tothe cleats, the hawser (about two inches thick)will also help in the unberthing process. The hydrofoil in all its parts, superstructure,hull and foils, appears to be in perfect shape,only needing some cleaning to the aft section.All Lake RHS 70s always got their tail dirty andblackened by exhaust smoke. A problem whichis not present on the large RHS 150s, whichhave either long exhaust pipes down the sidesto the stern or vent-like funnels on top of thesuperstructure. The engine is running at idle, producing thefamiliar sound of all our RHS 70s, while weboard together with some fifteen otherpassengers. Because the turnround at Como is

inadequate to modern day transportation needs,especially during the tourist season. The stateroads connecting Como and Lecco with thelakeshore towns are quite narrow and usuallyjammed by heavy traffic, obviously this isparticularly true during rush hours. As anexample, driving the mere 46 kilometersbetween Como and Menaggio takes about onehour and a half at these times. Given these details, the importance of areliable fast ferry service that allows commutersand tourists to efficiently reach their destinationshould be obvious to anyone.

To mark the end of an eraon Lake Como, on February 6, 2005 a farewelltrip on the last RHS 70 was arranged byMarcello Baldrati, who runs an interesting siteon the internet about all the vessels andcompanies that have operated on Lake Como,from 19th century paddle steamers to presentday fast ferries.

F A R E W E L L T R I P

A B O V E : Theroute (in red) for the

NaviComoSR214/SR213 fast

ferry service.Certain services willoperate all the way

to Colico in thenorth

L E F T : The forward saloon on Freccia deiGerani looking aft. Seats are similar to thosefound on a city bus or tram but offer adequatecomfort on the relatively short journeys thatmost people using the hydrofoil make

/ ANDREA PASQUALINI photo


scheduled to only five minutes, the engine is notswitched off. In this situation, while berthedwith the access door open, the only problemwith the RHS 70 design is the penetration intothe passenger saloon and wheelhouse ofexhaust fumes. Due to the aft fender and protruding forwardfoil and lack of visibility of the edge, especiallywhen the hydrofoil is berthed with its starboardside to the quay and the helm being positionedon the port side, leaving the berth is quiteelaborate. First, the hydrofoil is reversed a bit, whileapplying helm enough to rotate the bowoutward. This is made easier by the deckhandwho uses the hawser as a means to ‘pivot’ thehull. This clears the forward foil from the quaystructure. Secondly, while the deckhand quicklyunfastens the hawser, a slow forward is applied,giving helm enough to put the hull in line andso clearing the aft fender. Some captains use theaft fender as a means to straighten the hydro-foil; as a passenger in the rear saloon what youwill feel is a bump and a rude change ofdirection of the hull. Finally, half forward is applied and the hydro-foil is ready to go, giving helm to straighten thecourse. Usually, while the craft accelerates

the deckhand recovers the hawser and stores iton the roof of the aft saloon and gets insideclosing the access door. The procedure is less tricky on the RHS 150sbecause these are equipped with fendersprotecting both the forward and aft foils. As generation of wash and waves must bekept at a minimum within the inner harbourand also to avoid any incidents with leisureboats (which can perform the stupidestmanoeuvres), the hydrofoil will proceed at slowspeed until it has passed the breakwater –beyond which it is ahead at full throttle. In twentyseconds, as the engine roars and ourenthusiastic excitement increases accordingly,the vessel picks up speed with the bow rising ina spectacular wash (usually the forward saloonwindows near the trailing edge of the foil aresplashed), and clears off the water. Five to tenseconds after the bow is clear of the water theaft section follows and you feel the transitionfrom hullborne to foilborne mode in anincreased roll and sudden change of attitude.When fully foilborne the normal attitude leansslightly aft. The lake is calm with little if no waves at all aswe head out of the Como area. This part of thelake is quite narrow, the minimum coast-to-

