Regards, Ray Smyth.
Hello, Ray Smyth again. Additional info to the above post. “MV Norsea” is at Hull,
“MV Norsun” is at Europort, Rotterdam. Regards, Ray Smyth.
Hi Ray,
A few photos from 18 January 1976, when my brother Andy and myself were waiting to load onto MV Norstar at Hull. This was my first overland trip to Damascus, although I’d done a fair bit of Europe, often catching the ‘Viking ■■■■■■■■’ out of Dover
Hello John, I only ever sailed from Hull to Rotterdam twice. First time was early 1982 on board “Norland”,
returning a few days later on “Norstar”. Some drivers may be surprised to know that the North Sea Ferries
were not drive through like most ferries elsewhere. If you were one of the early 40 footers to board, you
drove on,spun round at the bow end,and headed toward the stern door. About 3 months after my trip on
“Norland”, she was sent to a shipyard for modifications,then loaded at Portsmouth with about 2000 troops
and lots of wheeled and tracked military equipment,and was part of the task force,and sailed south to
The Falklands. Seventeen months later she returned to the River Humber amid lots of bells & whistles
and flag waving,and a civic reception. The ships condition was a bit rough, It was in use ferrying Argentine
prisoners back home to Buenos Aires. After a refit she was back in service,and a couple of years later went
away to be cut in two (up and down),and returned to Hull 80ft longer.
Kind Regards, Ray Smyth.
Ray Smyth:
Some drivers may be surprised to know that the North Sea Ferries
were not drive through like most ferries elsewhere. If you were one of the early 40 footers to board, you
drove on,spun round at the bow end,and headed toward the stern door.
Stern loading only was/is actually very common maybe even more so than ro ro especially in the case of Mediterranean routes.With obvious safety advantages for ploughing through rough seas.
Carryfast:
Ray Smyth:
Some drivers may be surprised to know that the North Sea Ferries
were not drive through like most ferries elsewhere. If you were one of the early 40 footers to board, you
drove on,spun round at the bow end,and headed toward the stern door.Stern loading only was/is actually very common maybe even more so than ro ro especially in the case of Mediterranean routes.With obvious safety advantages for ploughing through rough seas.
Did you appear in that episode of “Only fools and Horses” "To Hull and back " I think it was ? Cheers Bewick.
Carryfast:
Ray Smyth:
Some drivers may be surprised to know that the North Sea Ferries
were not drive through like most ferries elsewhere. If you were one of the early 40 footers to board, you
drove on,spun round at the bow end,and headed toward the stern door.Stern loading only was/is actually very common maybe even more so than ro ro especially in the case of Mediterranean routes.With obvious safety advantages for ploughing through rough seas.
Hiya,
That’s still much the case nowadays at the P&O ferry, as with most freight ferries, just the Stena Line that goes to Harwich and the DFDS ferry from IJmuiden to Newcastle has got a seperate entrance and exit (I’m just talking about the ferries that depart from the UK-Holland v.v, since that are the ones I use quite often).
Cheers, Patrick
pv83:
Carryfast:
Stern loading only was/is actually very common maybe even more so than ro ro especially in the case of Mediterranean routes.With obvious safety advantages for ploughing through rough seas.Hiya,
That’s still much the case nowadays at the P&O ferry, as with most freight ferries, just the Stena Line that goes to Harwich and the DFDS ferry from IJmuiden to Newcastle has got a seperate entrance and exit (I’m just talking about the ferries that depart from the UK-Holland v.v, since that are the ones I use quite often).
Cheers, Patrick
Many of the ro ro type now use the sideways opening clam shell front doors which reduces the risk of an Estonia type incident.But even that seems like a light structure compared to a solid bow.
