Val de Loire Farewell
Our first event for 2006 was to mark the final sailing of the Val de Loire under Brittany Ferries ownership. A last minute change to the timetable made this trip her penultimate voyage, but her final sailing to the UK. It was a trip everyone would remember, an enjoyable one, but tinged with much emotion - a memorable event indeed.
Sunday arrived, wet, rainy and cold for most us. With people traveling from all manner of places (Ireland, Guernsey, North Devon, Plymouth to name but a few) it was no surprise that everyone arrived at different times. I myself was delayed (the less said about this the better, *trains cough*) but ended up with a lift from Elliot and Navigator Jim, to the terminal where I met the rest of the gang. Joining us on this trip were some of the usual suspects (Jonathan, Phil, Elliot, Myself, Jim, Alex T and Steve) plus Matt (who came along on the Barfleur BFE event), Dan, Tom, Des, Davis, Karl, Mark, the two Davids, Fernley and then last but not least Anthony and his son Tom (many of which joined us on the Pont-Aven event).
We all assembled in front of the reception desk, whilst I went to check us all in, complete with 15 passports (ebay anyone?). We met up with Alex T and before long made our way over to the embarkation point. With the exception of Steve and I, everyone successfully passed through customs. Steve was stopped because he had a pocket full of euros. I was asked to remove my belt, much to everyone's amusement! Jumping on the bus, we were driven onto the car deck and left to climb the stairs to reception. Here we were kindly provided with access to our cabins meant for the sailing back, enabling us to leave our bags and coats e.t.c. After a swift pint in the bar, we headed back to reception ready for our bridge visit. Unfortunately this was delayed so the bar beckoned again (including a phone call to Rod in Paris) and it was at approximately 16:30 that we all headed down to reception once again.
I don't think the Val has ever seen so many people on her bridge! The officer on watch was extremely helpful, giving Mark and a few others the opportunity to ask some questions and take a look at the radar. A few thousand photos later (including the group one taken on Elliot's camera), it was time to thank the crew and head back to the bar for an aperitif before dinner. Because the main restaurant was closed, dinner was taken in the Café du Port. The standard off-season menu was on offer, comprising of a choice of starter, main course and dessert. When Elliot and Jim were trying to explain the sheer size of the "Garangutan Lamb" to myself and Phil, we didn't realize just how close to the truth they were. A huge shoulder of Lamb was served to a good number of the group, it saddens me to say that it defeated pretty much all of us!
After Dinner we retired to the bar for a few more beverages, this time of the green kind. Phil had discovered a Peppermint liqueur was on sale at the bar. By the end of the evening both himself and Jim must have had 5 glasses each! Unfortunately the bar had ran out of draft beer, so it was left to us to see what else we could empty. I believe I managed to drink all the Vodka and Karl finished a bottle of something else too. All too soon we arrived in Caen and disembarked, managing to get a whole bus to ourselves, now nicknamed the BFE bus. Luckily there were no strip searches at customs this time! Phil managed to persuade the whole group of us (approx 18) that it would be a great idea to find a bar, located "a short walk from the terminal". Thus, out we duly trudged into the pouring rain, with Phil acting as tourist guide. 10 minutes later and we found a couple of decent looking bars. Only to find out that they were closed! So, back we trudged and headed for the warmth of the terminal building. (At least, I think it was Phil who was to blame! - Sorry if it wasn't mate!).
Back inside, we all ordered drinks, some alcoholic (Des' non-descript cider comes to mind) and some not (sensible fruit juices for our younger members). Soon 23:30 came and it was time to get back aboard. A quick drink was had in the bar, before we all proceeded to the outside forward observation deck to watch our departure and toast the Val with a bottle of champagne. I'm sorry that this report revolves around the bar, but this was where most of our day was spent! Cold and a little damp, we headed back up there, where Matt gave the "Bee Gee Lookalike" DJ, aka Simon a run down of what the Pont L' Abbe had in store. I believe we had to correct the DJ a couple of times after he said "So you're the ferry freaks then!" What was even funnier, was when we suggested that perhaps we could take a look at his laptop and pick some music. This turned into me showing off my abysmal dj skills by mixing a couple of tracks together and doing a bit of scratching on the virtual decks he had.
It was at that point that things started to go Pete Tong (see what I did there?!). "So what does this slider do?" I asked, to which DJ Simon replied "hmm, I don't know I've never tried that one". Safe to say I managed to break the entire thing. All the music just stopped dead. I'm blaming Karl though, as he was standing next to me at the time! A few more songs, some dodgy peppermint stuff, vodka, and whatever else the bar had left, and 2am had approached. We slowly slunk out the bar and to our cabins, bidding each other good night in the process.
The 5am alarm sprung out of nowhere, I know that I was still tipsy and feeling a little worse for wear. I'm not sure what Jim or Phil were going through either! (I am reliably informed Phil slept in the car for a while later in the day). A few of us converged on the self service restaurant, where a mile long queue had formed. A quick croissant and orange juice later and we had arrived in Portsmouth. We disembarked, entered customs and then said our goodbyes. Mark and co making the long journey back to Devon, Phil , Jonathan, Steve and Steve's Mum the short journey to the car park, ready to go and queue up for boarding to Cherbourg! I think all in all a fantastic trip. I must thank all of the members who came along. It was great to put faces to the usernames and to be able to give the Val a good send off. I hope you all enjoyed it too.
Farewell Val de Loire, may you serve your new owners as well as you have done for Brittany Ferries.
