Mont St Michel to Caen

Our first official event' took place on Friday 27th June 2003 onboard the mv Mont St Michel. We sailed on Brittany Ferries' latest acquisition on a return sailing to Caen. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all, proving a success and ensuring future trips occurring in the future. Read our event report, and you'll wonder why you didn't come!

Friday evening loomed ever closer, and scenes continued to appear before me of what the coming night might bring. Just who's idea was this?! Hesitations aside a group of 4 fellow enthusiasts had booked themselves onboard the Mont St Michel for what was to be the first BFE meet onboard ship. Before too long it was time to head down to Portsmouth to meet people at the Still & West (a name which seems to have become very familiar with ferry enthusiasts these days!). Alex and Phil were already in full swing as they watched the inward Pride of Le Havre and the Bilbao sail by (I tried to stop them, but what can you do - hehe). It's quite amazing just how close they do pass you by, and still continue to draw a crowd despite years service out of the city. Then it was off to the round tower to catch a glimpse of our 'home' for the few hours. Just in time we saw her sail by in all her glory (!) along with what seemed like most of Portsmouth on the tower. Although she is not the most attractive ferry operating out of Portsmouth she still makes an imposing sight in her crisp new paintwork. The Bretagne was already outbound, sailing out to a magnificent sunset. It was on the round tower that it struck me how strange it seemed to be being with a group of people all taking photos and talking about the ferries sailing by - quite surreal! Once everyone had taken their snaps and grown tired of watching the fast cats fly by it was off to the ferry port.

The terminal was quite busy and after quite a long wait in the queue we checked in and our boarding cards were at the ready (surely 2 people on the check in desk isn't enough for sailing times?). BFE's 'other half' then joined the group for a pre sailing drink -in the form of Will. The choice of drinks all round also made me wonder just what the coming night was going to be like! The bar in the terminal is well recommended, good friendly service, stocking a large variety of drinks considering its a small outlet - perfectly situated opposite the BF desk (although others would argue that location I am sure!). Boarding began on time, and after a group photo (including one with a certain person already on his knees) it was time to go and wave goodbye to Will.

Boarding was a complete farce. Nothing to do with Brittany Ferries, it was poor organisation and enthusiasm by the port staff. Immigration and security checks were non existent out, the baggage scanner & body scan gate not being in operation - the first time this year that I had not seen it used. The sheer volume of people may have been the cause, but surely this makes these checks even more necessary? Once on the bus, it was clear that there was indeed a large number of foot passengers sailing to Caen with us, including a group of Americans, who refused to move all the way to the back of the bus. It was obvious to everyone that there would not be enough space for everyone in one load and so I asked the driver if he was going to make two trips. "I cant be bothered to do two trips" was the response. I couldn't believe his attitude. Everyone finally did get on, but there was not a inch spare, and the doors struggled to close. It seems that the ferryport is taking a leaf from cattle transportation lorries these days then. In comparison, at Caen there were TWO bus loads of foot passenger taken from the ship to the terminal!

Anyway, that complaint aside it was time to board the Mont St Michel. Phil commented how nice it was to have an escalator in the foot bridge, a feature which would be helpful in most ports I am sure (although people have been known to get lost in that particular footbridge :$).Once onboard the magnificent atrium greeted us, along with a steward who directed us towards our lounge. The lounges were spacious with comfortable seats, but we were doubtful of being able to sleep in them! After a quick freshening up it was time to tour the vessel which was already quite full, with embarkation almost complete. Since my last trip in January it is good to see that she is still in perfect condition, with no visible signs of wear and tear.

Out on deck we saw the Pride of Le Havre sail out in the moonlight, whilst we still had a bunker barge alongside, topping up the Mont's enormous tanks. Lorries were still being loaded, and it was clear that we would be a little late in departing. We made our way to the forward viewing area to view the departure. Its quite a feat finding the way out onto the deck, with no signs, and a temperamental sliding fire door making access somewhat hazardous! A firework display made pleasant viewing (all organised for the trip I assured them!). After passing the ever growing Spinnaker Tower it was decided by all to make our way to the 'Blue Note'... the bar!

