DIEPPE SEAWAYS : Glad you got that picture John in POST115, it shows the elegant sleek lines of the ship in fine style. She clearly looks built for speed, has that 'fastback' look. I couldnt get a clear shot so will put up a couple of small ones. Dont know if she can get up to full speed on the short run to Calais...might be more at home on the oul Irish Sea...where she could really let rip..and get us across it quicker. Its often very rough on the Irish Sea so the quicker the better...lol!
But speaking of the old days on the Irish Sea..on the Dun Laoghaire ( Dun Leary ) to Holyhead run. They used to run just one ferry. I think it came under the auspices if British Rail and somehow they made it pay..with just the one ferry. Later on I think they went mad altogether and put on a second one which used to leave the sleepy dock at 9.15pm at night. The Night Ferry. Conjures up romantic images of a moonlit sea doesnt it...ermmm no. Tried it. Arriving in Holyhead past midnight was not terribly welcoming..you've heard about the one horse town.. this was it. Cold and grim..I learnt how to shiver on Holyhead pier in the dead of night.
But I ramble...but was thinking, take a look at Boulogne below. Picture taken the day before yesterday looking across from Boland Towers. Looks good. I could reach it with a javelin...yes honest! But, could they make it pay using that old Irish method of one ferry a day. One there, one back. I think the problem all of the previous attemptees had was that they tried to run a full Calais-like service...it didnt pay and doesnt pay. A streamlined basic service could pay...you know the kind of thing, the boat leaves everyday at 9.15 am.
The other news is re the story on 'this is kent' about the MyFerryLink guys, it seems they are running into cash flow problems. I hope its not going to scupper their operation. They are waiting for an injection of funding from the Seafrance liquidation and as you can see here in the pictures below..the ships were running empty for quite a while, so as a consequence were raising very little cash of their own. It is picking up though..a later trip showed improvement.
Gorgeous interiors but sadly 'twas like the Marie Celeste on some days. But as I say..business did pick up.
The above pictures were taken mid channel. Not in harbour while waiting for passengers, but mid channel.
PS: Ed makes a good point there re the DFDS markings being much lower down on the new ship. They painted the DFDS signage just above the blue paintwork on the bottom of vessel, they do this on the other DFDS ships too..but..on the other ships the blue comes up much higher. Thats the difference. Perhaps they felt that look didnt suit the sleeker lines of the Dieppe Seaways.