Travel Articles

Up until the early 1800s, schooners, clippers and other kinds of sailing ships were the primary means of transportation across the Channel. Unfortunately, these vessels tended to be dangerous and uncomfortable. The sailing ships of that time were built for war and cargo. Broken masts, torn sails and shipwrecks were regular occurrences due to the rough winds and waters of the Channel. The strength of the wind, or lack thereof, played a major role in the length and comfort of the journey. Seasickness was very common as well.

Furthermore, early sailing ships had to drop their anchors out in the harbors or in deeper waters offshore. Passengers had to transfer to small boats in order to reach the ports. The ever changing ocean tides also posed a challenge, as ships could only enter harbors at high tide to avoid damage to their hulls. Accurate schedules were impossible to maintain because of this. Travel by sailing ship was also quite costly. Because of this, channel crossings were mainly limited to wealthy people, missionaries, soldiers and sailors.

In 1820, a French company purchased two paddle steamer ships to carry mail and cargo between Calais, France and Dover, England. Because these new vessels did not have to rely on masts that could break or sails that could rip, they were a vast improvement over the old sailing ships. The direction and force of the wind was no longer a concern. In 1821, a Dover company decided to purchase paddle steamer ships for the sole purpose of conveying passengers between Dover and Calais, and the “ferry to France” was born.

Although the paddle steamer ships experienced fewer mishaps, they were very uncomfortable for passengers. In addition to motion sickness, travelers also had to endure exposure to wind and rain as these vessels were built to carry cargo and had little in the way of shelter. Passengers had no choice but to remain on the open deck for the entire duration of the trip.

For many years, Dover being the smallest route was the only port on the England side, and Calais the only port on the French side of the Channel. In the 1840s, Folkestone became the second major port on the English coast side of the Channel. Boulogne was added on the French side of the Channel. These ports began to compete against one another and as a result, ferries began to evolve into the more comfortable, passenger oriented vessels of today. In 1850, a deep water pier was created at Dover, allowing passengers to board and disembark at any time, regardless of tide levels.

The 20th century brought propeller and turbine engine systems, reducing crossing time from three hours to one hour and a half. These new engines took up a lot less room than the old, bulky paddles and the ferries could carry a much larger number of passengers. The transport of vehicles via ferry was introduced in 1930. Cranes were used to load the cars onto the ferries until 1953, when the “drive-on” option became available. Today, catamarans, passenger ships, hydrofoils, speedboats and “roll-on, roll-off” automobile-carrying vessels are among the many different types of ferries to France.

For more information on booking your trip across the channel, visit: ==> ferries to France.