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This is a voyage report and photo report rolled into one.
Yesterday I went on a day trip to Dover with my best friend. For him it was his first time on a cross channel ferry and he immediately got a taste of how rough our beloved stretch of water can get. We boarded the Pride of Canterbury for the 9.25 sailing from Calais. The captain said that the conditions in the Channel were overcast with some drizzle and a force 7/8 blowing from the SW with a moderate swell (both of these proved to be understatements :lol: ).
We left more or less on time and the ship was lightly loaded. As we cast off and the Canterbury swung around to head out the wind blew the her bow against the quayside next to the berth. We were finally able to get clear from the berth and made our way out of port.
As we sailed along the French coast the seas were still deceptivle calm. However once we turned towards Dover the seas began to build and it became clear that the weather predicted by the captain wasn't entirely correct. The sea state was indeed moderate but mostly rough and the wind (this is based on data from Sandettie light vessel) was a Severe Gale 9 (43 knots) with gusts to Storm 10 (53 knots).
The Canterbury ploughed on and from time to time hit quite a big wave but all in all she rode the waves very well. About 20 minutes from Dover my friend felt a bit queasy so we decided to go outside to get some fresh air. Luckily my friend got better and I was able to snatch some nice pictures with my new camera. Normally we could have gone up to the bridge but since the weather was rough I decided not to do so.
Seafrance Rodin as she ploughs through the waves on her way to Dover. Sorry for the quality due to the motion of the ship
Dover in sight in the distance, the movement of the ship was quite clear from where we were standing and the bridge wing often dipped below the horizon
The Burgundy passed us just off DoverWe were able to enter Dover straightaway but we were assigned berth 8 and this caused some issues. After 20 minutes the captain finally gave up trying and we had to wait inside the harbour so that the Rodin could berth. I believe that this was part of the plan as the Rodin, who was on number 9 could act as a block against the wind. Eventually, with the help of the Dauntless we were able to berth 45 minutes late. During the berthing process we came periously close to the mooring pier between number 8 and 9 berth, propably no more than 10 metres (30 feet). Some pictures I took whilst inside the harbour can be found below.
The Rodin shows off her 'green' credentials
The Dunkerque Seaways ploughs through the swell outside Dover Eastern Docks
Dover Harbour with the European Seaway waiting outside, this picture was taken just as we were making our final berthing attempt, which succeeded :thumbup:
The Pride of Dover still makes a fine sight after all her service years on the Dover Strait
The Seafrance Rodin/Berlioz are IMHO still the best looking ferries on the Channel, but why are those windows covered?We finally berthed at 11 and we went to the White Cliffs visitor centre to have a bite to eat followed by a short walk on the Cliffs. Then we went to town and to the POW pier.
The Burgundy entering Dover with the Pride of Dover in the background
I saw that the ferries were running over an hour late so we decided to return to the terminal in the hope of catching the 15.15 sailing. We were surprised to see that many people had taken the same decision and we duly boarded the Canterbury at 15.50. About 45 minutes later she was ready to sail and we were back on our way to Calais. The seas had calmed down a bit but there was still a Force 7/8 wind blowing from the SW.
After resting for a while in the Horzion Lounge which by that time was getting noisy we went outside where it was quieter. About 15 minutes from Dover we went to Langan's to have dinner. I had the chicken liver pat
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