It isn't hard to fallin love with Lagodi Como! Freccia

delle Betulle isseen here against

but one of themany great

backdrops –Menaggio/ ANDREA

PASQUALINI photo


A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND A DAY

The call at Argegno,announced in advance by the deckhand throughthe vessel's PA system, is uneventful; five morepeople board the hydrofoil and in a few minuteswe're off again. Argegno is a small town. And I do meansmall; it’s nothing more than 700 people andwalking around the entire place takes no longerthan ten minutes. But it is a good access pointfor trekking in the mountains between Italy andSwitzerland and so is visited by tourists all year Crossing the lake west to east, in about fiveminutes we reach Lezzeno and this call is evenmore uneventful. The hydrofoil comeshullborne and approaches the berth, but whenno one prepares to get off and there is no onewaiting on the quay the captain gives fullthrottle again (after making sure there isn'tsomeone late). We now cross the lake oncemore, heading north-west for the breathtakingscenery of the Cape of Bolvedro and Lenno. Capo Bolvedro is a peninsula that extendsfrom the west coast for about one kilometer,there’s about another kilometer between the tipof the peninsula and the opposite shore. Whatis most interesting here is Villa Arconati, a 17thcentury mansion that, other than having beenthe set for some shots in the motion pictureStar Wars – Episode II, has been included in theU.N. registry of Humanity Heritages for itspanoramic location, its unique history and thefact that it hosted one of Italy's poets, GiuseppeParini, who linked the Neoclassicism to theRomanticism. Nowadays there is no shortage of feelingeither. When passing Capo Bolvedro andlooking at this mansion which, unique today,can only be accessed by the lake via a smallwooden pier and a stepway, I feel those gloriousdays as if they were still alive. I think there arefew places in the world where a fast ferry tripcan give you all these emotions, and atechnically-oriented report about a hydrofoilsuch as this won't be complete without blendingin also nature, scenery and Italian history. Having foiled past Capo Bolvedro, ahead isLenno. A hard turn to port while the next stopis announced and the engine is cut off and weslowly approach the quay. Boarding andunboarding a few people is a matter of oneminute or so, and soon we're again underwayheading for Tremezzo, another popular spotwith tourists and only about a five minute jumpnorth. While traveling from Lenno to Tremezzo Imove to the small centrally located saloon totake some pictures and notes about itsarrangement. This is raised when compared tothe forward and aft saloons – or these arelowered if you prefer. The reason for this ofcourse is the midships positioned engineroom. Looking forward we see the wheel-house with the controls to port and the pilotseat on the starboard side (see front + back cover).

coast distance, off Moltrasio, being about 900meters, and we enjoy the beautiful scenery ofgreen hills, blue water and numerous smalltowns on the shore where civilization stillblends with nature in perfect harmony. Between Como and Moltrasio our hydrofoilcruises at about 30 knots (at 1,250 shp), theengine producing a moderate noise in theforward saloon. Once we've passed Moltrasioand the lake becomes wider it is time to reallystep on it and the speed now increases to 32–33knots (at 1,350 shp) as we head for Argegno. As we travel on I make notes about theinterior arrangement. There are 49 seats in theforward saloon arranged as follows (starting atthe bow): one row with four seats facing aft,then one row with 3 + 2, six rows with 3 + 3and one row with 2 + 2 seats, all facing forward.Behind these to the port side there’s a wallseparating the saloon from the wheelhouse. Onthe starboard side is a locker containing lifejackets and other equipment. The seats on Freccia dei Gerani, very similar tothose on a city bus or tram, are comfortableenough for medium-distance journeys, howeverthe other RHS 70s as well as the PT.20s gotmore comfy seats. The interior is clean and wellmaintained with some trace of wear but,considering that the hydrofoil is 28 years old,the overall condition is quite good. Ceiling lighting, running down the seat rows,is in the form of energy-saving round bulblamps that are well integrated in the saloondesign. There are overhead forced ventilationoutlets at the window seats and heating isprovided by two ceiling-mounted units. Thegeneral impression is that of a design that triesto be stylish – surely, thirty years ago it wouldhave been fashionable – functional andeconomic at the same time. At any rate, it’s stillmodern and pleasant, even when comparedwith more recent ferries that have joined theNaviComo fleet.

