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Rolling Stones are ferry pirates
Jun 12, 2007, 11:20 GMT
Mick Jagger, "like kissing a sea bass" said Janice Dickinson EPA/BENOIT DOPPAGNE BELGIUM OUT
The Rolling Stones infuriated revellers at the Isle of Wight Festival by hijacking their ferry home.
The legendary rock band and their 200-strong entourage took over the 00.35am ferry sailing from Yarmouth to Lymington yesterday (11.06.07), leaving hundreds of pre-booked passengers stranded.
Steve McInally, 36, from Coventry, said: "I was cheering them on a few hours before but I have been cursing them since."
Ferry company Wightlink apologised to the marooned festival-goers and laid on an extra 512-passenger boat at 2am to take them back to the mainland.
A spokesperson said: "We apologise to those hoping to get the 00.35am but this sailing was reserved for private use."
Sir Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts splashed out £27,000 to charter the ferry for the return trip.
They brought their own security team and four huge trucks carrying all their equipment.
The Rolling Stones' sensational performance at the music extravaganza on Sunday (10.06.07) was their first festival appearance in over 30 years.
The rockers hired out the whole of Newport's Premiere Travel Inn for their trip, forcing all the other bands to move into specially erected tents away from the hotel.
(C) BANG Media International
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Sadly Wightlink and Red Funnel ferries have 'captive' customers, the Isle of Wight residents. If you want to go to or get off the Isle of Wight there is little choice. I am not surprised Wightlink let down their pre-booked customers in favour of a £27000 fee. If they hadn't Red Funnel would have! They charge what they want, changing prices at different times of the day and putting them up considerably on Bank Hols. A period return (for some reason I have yet to fathom) is far more expensive than a day return.
My advice to anyone wishing to visit the IOW is don't. If you must, come as a foot passenger on the hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde. Beware tho' - the Lib Dems in Portsmouth City Council (I have been told but not confirmed) have a blanket 20mph speed limit in the city, so your journey could be long and congested. If you bring your car, be prepared to pay to cross the most expensive bit of water in the world (between £75 and £100 and much more if you are daft enough to risk towing a caravan on the Island) and then expect to be 'stung' everytime you park.
Thought this story was going in another direction from the title
they care about no one but themselves/in future leave them to play to an empty audience/at end of day they a bunch of oaps,
Wightlink should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, and may now be liable for police investigation under 'taking money under false pretences'. Why, because Wightlink were still taking 'confirmed' bookings for the 0035am sailing from Yarmouth to Lymington on the Sunday, the day of the IOW festival knowing that they were unable to fulfill their contract. No mention was made of the ferry having been previously pre-booked by the stones & their entourage when they happily took passengers money! At Yarmouth in the early hours of Monday morning the stranded passengers were just given out complaint forms to fill in, and told to wait for the 0200sailing. I expect any completed complaint forms were just binned by Wightlink. Well Wightlink or 'not-so-whitelink', you got £27000 from this cosy private arrangement but now a great deal of adverse publicity. You will never ever be trusted again, passengers will opt to travel by alternative routes via Portsmouth or Southampton in the future. I cannot wait until the IOW has a bridge to the mainland so that 'not-so-whitelink' have proper competition and lose their exclusivity. Come to think of it if the western end of the Solent was dammed say at Hurst Castle, you could have tidal power giving green energy and a road bridge, and even if there was a toll it would be far cheaper than a ferry crossing.
Did you know that you can travel to France by Brittany Ferries at a fraction of the cost that 'not-so whitelink' charge to get to IOW!!
.. puzzling story this as only about 200 people on this particular ferry were part of the Stones entourage - the rest were paying customers. People get left behind all the time and these people just weren't far enough up the queue. Anyways we had a great time with at the IOW and we got to meet Charlie and Bill .... typically the English tabloids have blown it out of proportion and sunk their own boat.
Please do not blane the Stones for Wightlink disgusting behaviour. They let the 200 people who wre left behind down no one else did. The Rolling Stones paid their way Wightlink just disregarded their timrtable and their passengers thanks Wightlink this will never be forgotten
page: 1
Robert PetersJun 12th, 2007 - 15:29:51
Does not surprise me. Having once been to the festival it is not only bands who treat paying respectable customers as animals. If you want to be treated as a human - DO NOT GO TO IT... everyone will hate you!¬
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