TIME is running out for the derelict paddle steamer Ryde Queen at the Island Harbour Marina.
The boat, which took part in the D-Day landings in 1944, faces her own D-Day when planning permission for her to remain at Binfield expires on August 5. Soon after taking over Island Harbour, its owners obtained temporary permission for her to remain. The IW Council wanted her removed on safety grounds.
Sunday marked the 80th anniversary of her launch.
Marina manager Darren Cooke made a last-ditch plea to save her from the scrapyard.
But he was realistic it was an uphill struggle.
He said: “The new owners commissioned a report soon after taking over and were told the cheapest option of having her as a static display and museum would cost £5 million. &a mp;lt;br/>“To put her back to sea would cost more than double that and there would be no National Lottery money available because there is so little of the original ship left it would effectively be a reproduction.
“It is very sad to see her like this but she has been a victim of the marina changing hands several times over the past 20 years and no one getting to grips with her deterioration.
“If it had been tackled ten years ago there may have been a chance but now even her bridge has collapsed.
“I’ve not spoken to the marina owners but I am sure they would sell her for a peppercorn fee because they would love to see something constructive happen to her.
“But time is running out — the council has made it clear it wants her gone.”
After her launch, the Ryde Queen plied the Portsmouth to Ryde passenger service and was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
She was rescued from the scrapyard in 1970 when she became a floating nightclub at Binfield, survived a serious fire in 1977 and closed in the late 1980s.
Her sister Binfield floating nightclub, Medway Queen, was saved and is being restored on the Medway.