A great improvement to the atmosphere in the bar was noticed. Firstly it was the first time I had actually seen it full, but more noticeable was that the pillars were not lit, which had made the bar too bright at night. The DJ was in full swing, trying as ever to encourage people to get onto the dance floor, with very little success. He managed to be-friend a French girl and her family however - though not by their choosing! The evening was interspersed between rounds of drinking and bursts on the dance machine in Games
Planet - thoroughly recommended! A word of warning, attempting to dance to 'I will survive' on the advanced setting is not advised for asthma sufferers, and Phil found to his cost! The bar slowly began to empty after 12, and those that did remain slowly gained the courage to get onto the real dance floor, even if Alex was all on his own! At times it looked as if Tom wanted to disown us all, but I am sure we all thought that of each other at some point that night! The classics were being played, including our own requests including David Sneddon. All of a sudden it was 1am and the bar promptly closed, the DJ packed up and the lights went on. The bar was still reasonably busy at this time, its disappointing that BF close their bars so early, especially when you consider just how much money they make in them. All that was left to do was to make another round of the ship, which of course was now deserted, aside from the few stumbling along trying to find their cabin, and those who had opted to sleep on the sofa chairs rather than the reclining seats (it was a shame there were none left). Slowly we made our way back to lounge, where most were already asleep.

After what seemed like a game of musical chairs, trying to find a comfortable one, we all tried to get some kip before the early arrival in the morning. It's quite an experience sleeping in a lounge with lots of other people (!), the snoring, the talking in their sleep - its both annoying but very amusing at the same time. Whist Alex, Tom and Phil managed to get some rest on the floor it was not to prove that easy for myself, but luckily I was not the only one onboard in the same situation, and ended up spending most of the night chatting in the Salon du The. At about 4am the engines were stopped as we drifted off the French coast in a flat calm sea. Finally at 5am the restaurants opened (having been smelling the freshly baked croissants on deck for some time). It wasn't long before Phil awoke and joined me, whilst the others snored away. We both had a pleasant breakfast in 'les Romantiques' although the cooked sausage looked slightly suspect, it was well prices, filling and most importantly tasty. The engines restarted at 5:30am as we turned and headed towards Ouistreham in what proved to be a beautiful sunrise, it was going to be another nice day.

Everyone was finally awake as we entered the channel and watched the arrival from the outside decks. Once alongside disembarkation started in earnest and it didn't take long before foot passengers were asked to get off. The gangway was quite steep, but it was nice to see that there were two buses waiting to take us to the terminal! Already full of people waiting for the return sailing it was decided to have a quick walk to the opposite side of the port. This seemed like a good idea before what seemed like most of Caen's
boats decided to sail out at the same time, requiring the opening of the lock gates! Even a cruise ship, the Song of Flower, decided to join in with the fun. We finally made it to the other side, and managed to get some nice views of the Mont, although some of us got covered in a little too much mud on the beach - we all thought it had been worth the trouble. Having negotiated the lock gates and their games a second time we made it back to the port, only to be greeted by about 10 UK police vans - one for each division. They were all in casual clothing - so we were all safe! It was then time to check in again, and stock up on those French essentials in the shop (Orangina etc). Boarding commenced on time and before long we were back onboard.

We all agreed that we needed to get a cabin, as we were all quite tired by now, and Phil persuaded us to go Commodore. After a futile attempt to request a forward facing cabin, despite my best French linguistic skills we settled for our allocated starboard side cabin. The cabin was clean, tidy, well presented, but most importantly had four beds:). Our steward brought breakfast to the cabin which we quickly devoured before watching the departure from the stern. It was then back to the cabin to get some well earned sleep for an hour or two. The air conditioning struggled to keep the cabin cool as the sun shone in, despite the curtains being closed. We eventually found a well hidden black out blind which helped, but we still kept the door open. A small point I have noticed on the Mont St Michel is that none of the cabin doors have magnet catches on them enabling them to be kept open. This is the first ship that I have seen this, they were handy, but also prevented the door from slamming into the wall or damaging the wardrobe when opened. Perhaps this is an oversight or is a new fire regulation?

Feeling much more awake and fresh we then made the most of the remaining time onboard. Shopping (very nice Brittany Ferries Mont St Michel T-shirts for sale), a quick lunch in the self service restaurant, games of air hockey etc all passed the time with ease. Before we knew it the coast began to appear as we neared Portsmouth. It was then to the outside decks as we sailed by Southsea and the dockyard. Disembarkation was again prompt and all too soon we were back in the terminal, our trip having concluded.

My thanks go to Alex, Phil, Tom and the crew of the MSM for making the event possible and enjoyable. With the pledged support of Brittany Ferries for future BFE events I am sure that this will prove to be the first of many more to come.