I used that crossing several times, mostly in the mid-'90s, when loading in the north of England for Europe. I certainly remember using both the vessels ‘Norbay’ and ‘Norbank’. I also remember reversing an elderly F8-cabbed MAN drawbar outfit (caravan-style, not steerable) onto the ‘Norbay’ in January '96. My sides were bulging with whatever bulky load (textiles perhaps - I can’t remember) and I recall reversing into the glaring floodlights riven with driving sleet into the black aperture of the ship;s hold; and the chaps on the link-span were brilliant - just patiently waving me in, nothing too much trouble. I also occasionally used that crossing as an access to the English ‘land-bridge’ when loading in Germany and tipping in Northern Ireland - with sea-crossings at Europoort (Rotterdam) / Hull and again at Cainryan / Larne. The really good thing about that service was that you could board at Hull in the evening, have a leisurely meal and a few beers, enjoy a good night’s sleep, complete your full daily break and be fresh after breakfast for a full shift next morning. The crew were always accommodating. Very civilised! Robert
robert1952:
I used that crossing several times, mostly in the mid-'90s, when loading in the north of England for Europe. I certainly remember using both the vessels ‘Norbay’ and ‘Norbank’. I also remember reversing an elderly F8-cabbed MAN drawbar outfit (caravan-style, not steerable) onto the ‘Norbay’ in January '96. My sides were bulging with whatever bulky load (textiles perhaps - I can’t remember) and I recall reversing into the glaring floodlights riven with driving sleet into the black aperture of the ship;s hold; and the chaps on the link-span were brilliant - just patiently waving me in, nothing too much trouble. I also occasionally used that crossing as an access to the English ‘land-bridge’ when loading in Germany and tipping in Northern Ireland - with sea-crossings at Europoort (Rotterdam) / Hull and again at Cainryan / Larne. The really good thing about that service was that you could board at Hull in the evening, have a leisurely meal and a few beers, enjoy a good night’s sleep, complete your full daily break and be fresh after breakfast for a full shift next morning. The crew were always accommodating. Very civilised! Robert
That MAN was already a bit of a classic in the mid 90’s… had the Fuller 'box I reckon?
Crew still guide you in, always a pleasure if you’ve got a wide load on, however, sometimes the lads don’t understand the working of a steerable trailer…
And it seems that they’ve got a bit of a short fuse when it comes to guide the former Eastern Block drivers in…
The DFDS and P&O ferry are very nice indeed, but the best at this moment is the Stena from Harwich to Hoek, you even get a telly in your cabin, only downside to that crossing is that it’s a bit short…
Cheers, Patrick
pv83:
robert1952:
I used that crossing several times, mostly in the mid-'90s, when loading in the north of England for Europe. I certainly remember using both the vessels ‘Norbay’ and ‘Norbank’. I also remember reversing an elderly F8-cabbed MAN drawbar outfit (caravan-style, not steerable) onto the ‘Norbay’ in January '96. My sides were bulging with whatever bulky load (textiles perhaps - I can’t remember) and I recall reversing into the glaring floodlights riven with driving sleet into the black aperture of the ship;s hold; and the chaps on the link-span were brilliant - just patiently waving me in, nothing too much trouble. I also occasionally used that crossing as an access to the English ‘land-bridge’ when loading in Germany and tipping in Northern Ireland - with sea-crossings at Europoort (Rotterdam) / Hull and again at Cainryan / Larne. The really good thing about that service was that you could board at Hull in the evening, have a leisurely meal and a few beers, enjoy a good night’s sleep, complete your full daily break and be fresh after breakfast for a full shift next morning. The crew were always accommodating. Very civilised! RobertThat MAN was already a bit of a classic in the mid 90’s… had the Fuller 'box I reckon?
Crew still guide you in, always a pleasure if you’ve got a wide load on, however, sometimes the lads don’t understand the working of a steerable trailer…
And it seems that they’ve got a bit of a short fuse when it comes to guide the former Eastern Block drivers in…
The DFDS and P&O ferry are very nice indeed, but the best at this moment is the Stena from Harwich to Hoek, you even get a telly in your cabin, only downside to that crossing is that it’s a bit short…Cheers, Patrick
Nice to hear that it is still a civilised crossing, Patrick! That MAN draw-bar outfit didn’t have a Fuller 'box, alas - it had a horrible ZF 12-speed synchro job, but it did have the advantage of being left-hand drive. However, I did drive MAN (F8 cab) artics with the 13-speed Fuller in and they were superb because the gearbox installation was so precise 
. Robert
Isn’t the memory such an odd thing!
We have a little box for keys in the hall. The trick is to put them there every time you come in. My Mother in law is 95. She has spent half her life looking for keys, so I don’t think it’s Alzheimer’s… But, Julie, my wife, gets very frustrated when MiL can’t find her keys! We regularly spend many minutes going through drawers and pockets…
I have quite a good memory for many things in my life, and can re-live things like brake failure descending to Damascus, as well as a whole day taking my daughter and her friend to Disney in Florida. The downside is of course the squirmy things - like spending several minutes saying how appalling I found a particular girl…then a voice saying ‘that’s my sister.’ Oh, hit me now with that 4x2!
So! My memory of the Hull Rotterdam ferry, was, that you drove on forward, spun it round and then reversed to where the Stevedores wanted you. As Robert says, this was a confusion of bright lights in your eyes and dark corners where they wanted you. I was lucky, I didn’t find reversing an artic hard. Others struggled and must have frustrated the dockers!
