High speed crossing Brittany ferries

[Lyza]

Has anyone used this service, in bad weather? Or even good weather? What happens if it is taken off does Brittany ferries offer an automatic sailing on the Portsmouth Caen sailing? I had a very bad experience on the Hovercraft many years ago and I am wary of this crossing, but would love to arrive more quickly than the normal 6 hours.

Lyza

[Will]

As with all high speed craft, this service is governed by international maritime rules (the IMO high speed speed craft code to be precise). This means that if significant wave height is over a certain amount, which varies slightly according to the size and design of the ferry, it cannot operate, or, in some cases, can still run but at reduced speed. As a general rule, if wind force is 6 or more, expect cancellations - though wave height depends also on wind and tide direction and other factors.

As far as Brittany Ferries is concerned, if the fast craft does not run then you have the option of transferring to the normal ferries. Some other operators, which have only fast craft, are not able to offer this alternative. Cancellations due to weather are comparatively rare in summer, which is why some services, like Brittany Ferries' fast craft, only operate in the months when better weather is normal.

 

[Thibault]

We used the high speed service from Portsmouth to Caen when it was operated by P & O.  We travelled in early May and on the day of the return journey, the crossing was cancelled because of the weather.  P & O re-accommodated us on their Le Havre-Portsmouth crossing and gave us a free up-grade to club class (which included free glass of champagne, free tea and coffee and free chocolates and biscuits [:D]).  So we were relatively happy.

I am not sure what BF's policy is, but I guess it would be something similar.

[Will]

Yes, although P&O is no longer running either of those services, the better operators do tend to look after their customers. Though no doubt users will come up with exceptions to prove that wrong.

I've used these ferries many times, and, to those not used to sea travel, the motion can feel quite unpleasant in heavier seas. The the ships themselves can be safely operated in extremely high seas, far above the normal limits, as has been proved by the US Military which operates a couple of sister ships to the Normandie Express - military ships are not bound by the same rules. Some rules allow fast craft to run at reduced speed in bad weather, which is fine for safety, but is not so good as far as passenger comfort is concerned; at slow speed they tend to wallow rather than cut through the waves, the motion control system does not work so well, and of course the journey lasts longer at reduced speed.

 

[Lyza]

Thanks for sensible advice - as usual. Well, I think we will give it a go. Watch this space. We are going in March.

Lyza

[Pierre ZFP]

Sit yourself as close as possible to the centre of the vessel. By doing this I nearly made it all the way accross from Dover to Boulogne before I threw up.  Quite a record for me!

[jon]

We have travelled the Portsmouth to chebourge crossing....which usedto/operates from Spring and it takes just under 3 hours to get from A to B ...but sometimes...even in summer the crossing has been a little shaky.

I have memoreis of a crossing from Portsmouth to St Malo where all the food, plates...almost everything was crashing from surfaces to the ground...This was in the days of Brittany ferries.

[jon]

We have travelled the Portsmouth to cherbourge crossing....which usedto/operates from Spring and it takes just under 3 hours to get from A to B ...but sometimes...even in summer the crossing has been a little shaky.

I have memoreis of a crossing from Portsmouth to St Malo where all the food, plates...almost everything was crashing from surfaces to the ground...This was in the days of Brittany ferries.

[berlumberley]

Just a word of caution regarding Brittany ferries cancellations. Our fast ferry from Portsmouth to Caen has been cancelled this weekend due to "technical problems". We got an email informing us and offerring us Portsmouth to Cherbourg instead. I rang and switched to the normal Caen ferry as Cherbourg is miles from where we want to be. We now arrive at 9.30pm instead of 7pm which has caused us major problems at the other end. The express ferry has reclining seats included in the price which we wanted as we're taking my elderly mother. Brittany ferries refused to give us one free replacement reclining seat on the slower ferry and wanted to charge us more than the express ferry to have the same level of comfort even though they cancelled our ferry. All I asked was that the fare remain the same (even though it should be £20 cheaper) and included 5 reclining seats but they refused and insisted we pay a difference of £4.50 . As you can tell I'm really angry and will not travel with them again. We were expecting some consilatory offer as our plans are messed up badly (even though I understand that problems occur) but to be charged extra when the problem is theirs is just plain bad business. Just venting! I guess I'll have to whinge at them when we get back next week.

[La Guerriere]

The problem I find with the high speed jobbies is the very odd movement in less than perfect weather. It's not quite like the old hovercraft (which might be likened to being towed over a ploughed field on a tin tray), but the motion control system gives odd little lateral yaws and lurches which can knock you of your pins if you are walking about and can be rather vomit inducing.

[Dianes]

We were due to travel on the Portsmouth to Cherbourg fastcraft on 2nd May, but have been called by Brittany Ferries to say the craft has had to go into dry dock because of a problem with one of the engines. (It's been in dock for the whole of the winter - surely this could have been sorted then?). It's caused us a lot of problems because the cruise ferry is too late for us. We now have to go a day earlier via Caen (a horrible long crossing for the dog). But they did give us complimentary reclining seats.

[ViVienne]

our return crossing on 8th May has been cancelled too, so it will mean 6hrs on the Caen/Portsmouth for the dogs

[Will]

The problem only occurred just before the ship was due to re-enter service, which is sod's law after lying inactive over the winter. A connecting rod broke in one of the engines, which damaged the crankshaft. Although the work can be done without completely removing the engine it still involves complete dismantling which will take about three weeks. Part of one of the bulkheads has to be cut away in order to change the crankshaft, and this obviously needs to be replaced (welding aluminium in a cramped engine room is not an easy job).

BF is very lucky that the replacement parts were available; not long ago crankshafts for large diesel engines could not be found for love nor money because there are so few foundries and machining works worldwide able to produce these very large and complex parts. Each of Normandie Express's four engines has 20 cylinders in a V-formation, so you can imagine what the crankshaft looks like.

Engine failures on fast craft are not uncommon; they are much more highly stressed than those on normal ferries and not all of the engineers understand the different maintenance requirements - this was a difficulty when P&O ran a fast ferry from Portsmouth. These ships frequently sail with three out of the four engines, which is not ideal for many reasons. BF probably thought it worth delaying the re-start of the service rather than struggling through the season with an underpowered, unbalanced ship, and the risks that it would have to be taken out of service anyway if another engine gave trouble. The 'odd motion' described by La Guerriere might well have been on a ship running on three engines. Normally, with two engines per hull, the motion control system has no difficulty in keeping straight and comparatively level, but with one side down on power the ship has a tendency to skate about, even though the ship's service speed can be maintained.

Maybe this will provide an opportunity to try the Norman Arrow between Portsmouth and Le Havre instead?