M E E T W I T H T H E L A K E

The LeopoldoRodriquez Shipyard

was known asNavaltecnica for a

period of time in the1970s

/ ANDREA PASQUALINIphoto


The bridge is separated from the passengerarea behind it by partitions with windows inthem. The wheelhouse contains all the electricalpanels, the engine and system gauges and aDecca radar. While the RHS 70 could beoperated by one man, normally it carries a crewof three consisting of captain, pilot and adeckhand. The pilot seat is equipped with adesk and some drawers for navigation charts,ship books and similar documents. Between thehelm and pilot positions is the stairway to theforward saloon. The small passenger cabin holds eight seats,all of which facing aft, and two luggage racks(also used for storing life jackets and floaters)each side of the stairs to the aft saloon. Accessdoors are to port and starboard. On the wall behind the pilot is the hydrofoil'sidentification plate with year of build (1977),type, yard number (196) and a stylizedhydrofoil, which in fact is made up of the lettersL and R which of course stand for LeopoldoRodriquez. At the time of building Freccia deiGerani the yard was however known asNavaltecnica, but it later reverted to theprestigious Rodriquez name. A curious detail isa separate sign below that states that “Aliscafo”,the Italian word for hydrofoil, is indeed atrademark of Rodriquez/Navaltecnica. Tremezzo, located but a few minutes north ofLenno by hydrofoil, is known for its particularlypleasant climate and is popular with tourists allyear round, not the least senior citizens whowant to spend some winter days in the warmand healthy climate of this charming town.Accomodation is offered by numerous hotelsand bed-and-breakfasts, all located in fashion-

able 19th century buildings. Another importantattraction is Villa Carlotta, a 17th centurymansion surrounded by beautiful gardens andsome acres of woods. Up to the late 1930s thiswas the property of the Duke of Sachsen-Meiningen and today is a museum. The call at Tremezzo is a quick one too, witha few more passengers boarding, and ourhydrofoil now takes us slightly south-east acrossthe lake to Bellagio, one of the three mostbeautiful towns on Lake Como. Bellagio, as can be seen on the map on page 4,is an important location because it is the hub ofthe three-armed lake. Thus, it not only is abouthalf-way between Como and Colico but is theonly port with connecting ferry services toLecco, in the south of the east basin, and alsoconnects with Tremezzo, Menaggio andVarenna by car ferries.

Hydrofoils andcatamarans are not

the only thingsafloat on Lake

Como. This smallcar ferry, Ghisallo,

is seen in theafternoon light off

Bellagio/ ANDREA

PASQUALINI photo

Villa Carlotta overlookingTremezzo, a townparticularly known for itspleasant climate even inwinter/ ANDREA PASQUALINIphoto


Moreover, Bellagio is one of the mostexclusive resorts on the lake, attracting touristsfrom all over Europe. It has a Belle Epoquelifestyle to it and offers breathtaking sceneryand historical villas to visit, the most known ofwhich are Villa Serbelloni and Villa Melzi. Bellagio has attracted poets, artists andcomposers etc. since the Renaissance. Otherthan the aforementioned Italian poet GiuseppeParini, Shelley, Longfellow, Stendhal, Flaubertand Liszt as well as most of the nobility fromMilan since the Spanish domination up to thepresent day have either stayed or lived here. It also attracts our party, and this is where weleave Freccia dei Gerani for the time being to beable to take some exterior photos of thehydrofoil as it continues to Menaggio as well asof some other vessels. We also get theopportunity to spend about half an hourwalking along the promenade while enjoying themoderately warm February weather. But time flies and we have to hurry back to the pier to catch Freccia dei Gerani on its return trip back to Como.

2 + 2 facing forward, 2 seats facing aft on theport side and finally a group of 4 seats arrangedvis-à-vis on the starboard side. The seats aresimilar to those in the forward saloon. At the front on the port side there’s a tiny butfunctional toilet and to starboard, behind theseats, is a locker and a small storage area withadditional life jackets and floaters. Oneinteresting detail is the window next to thelocker which in fact is a porthole on Freccia deiGerani whereas on the other RHS 70s it's theshape of a trapezoide. Marcello Baldrati has compiled a four-pageresumé of the PT.20s and RHS 70s on LakeComo which he now distributes among ourgroup as a farewell gift. While alongside at Tremezzo we presentourselves to the captain as a group of hydrofoilenthusiasts. He and the other two crewimmediately show interest in Marcello'shistorical paper and they each receives a copy.The captain evidently finds it so interesting that on leaving Lenno, our next stop, he passes the command to the pilot (“Bring it down to Argegno, boy!”) and sits down with us to read the article and exchange comments

