Dover - Boulogne Crossing

[pool pugilist]

In all the doom and gloom and following the problems with Speed Ferries some good news if your taking this route, released by LD Lines:

LD Lines has announced the launch of the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross channel routes between England and France, with the introduction of a brand new, high speed Incat 112 metre Wave-Piercing Catamaran to its Dover – Boulogne service from 29 May 2009.

The fast ferry will be the first-ever freight carrying high speed vessel to operate across the Dover Straits and LD Lines becomes the first-ever French ferry company to operate high speed ferries on the short sea routes from Dover. The vessel is also the world's largest diesel-powered catamaran and it will be the first Incat 112 metre to operate in Europe.

At nearly 11,000 gross tonnes, the new craft is one of the largest vessels yet built by Incat, providing significantly greater seakeeping qualities and passenger comfort than earlier generation fast ferries familiar to Dover Strait, cross channel passengers.

LD Lines new Dover-Boulogne service will be greatly enhanced as the new fast ferry will increase frequency from the current two to six return sailings daily. All types of tourist traffic will be carried including cars, caravans, motorhomes, motorcycles, coaches and foot passengers, in addition to freight.

The fast ferry will operate up to four return sailings daily between Dover (Eastern Docks) and Boulogne with a crossing time of 1 hour ; from Dover at 0415 ; 0745 ; 1230 and 1900 and from Boulogne at 0700 ; 1045 ; 1700 and 2230.

Two return sailings daily to Boulogne and one to Dieppe (Monday – Friday) will continue to be operated by the conventional ferry, which introduced the earlier than planned start of the new Dover – Boulogne service in February 2009. Crossing time by conventional ferry is 1 hour 45 minutes.

Both vessels will initially operate into the Port of Boulogne’s existing ferry berths, but following completion of Boulogne’s new Hub Port Ro Ro Terminal from 1 July 2009, both will then transfer to inaugurate and operate into the first linkspan of the new Hub Port Terminal.

The introduction of LD Lines’ first-ever fast ferry is a major development for the company, further emphasising the strategy to firmly establish its business on the cross channel routes from Dover, as Managing Director, Christophe Santoni explains.

"This is a very exciting, innovative step forward for LD Lines and with the introduction of this new high speed ferry, we will be dramatically revolutionising ferry transport across the channel, with a style of service never experienced before on the Dover Straits.

We will be offering a unique, combined high speed and conventional ferry sailing frequency via the Boulogne service, providing great appeal and choice, to meet the demands of tourist and freight customers and create new markets."

Commenting on the expansion of the Dover - Boulogne service with a brand new fast ferry, Francis Leroy, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Boulogne-sur-Mer Cote d'Opale, said, " By creating the new Hub Port Terminal, the commercial port of Boulogne is positioning itself strongly within the ferry transport market. For the port of Boulogne this new service is a new step in the development of rapid links."

The introduction of the new high speed ferry to operate with the conventional ferry on the Dover - Boulogne service, will now mean that the ship "Norman Spirit" will remain on LD Lines’ Portsmouth – Le Havre route. This ship had previously been expected to operate the service to Boulogne’s new Ro Ro terminal from 1 July 2009.

LD Lines’ ferry route network comprises Portsmouth – Le Havre ; Rosslare (Southern Ireland) – Le Havre ; Newhaven – Dieppe ; Dover – Boulogne and Dover – Dieppe.

Dover – Boulogne fares start from £24 one way and short break day returns from £28 for a car and four passengers. For more service information, sailing schedules and to book : www.ldlines.com or call : 0844 576 8836


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Incat 112 metre / Hull 066 :

The fast ferry is the latest vessel in the 112 metre range from Incat, and has been specifically designed for the European ferry market. The new craft will operate at speeds of approximately 40 knots providing capacity for up to 417 cars or 567 lane metres of truck space and 195 cars. The accommodation is designed to cater for up to 1200 passengers in high levels of stylish comfort.

Technical details : Builder : Incat Tasmania Pty Ltd

Length overall : 112.60 metres

Beam (moulded) : 30.50 metres

Draft : approx : 3.93 metres

Speed : approx 40 knots

Deadweight : 1000 tonnes – high speed operation

1000 -1450 tonnes – reduced speed ‘cargo-only’ operation

Passengers : 1200 including crew

Vehicles : 567 metres of freight plus 195 cars or total of 417 cars

May be able to accomadate a newly renovated Pope Mobile!!

