Poole - Channel Islands ferry
Poole - Channel Islands ferry | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
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From: | Poole | ||
To: | Guernsey, Jersey | ||
Distance: | 261.6 km (162.6 miles) | ||
County | |||
Dorset • Guernsey Error: Guernsey is not a county • Jersey | |||
Current Operator | |||
Condor Ferries | |||
On road(s) | |||
A350, X1 | |||
Condor Ferries have been providing ferry services between the Channel Islands and the UK mainland for 30 years, and ferries from the Channel Islands to France for even longer. Since 1993 Condor and their parent company Commodore Shipping have been the main ferry providers from the UK, with the take over of British Channel Islands Ferries. The service has alternated between Poole and/or Weymouth over the years, but due to the size of the current ferry, Weymouth is not currently used. Almost all of the services operated by Condor from Poole and Weymouth have been Fast Ferries. In the early years, the company used Hydrofoils, but most of the car ferries have been Catamarans or similar designs.
Crossing
The crossing from Poole to St Peter Port on Guernsey takes about 3 hours, and then an additional hour on to St Helier on Jersey. There are occasionally direct services to or from St Helier, but most still stop at Guernsey in at least one direction. Turnaround time at Guernsey is approximately 30-40 minutes, with an additional 20 minutes spent navigating in and out of the harbour. The ferry is normally in harbour at St Helier for a couple of hours. During the summer months, the ferry operates a daily return schedule, based on the tide times in Poole Harbour. This continues whilst the larger ferries from Portsmouth are away for annual overhauls, but in the winter months the service from Poole can diminish to a once a week crossing, normally on a Friday or Saturday, outwith holidays.
The crossing is made by the Condor Liberation, new in 2015 and replacing the two smaller ferries that previously operated on the routes. Due to the size of the vessel, it cannot operate from Weymouth, and so only operates out of Poole. The ferry only carries cars and small commercials, the freight service from Portsmouth carrying larger vehicles.
Ferries
Name | IMO | Operator | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Condor Liberation | Condor Ferries | 2015-date | ~250 cars | |
Condor Vitesse | Condor Ferries | 1997-2014 | ||
Condor Express | Condor Ferries | 1997-2014 | ||
Condor 12 | Condor Ferries | 1996-97 | ||
Havelet | Condor Ferries | 1994-2013 | 205 cars; relief only in later years |
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