I take the ferry home every Christmas from Fleetwood to Larne, prefer them to flying particularly as I get to take my car with me. They cancelled the one home last Christmas though and I had to get the HSS to Stranraer and drive all the way to Cambridge, that was a long day...
Ferries....
- Thread starter Doran
- Start date
I've actually just realised why I haven't been on a boat for so long. I almost have a phobia of them, lol.
The more I think about it the more I think I will be scared boarding the boat at night and sailing off into the darkness.
I just worry something bad will happen; I have had it ever since I had a serious car crash about two years ago where, in the night, I crashed on the motorway at about 90mph.
Anyone else have travelling fears? Any books i can read to help?
Thanks
The more I think about it the more I think I will be scared boarding the boat at night and sailing off into the darkness.
I just worry something bad will happen; I have had it ever since I had a serious car crash about two years ago where, in the night, I crashed on the motorway at about 90mph.
Anyone else have travelling fears? Any books i can read to help?
Thanks
That sounds awesome, go out slightly early (6pm) get ******/drunk/slashed and go to the ferry for midnight, sleep the booze off and your in Amsterdam!
Boats are probably the safest way to travel, no chance of dying in a crash or the engines catching fire and killing everyone like on a plane.
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just freezing to death within a few minutes.
Aren't planes statistically the safest way to travel, well apart from walking.
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They were but rail travel has just moved into 1st place.
I did the Dover to Calais router on P&O at the weekend and it seems to get worse every time I do. Had a two hour delay in both directions. The boats seem to have less and less facilities on them now too, and more and more people (mostly kids and noisy irritating families). There are very few business people as I suppose they all use the tunnel now. I think I might try Sea France next time. They used to be inferior to P&O but I suspect they might be the better company to use now. Has anyone tried them in recent years?
The trouble with using planes instead is you can’t take your car.
The trouble with using planes instead is you can’t take your car.
Hence the lifeboats. Unless a bomb explodes taking out half the ship and leaving it looking like the titanic or a wave 50m high capsizes it, there will be plenty of time to get onto the lifeboats in the very unlikely event of an emergency.
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Not necessarily.
The Ro-Ro ferries don't have a brilliant safety record.
If for example, the doors are not properly sealed, water rushes in at such a pace it can roll the whole boat in less than 90 seconds as it did at the Zebrugger disaster. It was a similar problem for the Estonia ferry disaster, too, and 800 died in the middle of the night as a result.
I think now boats have bulkheads, which means that the water only goes in a specific part and they also have sensors telling them whether the doors are in fact closed. They also have better procedures for announcing an emergency, which is half the problem with Estonia as people weren't really told until it was too late. But I still worry a little bit, irrationally, of course.
The other risk is of collision; in the Channel there are about 2 incidents a year, mainly between commercial boats, but I do not know what would happen if there was a an incident involving a ferry...
Soldato
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My Dad was born in Downpatrick and wanted to go back there this summer but the ferry prices are just ridiculous. I guess it's economics, despite the journey length being similar to DoverCalais there isn't as much competition iirc.
The folks always use the ferry when they goto France so thats three trips a year. I guess they could fly but seen as you need a car where they go, it would be much more expensive once you factor in car hire.
Soldato
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SeaFrance and Norfolkline both have newer boats than P&O; in fact the latest SeaFrance boats are the biggest on the route with the best facilities. Haven't been on them myself but my parents have and were impressed.
You should be, ferries can sink!
Get the Stena HSS from Stranraer to Belfast about 6 times a year, good value, boat plus the train to Edinburgh for £18 dolla, or 30odd dolla return. Im always too lazy to book flights in advance, plus I quite like the trip.
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