Back on board, the crew notices us and weoverhear the pilot and captain exchanging somecomments about “hydrofoil fans”. It is a factthat most of the NaviComo crew members areenthusiastic people who are devoted to theirferry or hydrofoil, so obviously we can't missthe big opportunity on this journey – talkingwith the crew and, maybe, asking for somethingspecial as we aren’t any longer just ordinarypassengers! This time we take our seats in the aft saloon,which is a bit narrower than the forward onebut not less comfortable. The only problem isthe windows, which are quite dirty from exhaustsmoke. The engine noise is about the same as inthe forward section. There are 22 seats, seen from the rear : 4contiguous seats facing forward, three rows of

and memories of the first PT.20 Freccia del Larioand all the hydrofoils that followed. Enjoying the smooth ride back home toComo in the setting sun, we chat with the crewabout the past, the present and the future crafton the the Lake (as we had assumed, none ofthem likes the recent CNP catamarans verymuch). Approaching Argegno one of our groupasks for some horn hoots to record on hismobile phone. Arriving back at Como at 1600, right onschedule, Freccia dei Gerani is berthed at the mainpier where it will be idling for a little over threehours until its last run (SR26) for the day at1910. This service operates all the way to thenorth of the Lake where the vessel will beberthed over night at Domaso in order to workthe first southbound commuter run on Mondaymorning.

V I P s ( V E R Y I M P O R T A N T P A S S E N G E R S )Was this takenduring the 'BelleEpoche' or is it2005? Bellagioseen from thehydrofoil and Lagodi Como/ ANDREAPASQUALINI photo


machinery, and I also feel a little roll and pitchproduced by some wave motion. Sitting on thecooling water inlet pipe – having realized afterone second that placing yourself on the wateroutlet was a bad idea, to put it mildly! – I enjoythe detailed explanation by the crew member ofall the bits and pieces down here. The engine in Freccia dei Gerani, as indeed in allLake RHS 70s, is an MTU 12V 493Ty71 diesel,producing a maximum power output of1,350HP at 1,500 rpm. This MTU has a pistondisplacement of about 60.000 cu.cm. on 12cylinders in two V-mounted banks of six andhas a diesel cycle unit with indirect injection (inthis system the gasoline is heated in one pre-injection chamber for each cylinder andinjection is single-point). The engine is equipped with a centrifugalclutch that disconnects at idle and tranfers thetorque to the main shaft through an elastic joint.Forward of the engine the shaft is coupled to agearbox that acts as the reverser (the reductionratio is almost 1:1); the propeller shaft goes outfrom this gearbox at an angle of about –20degrees and runs aft. Cooling water is taken from intakes on thestruts of the aft foil and runs in an open cyclethrough two pipes (about ∅30 cm). The waterexhausts are located on each side, slightly aft ofthe engine exhaust, and on the keel. This thirty year old engine has two featuresworth noting: it won’t start up, or shut down, ifoil pressure falls below safety level, because oilpressure also locks and unlocks the fuel pumps.More interesting, the throttle and engine act incombination with an angle-of-attackadjustement system for the bow foil. Graduallymoving the throttle from ‘idle’ to ‘full ahead’adjusts the bow foil angle of attack of 1 or 2degrees more, restoring it to normal attitudeonce in full foilborne mode. The visit to the engine room was a great finish on a great trip. Like uncountable times before, our hydrofoil is resting in the calm Como water as our party splits up and I head for home. Farewell, Freccia dei Gerani ! n

Butbefore we all head home in different directionswe're getting prepared for a great gift – the crewhas invited us to visit the vessel's engine room. This is reached by a step ladder from underthe pilot’s seat. The engine room obviously iscramped and only allows for two persons to bethere at the same time, in this case one crew andone group member. The space is lighted bysome roof–mounted lamps and also daylightcomes in through four portholes, two on eitherside. Since the engine has only recently beenswitched off, the small space is quite hot.There's the familiar noise of metal cooling offand likewise characteristic smell of oil and

B E L O W I S W H E R E T H E H E A R T I S

L E F T : Theporthole on the

starboard side inthe aft saloon is

unique to Frecciadei Gerani (top), onthe other RHS 70sthis is the shape of

a trapezoide/ ANDREA

PASQUALINI photo,both

Freccia dei Geranilooking as lively as

ever approachesBellagio in February

this year/ MARCELLO

BALDRATI photo


The pilot seat on RHS 70Freccia dei Gerani

/ ANDREA PASQUALINI photo

A TRIBUTE TOLAKE COMO

AND ITSRHS 70s

TO RHS 70 -A TRAVEL REPORT - Classic Fast Ferries · regular fast ferry service along with the ......

Documents

Transcript of TO RHS 70 -A TRAVEL REPORT - Classic Fast Ferries · regular fast ferry service along with the ......