Topic: SPIRIT OF BRITAIN LAUNCHED (Read 18857 times)

The Ferry Man · « **Reply #25 on:** November 23, 2010, 16:03:44 »

OK guys this is it - she is current;y undergoing her sea trials right now...

Oh I wish I were in Rauma right now...

http://www.doverferryphotos.co.uk/pastandpresent/NB1367.htm

Good luck Spirit of Britain - I hope all goes well

The Ferry King · « **Reply #26 on:** November 23, 2010, 16:45:05 »

woow that was fast.. it was lik yesterday i felt she was just being key ceremonied
wonderful!

The Ferry King · « **Reply #27 on:** November 23, 2010, 16:50:17 »

wait why is that the old pic of her?
here are some updates:

and spirit of france now:

because know for sure that Spirit Of Britain is now all tip top in colour and is currently only being desgined for ineterior

here is a pic of here being coloured:

Cat320DL · « **Reply #28 on:** November 23, 2010, 18:21:59 »

Nice pic's TFK

Kyle

The Ferry King · « **Reply #29 on:** December 02, 2010, 11:05:25 »

SOB on sea trials in baltic sea (pics from november)
she is currently back in port

Matthew Brown · « **Reply #30 on:** December 02, 2010, 13:24:36 »

In a way, I prefer the artists impression.

It just seems very bare $:-\$

The Ferry King · « **Reply #31 on:** December 02, 2010, 13:32:31 »

Quote from: Matthew Brown on December 02, 2010, 13:24:36

In a way, I prefer the artists impression.

It just seems very bare $:-\$

it does seem a little bare
but its their choice and they prefer a dover-calis ferry that looks familiar to hull ferries

The Ferry King · « **Reply #32 on:** December 02, 2010, 13:39:14 »

8double posted8

the fixed date is 23Jan and she will arrive on that date
and will be doing a Dover to Calais and Calais to Dover sea trials.
looking at the website i saw that most of the places were booked to go on her the day after..
so i will try maybe somewhere in February

but POD lives closer so he is going to get some pics when he gets time to

The Ferry King · « **Reply #33 on:** December 07, 2010, 16:24:26 »

some final pics for preparation of the SOB

it looks like a ordinary ship though $:-\$

Cat320DL · « **Reply #34 on:** December 07, 2010, 18:17:49 »

Great pics TFK

Keep us updated

Kyle

The Ferry King · « **Reply #35 on:** December 11, 2010, 20:20:03 »

Thur 9th Dec

Bye Bye Pride of Dover

Pride of Dover Bows Out

09/12/2010

The Pride of Dover bows out of service in mid-December after more than twenty years on the Dover-Calais route for P&O Ferries.
Staff at the company will mark the end of an era when the ship makes its final return sailing from Dover at 23.55hrs on 14 December. Among the crew will be members of staff who collected the ship from Bremerhaven, Germany, when it was launched in 1986. They include Nigel Davies, Operations Manager and Simon Johnston, Customer Services Manager. Nigel said: â€œThe Pride of Dover is one of the most successful cross-Channel ferries ever and has carried getting on for 35 million passengers in her time. Weâ€™ve all got some great memories of working on her but now weâ€™re looking to the future and the exciting arrival of our new ships next year.â€
The Pride of Dover was launched on 20 September 1986 and entered service from Dover under the command of Captain John Martin, now retired, on 2 June 1987. She was followed into service shortly after by sister ship the Pride of Calais. The pair cost Â£85 million to build and they were the largest ferries to operate on the Dover Strait up to that time. On arrival they were described by onlookers (lining the cliffs above the Eastern Docks) and staff alike as â€˜jaw-droppingly bigâ€™.
Since then, she has completed more than 2,000,000 miles during her 24yrs of service on the Dover-Calais route â€“ the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back five times!
In January 2011 the Spirit of Britain will enter service on the Dover-Calais route, replacing the Pride of Dover. It is the first of two huge new ferries being delivered to P&O Ferries at a cost of â‚¬360 million and will offer double the carrying capacity of its predecessor.
The introduction of the Pride of Dover and her sister ship the Pride of Calais marked a new era of ferry travel and that is why they have served the company so well. Judging by the reaction of everybody who has visited the Spirit of Britain in Finland, our two new ships are set to take expectations to a new level just as their predecessors had 24yrs

Pride of Dover's final crossings

The Ferry King · « **Reply #36 on:** December 11, 2010, 20:27:30 »

Final Crossing (the last crossing)
will be sailing from Dover at 23.55hrs on 14 December
the last time we will be seeing her in Dover

Great times she had at dover but times have past and now its time for rest.

VirtualSkipper · « **Reply #37 on:** December 11, 2010, 22:20:39 »

Will the old ferries by scrapped or taken over by an other ferry line?

