Cant remember that one “peter mill” , but Normandy Ferries tried Southampton /Algiers with The Eagle , when it wasnt broken down , I actually took the crankshaft from that ship to a scrapyard in Paris .
Hi
old trucker that site hhvferry.com/main.html was really worth a look it brought some memories back.
The Heavey Mob. I did not put your sickness on here for fear of enbaressing you, yes everyone you thought he was joking but I can ashore you he was not. He liked to be put on the boat last because he used to go white when the boat rocked as other trucks were being loaded. Sorry brother 
Regards Keith
I tried every remidy going from eating before to not eating at all, every combination and every position in the ship from the top to the bottom, inside and out but mainly in the toilets throwing up. 
I left many a good meal at the table and quite a few on route to the loo’s. One ocasion sticks in my mind where I filled a wall mounted ash tray on the Earl Seaward. The tunnel is a great step forward for me 
Hi Robert
I had forgotton about the ash tray, you were not weaked stomaced you could throw it as far as anyone else
Mind you the smell in some of those toilets was anough to make anyone ill.
I remember one trip when dad was in one toilet, I was in the next and you were in the other, no one else could get a look in.rough crossing 
Great days a
Regards Keith
Sea sickness is an eye related thing. Get into bed ,draw the curtains & turn off the light.
I remember as a kid my Dads drivers all missing Captain la goff out of Newhaven-Dieppe, as it was a flat bottom boat around 75-78. The Senlac was the better boat of the time and only a British crew.
Also as a kid 78-79 the Essmerelda a RMT out of Ostende-Dover 01.00 sailing went straight to bed, just of Goodwin sands a big bang my dad shot out of his bunk the cabin master put the light on the engines went in to reverse, dad said we have hit the harbour wall ( common ) looking at his watch blimey we done it in just over 3 hrs a new record.
Went upstairs to see Dover all we could see was the sea, hearing comotions around the other side to see a German container ship with a split from the bridge to below the water line. Within mins it keeled over and sank no one was killed and within mins a couple of ferries had dropped there life boats and picking up the crew. Our captain was or had been in the bar!!! he could not raise an order.
This captain a few later fammed another ship we heard from the Dover Western docks and hit the other ship in Eastern docks found to be intoxicated and lost his posting.
When i started out in transport one Saturday night chasing the last boat out of Dieppe to find they would not let me on, so i went to Le harve for my first time and got a 2 or 3 in the morning. I was in the queue a couple of guys running empty back to Southampton on boat transport were in the local bar. i am not much of a drinker but these two were on ricard. They asked me if i wanted a drink and i said i will have what you are drinking, a couple of hours later we were on the boat, had to load from the side one of the Vikings.
Next thing i can recall is i am lying in the cabin thinking how did i get here!
Up in the Drivers lounge these two chaps i had a drink with the previous evening said you not a bad driver for a youngster.
Apprantly i drove up on the linkspan and onto the ship then had to reverse into a bay, to this day i reckon they did it on my behalf!
my first trip across the water was 1966 iirc dover /ostend belgian railways 4 hour crossing when you docked at ostend they let you sleep on the boat till 7 or 8 in the morning. then dover /zeebrugge, townsend as it was then. did this several times also dover /calais sealink, townsend thorsen as it then became can still remember backing on to ferry trucks and cars turned on a turntable at the bow then driving to the stern, what a difference ro ro made load and unload twenty mins lol. also remember on of the tt boats where the cars were put under the main deck NEVER remember the hovercrafts taking any thing more than a transit van thou. A lot of the old boats are with Greek companies, saw one of the first tt boats in Greece a couple of years ago must be 40+ years old now.
I have Done most of the routes and still can’t say I have had a good meal on any of them also did a nine hour crossing calais / dover about 87 iirc 90 mins was the norm.
peter mill:
There was a service from Southampton to Porto.Trailers only.
I used a ferry in the 80’s called the Thomas Wehr, from Poole to Viana de Castello, just north of Oporto, which was mainly unacompanied trailers, but there were about four of us on the innaugural crossing, with about four trailers each. Once in Portugal I stayed there for about three months tipping and loading trailers to and from the Algarve, Lisbon and Oporto and back to the boat. British International used to send trailers on it too.
Ive got some photos of it, I will try and find them and put them on here.
GS
jj72:
although i’m FAR too youthful to have travelled on them myself, i believe that the first UK roro ferries were converted LCTs or Landing Craft (Tank) vessels ex MoD, operated between Preston and Larne or Belfast and a bit later Tilbury and Antwerp by the Atlantic Steam Navigation Companyi would think that their service, started in the late 50s, ushered in driver accompanied services, although i understand that the first firms to go over the water like fridged freight did so in the mid 50s - so more info needed i think
the LCT vessels were replaced with the bardic ferry and ionic ferry, which sadly I’am old enough to remember, very vaguely though
father in laws got a video showing the tilbury to antwerp service will get the title and post it chaps
GS OVERLAND
Thomas Wehr !! That’s the ferry name I was trying to remember [see previous postings] – I’m sure there was a sister ship as well with a similar name !! As I said previously German skipper & Philipino crew !
