G.A. Ferries Ferry Line
The official online ticket sales, reservations, timetable and information page for all
G.A. Ferries sailing to and from the Greek Islands to Italy.
Discount ferry fares and online ticket sales for G.A. Ferries sailing to Ancona,
Patras, Iigoumenitsa, Trieste, Korfu, Ancona ferry, Patras ferry, Igoumentisa ferry,
Trieste ferry, Korfu ferry, Greece ferry, Greek ferries.
Travel to Ancona Patras Igoumenitsa Trieste and Korfu in comfort and style with Blue
Star Ferries.
Responsibility and credibility are our key credentials, the result of our continuous
progress and development. By charting a new course in the world of travel, we are proud to
present the fleet that offers you a new era in travel: Blue Star Ferries. The new, dynamic
fleet that offers you the ideal conditions to make your voyage quite simply the most
enjoyable experience. As we enter this blue era, the most comfortable, pleasant and fast
journey takes on a special character. A dynamic era that projects worlwide the beloved
Greek colour: the blue colour of Blue Star Ferries.
BRITANNY FERRY
CALAIS FERRY
DOVER FERRY
STENA FERRY
FERRIES
FERRY
P&O
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First car ferries
The traditional cross-channel traveller had always been a foot passenger, arriving at the
port by first horse-drawn stage-coach, then steam-train - and embarking on the ferry with
all their luggage.
With the growing popularity of motoring, Captain Townsend bought and converted an old
minesweeper to cater for the new market of people who wanted to take their car with them
on a Continental motoring holiday . Like other cross-channel travel, most of the demand
was from the UK side.
Cars were loaded onto the Dover-Calais car ferry by crane: 6,000 in the first year, rising
to 31,000 in 1939 before the Second World War interupted services.
After the war, new "drive on" ferry terminals were built in Dover and Calais.
Opened in 1953,they had moveable loading bridges, so cars could drive on whatever the
state of the tide.
Train Ferry
In 1936, the Southern Railway company and the new SNCF invested in new train ferry docks
at Dover and Dunkerque. These ships had rails on the cargo deck to carry railway carriages
and wagons. At each end, the ship ran into a dock where the water level could be adjusted
so that the trains could run off the ship onto the tracks. The famous "Golden
Arrow" luxury express used this route between London and Paris.
Hovercraft
In 1959, a one-man hovercraft successfully crossed the channel, landing on the beach
inside Dover harbour. This experimental British invention promised to revolutionise
cross-channel travel - offering a speedy crossing without the huge initial investment in
building a tunnel which would be required for high-speed trains.
The craft were successfully scaled up so they could carry hundreds of passengers and cars
- though they could not cope with rough weather. "Hoverpads" were built at
Calais, Boulogne, Pegwell Bay near Ramsgate, and in Dover harbour. British Rail, SNCF, and
Hoverspeed a private company all competed to develop the new craft.
Unfortunately, they were made less economic by the rise in fuel prices in the 1970's,
because they used fuel heavily just to stay up as well as to move. The last services were
withdrawn in 2000.
The Channel Tunnel
Schemes were talked about as early as the 18th century, and serious construction work
started on both sides in 1881 - only to be halted by political rather than engineering
difficulties. Work re-commenced in earnest a century later in the 1980s, and the Channel
Tunnel was finally opened in 1994. The train ferry was ended at this time.
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Crossing the channel by sailing ship
Crossing the channel by sailing ship was at the mercy of tides and weather. Until the late
19th century, landing was often a problem - harbours on both sides were rather shallow and
not well protected against storms.Ships often had to wait offshore at Dover or Calais
until the tide was high enough to enter the harbour - or else cross to the beach in a
small rowing boat. Travel to the coast was equally perilous. On an 18th century
horse-drawn stagecoach, you could travel from Paris to Calais or Dover to London within a
long, dusty day - highwaymen and the state of the roads permitting.
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BC Ferries started out with two ships, two terminals, and around 200 employees.
Today, BC Ferries has 38 vessels, and up to 46 destinations.
Schedules include frequent, year-round sailings to some of the most fun, fascinating and
often remote corners of the coast. The staff complement now exceeds 4700 in the summer
months, and their commitment to customer safety and service has never been stronger.
These web pages give you a quick look at our history. You'll read about why BC Ferries was
established, and how, with plenty of hard work and a pioneering spirit, our people have
met the challenge of an ever-increasing demand for service.
We hope you'll enjoy this story of how one of the largest, most sophisticated ferry
systems in the world came to be. Please contact us if you have anything you think we
should add. We'd particularly like to hear from you with stories of your first experience
with BC Ferries.
In the meantime, read on and enjoy a ride through 40 years of coastal service!
Before BC Ferries
Ferry service on the west coast of British Columbia has a long and proud maritime history.
A spirit of free enterprise was present at the start, with the Hudson's Bay Company as the
early pioneer of regular passenger and freight service between Vancouver Island and the
Lower Mainland in the mid 1800's. By 1901, Canadian Pacific Railway had taken over ferry
service across the Strait of Georgia and continued transporting passengers and vehicles on
a five-hour journey between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria until the 1960's.
Further north, the Black Ball Line had arrived on the scene in the early 1950's to offer
service between Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo, as well as
to the Sunshine Coast and Jervis Inlet south of Powell River. The company had been
established by Captain Alexander Marshall Peabody, whose family's Puget Sound Navigation
Company was a key player in the development of British Columbia shipping.
Recognizing the need for continued reliable ferry service on the West Coast in the late
1950's, Premier W.A.C. Bennett announced on July 18, 1958, that the British Columbia Ferry
Authority would take over service under mandate from the provincial government.
Discount ferry fares and online ticket sales for P&O Ferries, Stenna Line, Brittany
Ferries, Irish Ferries, Sea France, Hoverspeed, Eurotunel, Scandanavian Ferries and all
other cross channel ferries to and from France, Ireland, Holland, England, Scotland,
Spain, Greece and Italy. Book a ferry crossing to anywhere in Europe online and save.
- The official online ticket sales, reservations, timetable and information page for all
Stena P&O Ferries sailing to and from the UK and all European ports.