Safety should come first

AFTER A very good crossing to the UK on the overnight ferry from St Malo at the end of December, returning in early January, it was a pleasure to be greeted by smart, smiling staff on a well appointed, clean ship.

After a good night’s sleep in a warm cabin, I was ready for breakfast. Down to the spacious self-service restaurant to a very good English breakfast (free) which included excellently cooked fried eggs and succulent bacon.

As I finished and watched the lights of St Malo and Dinard get closer, I listened to the occasional whingeing Brit and my mind drifted to the correspondence about ferries in Connexion.

Perhaps the main point about ferry ports is not necessarily about which company or how much it costs, but more about safety.

Every time there is an incident involving a lorry, hands are thrown in the air and lorry drivers receive another knock about their abilities and ancestry.

But look at the majority of people who are happy to drive to the south/south west of France from Calais because it is “cheaper” by the Channel tunnel or one of the other ferry companies.

Many brag that they only take 10 or 12 hours to drive down if they do not stop. I have heard people say that it only takes them 20 hours to get down from Yorkshire if they leave at midnight and catch the first ferry/train available.

These people are accidents waiting to happen, with consequences not only for their own families, but also for several other innocent victims.

Remember those lorry drivers? They are required by law to have regular breaks (every four hours unless it is dangerous to stop, and then it has to be at the next safe place).

When they follow a car drifting across the carriage lanes as the driver struggles to stay awake, 41 tonnes is a lot to stop if that car goes out of control.

Yes, I know many people will stay overnight in a hotel before completing their journey, but there are too many who do not.

Waiting at Portsmouth to get on the ferry, I also thought how good it was to embark on a vessel where you knew that the crew were well drilled in safety procedures and the ship would not be impounded by the Maritime Safety unit while the crew were taught those safety procedures before being allowed to sail some days later.

Graham MANNING
Charente

I MUST take issue with Alan McCorkadale in January’s issue over Brittany Ferries.

While I agree that they are not the cheapest way of crossing the Channel, they save us a lot of time and petrol. I do not see LD Lines being viable for us because of its
unsociable sailing times. We use Brittany Ferries at least four times a year; in the winter we can go from St Malo on a Saturday night, I wish they would do that all year round. And we always return on the overnight ferry from Portsmouth.

We find it a very pleasing experience, the food in the restaurant is always beautifully cooked and presented. In fact when we went to the UK in December, the staff discovered that it was the birthday of one of our party and, when it came to dessert, the lights dimmed and they brought out a gateau with candles for her. It was very
much appreciated.

As for some of your correspondents’ comments on the staff, we have never found them to be anything but polite, friendly and efficient, especially when we speak a little French to them.

The only complaint we have with Brittany Ferries is with their loading staff, mainly I have to say, in Portsmouth: they are hopeless.

Pam JONES
Gueltas (Morbihan)