Used it on the Portsmouth to Le Havre crossing, maximum of 12 drivers + all the duty free you could afford. Friday night outbound always 12 N.D. drivers !!
The Thomas Wehr and the Gabriella Wehr; they were both used as freighters occasionally on the DFDS Harwich to Hamburg crossing in the late 80s when the Prinz Hamlet, which DFDS inherited when they took the route over fron Prinz Lines, had one of its regular breakdowns and refits. I also have a feeling that the Gabriella Wehr was used for a short period by Schiaffino on Ramsgate - Oostende, but could be wrong about that.
the title of video is , giant loads on the move , it shows cross channel in late 50,s early 60,s worth a look
daf 3300 that films name is the ferry load its about bardic ferry run by the atlantic steam navigation company
thats the one , he has 3 different titles on one video,
GS OVERLAND:
peter mill:
There was a service from Southampton to Porto.Trailers only.I used a ferry in the 80’s called the Thomas Wehr, from Poole to Viana de Castello, just north of Oporto, which was mainly unacompanied trailers, but there were about four of us on the innaugural crossing, with about four trailers each. Once in Portugal I stayed there for about three months tipping and loading trailers to and from the Algarve, Lisbon and Oporto and back to the boat. British International used to send trailers on it too.
Ive got some photos of it, I will try and find them and put them on here.
GS
Here you go I found the photos that I was talking about…
The boat was too long to fit in the view finder, so I took two and joined them together…
Here I am up on the Bridge with the Skipper.
And here we are in the TV /Dining area.
I remember the first crossing was a really rough passage through the Bay of Biscay because there had been a storm but the crossing wasnt too bad otherwise.
GS
Another one … “Lowland Lancer” , Weymouth - Cherbourg , “westward ferries” , didnt last long , 1990 ish !!!
That picture of the Thomas Wehr prompted this post. The Sister Ship the Gabrielle Wehr was on charter to North Sea Ferries and was sent out to help in the rescue when the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in Zeebrugge.
GS OVERLAND:
GS OVERLAND:
peter mill:
There was a service from Southampton to Porto.Trailers only.I used a ferry in the 80’s called the Thomas Wehr, from Poole to Viana de Castello, just north of Oporto, which was mainly unacompanied trailers, but there were about four of us on the innaugural crossing, with about four trailers each. Once in Portugal I stayed there for about three months tipping and loading trailers to and from the Algarve, Lisbon and Oporto and back to the boat. British International used to send trailers on it too.
Ive got some photos of it, I will try and find them and put them on here.
GSHere you go I found the photos that I was talking about…
The boat was too long to fit in the view finder, so I took two and joined them together…
Here I am up on the Bridge with the Skipper.
And here we are in the TV /Dining area.
I remember the first crossing was a really rough passage through the Bay of Biscay because there had been a storm but the crossing wasnt too bad otherwise.
GS
Bloody hell i must be lossing it GS i worked down there for years and had forgotten about that boat !!! 
The capitano looks chilled to f uck in that pic! I remember the philipino crew refusing to sail once as it was gail force 11 or 12 ,mind you that didnt stop the Coutances or Purbeck,used to make me laugh all the other ports would stop boats
due to bad weather but they always went ! The company didnt last long i think it lasted about a year ? maybe a bit longer.
Can anyone remember when they stretched the Coutances and Purbeck by about 100 feet would have been about 1984/85 ish.
acd1202:
The Thomas Wehr and the Gabriella Wehr; they were both used as freighters occasionally on the DFDS Harwich to Hamburg crossing in the late 80s when the Prinz Hamlet, which DFDS inherited when they took the route over fron Prinz Lines, had one of its regular breakdowns and refits. I also have a feeling that the Gabriella Wehr was used for a short period by Schiaffino on Ramsgate - Oostende, but could be wrong about that.
That’s the ones that the duty free came out of the broom cupboard, if you recall they also docked in Le Harve on a concrete ramp through the lock gates .
Thomas Wehr
First time I sailed on that to Le Havre we were two Brit N.D. drivers amongst ten Frenchmen [N.D.] – went to “duty free” cupboard and said “Scotch please & Grouse if you’ve got it”, officer put up a case of 12 bottles… It appeared that that was how the french guys bought it, us two Brits didn’t have enough cash to buy it in those quantaties on that trip… If I recall correctly the crew would transport it to your truck if you had to much to carry !!