[Lord Pig-Pen]

May be able to accomadate a newly renovated Pope Mobile!!

Its a bit of a trek to Dover from Pig Pen Towers in The New Forest.... but jolly nice to see you are thinking of the old girl... 

[Stu]

Thats great news for next year. Hope they can keep the harbour dues up if they charge the same as Speedferries.

[Chrisgr31]

I did seek to post omn the LD Lines blog asking if they were going to offer passengers on the ferry a transfer to the seacat.


Also expressed irritation that they announce this a week after I book the return by P and O as there was no late return from Boulogne!

[Perdu]

smug git that I am I wont care whether they send me by massive fastcat or a big rowing boat as long as I dont have to paddle

I'm on for Wednesday 10th around mid-day

and I think its getting closer...

yeehah!

[landman]

I am booked on what I thought was the 12:00 service on Wednesday.

From this post it looks like the sailing time is now 12:30?

Must find out more.

45 mins less crossing time always welcome as it offers more shopping/drinking time later on!

Landman / Paul

[pool pugilist]

Thats great news for next year. Hope they can keep the harbour dues up if they charge the same as Speedferries.

I lay a pound to a pinch of sh*t that LD Lines will not have anywhere near the problems that Speed ferries had, firstly obviously, they are a French Company which will involve the natural protectionism the French come to expect, secondly I have been told (not 100% confirmed however) the route is subsidised by the Boulogne Chamber of Commerce. (In other words French Central Goverment)

Subsidies aside, Incats are very very expensive vessels to operate as Speed Ferries found out!! I would be surprised if LD used the same business model...time will tell.

See you all garlic side!!

[Barry]

A big Vomit Comet means more places to throw up.

[Brad Zarse]

Thanks Barry - I'm eating my lunch, but have just been transported back into the realms of a most horrendous crossing - Kids being taken off with Whiplash, an elderly gentleman having a heart attack, and every person on th boat puking their guts out, bar one - that one was my father....smug Get...

[Lorry]

I remember a rough crossing when I was 8 (I've finished my lunch).  This was when most of the ferries were small and didn't take cars, just train passenges or trains.  Anyway, the channel can get very rough in August, and I was amazed at the number people with weak stomachs, and the smell.  So we went topsite and stood near the bridge watching the waves break over the bow.  You soon feel a lot better when you can see it all happening, and I suppose that at that age I could have been sober.

LD lines should make more money than Speedferries, because they don't run a continuous service, the idea being that the fewer boats they do run are full and pay their way. But you don't avoid all the bills by not running. 

[Lord Pig-Pen]

Thanks Barry - I'm eating my lunch, but have just been transported back into the realms of a most horrendous crossing - Kids being taken off with Whiplash, an elderly gentleman having a heart attack, and every person on th boat puking their guts out, bar one - that one was my father....smug Get...

I had one of those crossings on a school trip... I was ok but most others were blowing chunks and walking about was a serious hazard... flights of stairs covered in sick and changing angles with the pitching.
All the teachers were honking which meant those of us that were ok were unsupervised. Great fun when you're 12 and with all your mates!

[Doris]

Thanks Barry - I'm eating my lunch, but have just been transported back into the realms of a most horrendous crossing - Kids being taken off with Whiplash, an elderly gentleman having a heart attack, and every person on th boat puking their guts out, bar one - that one was my father....smug Get...

I had one of those crossings on a school trip... I was ok but most others were blowing chunks and walking about was a serious hazard... flights of stairs covered in sick and changing angles with the pitching.
All the teachers were honking which meant those of us that were ok were unsupervised. Great fun when you're 12 and with all your mates!

I had one of those crossings too. It was while I was a Boy Scout and we were the last crossing out of Boulogne before they closed The Channel.  I didn't think it was too bad but most of my friends turned green and threw up all the beer and Pastis they'd had during the day.  So far the worst crossings I've had have always been across Cook Straight in a Force 10.  By comparison The Channel is a pussy!

Dx

[LangTall]

...while I was a Boy Scout...
Dx

[Andy Zarse]

Time to revive this one, I posted something like this back in 2003...

We went on it to Le mans in 2002 and I have to say it was one of the most unpleasant experiences ever. There was a bit of a rough sea and within thirty minutes of sailing from Pompey, and suddenly the whole boat was awash with sick. The acidic stink was absolutely unbelievable. Parties of skool kids were spraying it all over their teachers, who were drenched to the socks in bile, half-digested baked beans, soggy dangling bacon rind and tomato skins.