John.
robert1952:
pv83:
robert1952:
I used that crossing several times, mostly in the mid-'90s, when loading in the north of England for Europe. I certainly remember using both the vessels ‘Norbay’ and ‘Norbank’. I also remember reversing an elderly F8-cabbed MAN drawbar outfit (caravan-style, not steerable) onto the ‘Norbay’ in January '96. My sides were bulging with whatever bulky load (textiles perhaps - I can’t remember) and I recall reversing into the glaring floodlights riven with driving sleet into the black aperture of the ship;s hold; and the chaps on the link-span were brilliant - just patiently waving me in, nothing too much trouble. I also occasionally used that crossing as an access to the English ‘land-bridge’ when loading in Germany and tipping in Northern Ireland - with sea-crossings at Europoort (Rotterdam) / Hull and again at Cainryan / Larne. The really good thing about that service was that you could board at Hull in the evening, have a leisurely meal and a few beers, enjoy a good night’s sleep, complete your full daily break and be fresh after breakfast for a full shift next morning. The crew were always accommodating. Very civilised! RobertThat MAN was already a bit of a classic in the mid 90’s… had the Fuller 'box I reckon?
Crew still guide you in, always a pleasure if you’ve got a wide load on, however, sometimes the lads don’t understand the working of a steerable trailer…
And it seems that they’ve got a bit of a short fuse when it comes to guide the former Eastern Block drivers in…
The DFDS and P&O ferry are very nice indeed, but the best at this moment is the Stena from Harwich to Hoek, you even get a telly in your cabin, only downside to that crossing is that it’s a bit short…Cheers, Patrick
Nice to hear that it is still a civilised crossing, Patrick! That MAN draw-bar outfit didn’t have a Fuller 'box, alas - it had a horrible ZF 12-speed synchro job, but it did have the advantage of being left-hand drive. However, I did drive MAN (F8 cab) artics with the 13-speed Fuller in and they were superb because the gearbox installation was so precise
You’re not too keen on using synchro 'boxes then, I presume
pv83:
robert1952:
pv83:
robert1952:
I used that crossing several times, mostly in the mid-'90s, when loading in the north of England for Europe. I certainly remember using both the vessels ‘Norbay’ and ‘Norbank’. I also remember reversing an elderly F8-cabbed MAN drawbar outfit (caravan-style, not steerable) onto the ‘Norbay’ in January '96. My sides were bulging with whatever bulky load (textiles perhaps - I can’t remember) and I recall reversing into the glaring floodlights riven with driving sleet into the black aperture of the ship;s hold; and the chaps on the link-span were brilliant - just patiently waving me in, nothing too much trouble. I also occasionally used that crossing as an access to the English ‘land-bridge’ when loading in Germany and tipping in Northern Ireland - with sea-crossings at Europoort (Rotterdam) / Hull and again at Cainryan / Larne. The really good thing about that service was that you could board at Hull in the evening, have a leisurely meal and a few beers, enjoy a good night’s sleep, complete your full daily break and be fresh after breakfast for a full shift next morning. The crew were always accommodating. Very civilised! RobertThat MAN was already a bit of a classic in the mid 90’s… had the Fuller 'box I reckon?
Crew still guide you in, always a pleasure if you’ve got a wide load on, however, sometimes the lads don’t understand the working of a steerable trailer…
And it seems that they’ve got a bit of a short fuse when it comes to guide the former Eastern Block drivers in…
The DFDS and P&O ferry are very nice indeed, but the best at this moment is the Stena from Harwich to Hoek, you even get a telly in your cabin, only downside to that crossing is that it’s a bit short…Cheers, Patrick
Nice to hear that it is still a civilised crossing, Patrick! That MAN draw-bar outfit didn’t have a Fuller 'box, alas - it had a horrible ZF 12-speed synchro job, but it did have the advantage of being left-hand drive. However, I did drive MAN (F8 cab) artics with the 13-speed Fuller in and they were superb because the gearbox installation was so precise
You’re not too keen on using synchro 'boxes then, I presume
No! Give me a Fuller or an Eaton TS any day . Robert
I think the Norsun is now the ‘Pride of Brugges’ doing the Hull to Zeeby crossing, with the sister ship the ‘Pride of York’
It’s about 6 years since I was on it, but unless I am getting mixed up here, you could see ‘Norsun’ underneath the paintwork on the deck.
The Hull Rotterdam crossing is now done by 2 more modern ferries.
