sorry this should have been posted earlier but some bugg didnt let me but here it is:
9/1/11
Having negotiated over 100 miles of ice flow (the worst seen in 30 years), 40mph snow storms and some very testing sea conditions in the North Sea, the Spirit of Britain finally entered Dover harbour shortly after 11am on Sunday 9th January.
Greeted by glorious sunshine and hundreds of onlookers lining the cliffs and seafront, the vessel made a trip across the harbour prior to berthing in the Eastern Docks for the very first time. In fact the sense of the occasion was wonderfully captured by a welcoming salute from rival SeaFrance’s Berlioz as the Spirit of Britain entered the harbour.
Upon arrival Captain David Miller enthused about the vessel’s exquisite sea-keeping qualities even in some pretty unsavory conditions. He noted that this bodes well for the smoothness of the journey it should be able to deliver on her new Dover-Calais service.
Included below are a couple of pictures of the Spirit of Britain arriving on Sunday together with a hint of what you can expect to find onboard when she enters service at the end of next week.