A bloke a few seats away spent an hour holding it down but when the pressure got too much, with an almighty heave, he projectiled all over the seatback in front of him, producing a multicoloured fountain of puke. It sounded like "herrgg-wwhhherrrpppaarrgghhh-splatter!" I can still hear it when I close my eyes at night.

I was very impressed with the impeccable manners of a elderly woman several seats away on the other side. She did it in quite a genteel way, pouring the contents of her stomach into a sick bag through her puckered lips without making any retching noises at all. Plop-plop-plop, it sounded just like a tin of tomatoes being emptied into a saucepan. Very considerate, but I think you'll agree it's not very nice when you're trying to eat, it nearly put me off my fried breakfast.

The crowning glory was when I slipped over backwards in a pool of spew in the toilets. Well I say spew, it was really more like a long streak of dog slother with all bubbles in it. My hand went in it and it was stone cold. GAKK!! It was coating my watchstrap and arm hairs and made me feel a tadge on the queasy side.

I hope you've got the picture. Never ever again!

[Andy Zarse]

And one must hope that if you choose this new route you have the good sense to pack a sick bag as well. I'd take clothing protection too, a black bin bag should do the trick, you'd wear it to keep every other f**ker's spew off you.

As I mentioned previously, we went on a seacat to Cherborg - P&O Motto "Retch for the Stars". I explained some of the unpleasantness involved and that I slipped over in vomit in the gents toilet. I suppose I better fill in the gaps and explain to you all about the scrambled eggs...

On entering said facilities, I was in a fairly bouyant frame of mind, yet I was most surprised to see what appeared to be a perfectly good portion of scrambled egg on toast sat in the middle of the floor. I thought perhaps it was some sort of french "artistic statement". However, on closer inspection, I realised to my dismay it had not half an hour previously been residing in someone's stomach, and who had washed it down with (my best guess) a large latte with two sugars. Anyway, the pitching of the boat had seemingly induced a feeling of nausea upon the owner and no doubt to be on the safe side, he had set off purposefully to the bogs, just in case.

Now walking about on a boat when suffering from motion sickness is not a clever idea. I reckon a massive wave of "illness" struck him en route, the hapless fool no doubt picking up his step in a vain attempt to reach the relative safety of the Gents. Clearly, the inevitable had happen a short four paces from the toilet bowl. A personal disaster for the poor chap, I expect it was splashed all over his trousers and shoes too.

Anyway, there it was parked on the floor, bathing in a pool of curdled milky coffee and stomach acid. I'd bent down to examined it more closely, wondering what it could possibly be, then recoiled in horror when it became acutely apparent that it was, in it's purest sense, malodourous unadulterated sick. It had a bubble in the top, shaped like a big eye and which I'm fairly sure winked at me.

My head spinning from this unpleasantness, I tried to give it a very wide berth. Regretably, the boat pitched violently and it was at that moment I trod in the previously unseen line of what I can only descibe as digestive mucus, no doubt placed there by somebody who had nothing else left inside him to hew. It had the friction properties of silicone grease and I swiftly lost my footing. In a movement of which Laurel and Hardy would have been proud - you know, the slow motion slapstick "slip up" where you start off running backwards on the spot, fly five foot up horizontal to the floor, hovver in mid air for a moment before finally crashing to the ground - I was on my arse in a trice.

Not realising what had happened, I glanced down at my left wrist. I was a disappointed to note that it was lying in the pool of cold yellow sputum, which possibly yesterday had been a portion of fish, chips and piccalilli. The unctious goo was all stuck in my watch strap and coating arm hair. Talk about heave, I was gargling on my fried brekky. I wearily picked myself up and headed over to the sinks to wash it off. I happened to glance across at the pile of egg-sick and I swear it was laughing at me.

Closer examination of the sinks, indeed the entire toilet facility, revealed the full horror which the room held. It was plastered from floor to ceiling with sick, almost as if the Chawler Family* had been locked in there with food poisoning. All I can remember thinking was "I'm ACKKK! never GERKKK! going on this GGWWWEEERRRPP! feckin' sh*t tub HONK! ever again HWWWAAARRRKKK!" Or words to that effect. I bloody meant it and by Huey and Ralph I never have.



* The Chawlers are that family of big fat bone idle f**kers who are too obese to work and spend all day shovelling Kentucky down their ravenning maws whilst lying on the sofa and watching the telly all day. Source; Daily Mail