New wind-powered UK to France ferry service to begin trial runs

A new ferry service is launching between the UK and France next month on a high-performance catamaran.

SailLink, which operates the first sailing ferry between Dover and Boulogne-sur-Mer, announced it was launching a trial channel crossing between two new French and British destinations.

Running for six days in September, the pilot phase will ferry 12 passengers per crossing using wind power between Shoreham in West Sussex and Fécamp in Normandy on eight-hour crossings.

If the results of the test are positive, SailLink said it would explore options with the ports to bring a second regular cross-Channel sailing service into operation as soon as possible.

The series of crossings can be booked on SailLink between 8 and 13 September at £220 per crossing (£440 return) with the option to bring bikes on board from £10.

Passengers will be aboard the 18-metre Mer Agitée catamaran, built from reused ocean-racing parts, with storage inside for up to eight bikes.

For avid cyclists and bikepackers, the new connection will link rides on England’s National Cycle Route 2 with France’s La Vélomaritime (EuroVelo 4) and the GR21 coastal path.

There is also a range of onward connections in both destinations. Gatwick airport is only a 40-minute train journey from Shoreham, where the sailing departs from.

Fécamp, meanwhile, is the home port of the sail-powered cargo company New Towt, which operates transatlantic routes to North and South America and has recently begun offering passenger spaces on its boats.

Passport control is carried out at the pontoon in both ports, the same process as on the Dover to Boulogne service.

Andrew Simons, founder and skipper, SailLink, said: “We started SailLink to prove that a wind-powered ferry could be a real, scheduled crossing, not a stunt.

“Taking that idea to a new coast, with a boat and a skipper like this, tells us the demand is there and the model travels. September is a test, and we will learn a lot from it.”

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