The Ferry Man · « **Reply #38 on:** December 11, 2010, 22:21:10 »

Its not known at the moment

Stuart2007 · « **Reply #39 on:** December 11, 2010, 22:41:22 »

Floating boxes. Prefer the look of Rodin and Berlioz. Still, I'll never travel on them. Not unless they're taken over by another ferry company.

The Ferry Man · « **Reply #40 on:** December 11, 2010, 22:42:51 »

lol

They are closely related to the Rodin/Berlioz though..

Maybe half sisters or cousins...

The Ferry King · « **Reply #41 on:** December 23, 2010, 18:42:29 »

Update:

Photo Update â€“ December 2010

23/12/2010

STX Europe, Finland. Normally Iâ€™d look to amaze you with stories of how temperatures in the yard have plumeted to -25, but with the artic weather we are currently experiencing here in the UK, there will be a few of you who currently have very little sympathy for our Finnish friends!
So instead, lets focus on the ships. The Spirit of France continues to amaze me with the speed of construction, it is now pretty much complete in terms of superstructure. And as for the Spirit of Britain, she is making the final preperations for her early January departure to Dover.

Spirit Of Britain- December 2010

Spirit Of France- December 2010

Spirit Of France stern- December 2010

MokMok · « **Reply #42 on:** December 23, 2010, 19:34:39 »

What does she have such very unusual bow doors. Not the usual type of clamdoors. Why does she have a very unusual bow?

The Ferry King · « **Reply #43 on:** December 23, 2010, 21:08:28 »

The bow door has specially been designed for Calais berths as their different from the normal ferry berths.. The Ships bow doors open and close when unloading the vehicles onboard. Its like a Dover thing that is mostly common for most ferries.

The Ferry Man · « **Reply #44 on:** December 23, 2010, 21:16:08 »

Quote from: The Ferry King on December 23, 2010, 21:08:28

The bow door has specially been designed for Calais berths as their different from the normal ferry berths.. The Ships bow doors open and close when unloading the vehicles onboard. Its like a Dover thing that is mostly common for most ferries.

Nah I think he means the complete lack of streamlining - the hull stops and the bow doors are "inside" slightly, looks odd

MokMok · « **Reply #45 on:** December 23, 2010, 21:22:33 »

But why do Calais and Dover have such unusual ferry berths? Ferries which berth and unberth at normal ferry berths mostly have loading ramps at the bow and stern, normal clamdoors at the bow and even a collision bulkhead door after the loading ramp at the bow. And such ferries don't have any ugly cowcatchers.

The Ferry King · « **Reply #46 on:** December 24, 2010, 19:21:42 »

Not Funny

but anyway..
lets stay to Spirit Of Britain inside this topic and leave the questions in Cookiebox please.

Pride of Dover · « **Reply #47 on:** December 24, 2010, 20:12:06 »

most ferries useualy berth on a pontoon or a small linkspan or even sometimes a quey side......
where as Dover the linkspans have been around for a while and the ferries are made to fit the linkspans so that there arent any arrguments of berth usage if a berth gets modified to suit another ship and another company cant pay to have the modifications

The Ferry Man · « **Reply #48 on:** January 05, 2011, 18:03:30 »

She is finally on her way

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?mmsi=235082716&centerx=21.44232&centery=61.12498&zoom=10&type_color=6

The Ferry King · « **Reply #49 on:** January 05, 2011, 19:32:46 »

Spirit Of Britain Sails For Dover

05/01/2011

P&O Ferries took delivery of its new â‚¬180 million ship Spirit of Britain today (5 January) during a handover ceremony at the stxeurope shipyard in Rauma, Finland.
The ship then followed a route cleared by icebreakers to commence its delivery voyage to Dover. The estimated time of arrival at Dover is Sunday 9 January at 11.00hrs if sea ice conditions in the Baltic are as anticipated.
Upon arrival the ship will undergo final preparations for entry into service on the Dover â€“ Calais route from 21 January.
At 49,000 gross registered tonnes and 213 metres in length, Spirit of Britain is by far the largest ferry ever designed for service on the Dover Strait. The new ship is the first of a pair coming into service for P&O Ferries between Dover and Calais this year, with sister ship Spirit of France to follow in September. Each has capacity for up to 2,000 passengers and vehicle deck space for a line of traffic almost four kilometres long.
Helen Deeble, chief executive, said: â€œThese are exciting times for P&O Ferries. We start the New Year with a magnificent new ship and will take delivery of a second before the year is out. The combined cost of â‚¬360 million for the two ships represents the largest investment ever made by P&O Ferries as we continue to strive to set new standards for our customers.â€

and yes she is on her way for 8 or 9 January

Author Topic: SPIRIT OF BRITAIN LAUNCHED (Read 18857 times)