Ostend to Ramsgate - Gardenia
Morning broke on 17 May, the sky was grey with a stiff breeze from the SW. This was it, after 7 years I was finally going to use the Ostend route again. In that time a lot had changed and things were clearly not as rosy as when I last travelled. I had arranged to meet Kris at the car park of the Earth Explorer at 6.45. We both arrived at exactly the same moment, talk about perfect timing
. We left for the terminal and checked in, everything was still like I remembered.
The Gardenia was on time and it was clear that there was a very healthy load for that sailing, the Gardenia was almost completely full. After passing through customs we joined the queue of cars (4 in total) to board the Gardenia. Once onboard we made our way to the accomodation which is rather small since there is just 1 public area. But most lorry drivers had breakfast and then went to their cabins so it wasn't very busy inside. The Gardenia appeared to be in good nick for her age. The big advantage of TEF is their friendly attitude towards ferry enthusiasts and they allow you to venture into areas otherwise restricted.
One of the Gardenia's lifeboats
Access to restricted areas allows you to take pictures from different angles
The Gardenia's top deck was packed with lorries
Right on time Gardenia's twin Stork-Werkspoor diesels rumbled into life and she was soon spewing out thick smoke. We left on time and headed to sea. There was WSW'erly force 5-6 blowing with slight or moderate seas. It was rather cloudy but as the crossing progressed the skies became clearer and by the time we were near Dunkirk the sun was out in full force.
A fishing vessel trailed us along the French coast
The Gardenia makes her way along the French coast
I hadn't eaten yet I went to get some breakfast. Of course it had been some time since breakfast was first served so it was a bit on the cold side. The lady behind serving me wanted to give me some chips, I refused so she just gave me some more bacon instead
. I paid €9.50 which is a lot but I think that since you can have as much as you want it makes some sense. After I finished my breakfast we went back outside and despite the small outside decks it was a very nice place to spend your time. As with all older ferries you have signs which remind you of her earlier incarnations.
The Gardenia was in very good nick for her age
A view down the side of the Gardenia
The MS Deutschland on her way to Bremerhaven
Soon after that the Larkspur passed us on her way to Ostend
We arrived in Ramsgate on time but by the time we were able to disembark there wasn't a lot of time left to get to Dover. So after a dash from Ramsgate to Dover we arrived in the nick of time for check in. The lady at the check in desk immediately knew who we were so it was the speediest check in I have ever experienced at Dover.
We made our way to the designated lane and then we had to wait for 30-35 minutes before we could board. There had been a technical issue which prohibited boarding so the Spirit of Britain was already running late. Since Kris had bought a car park shopper ticket we were supposed to park our at the rear of the Spirit. However the crew did not see the Car Park Shopper sign and put us in a normal lane for disembarkation at Calais. Kris went outside and told them that we were in the wrong place so the crew directed us to the right location this time.
Once onboard it was clear that the outside decks of the Spirit were dirty, very dirty even. The entire deck was covered by soot from the funnel and there were small pieces of rubbish flying around. Clearly there is a lack of garbage bins onboard and the crew solved this by placing buckets on the deck
. The idea of putting glass instead of a typical railing was also a downside. The glass was very dirty and full of salt, you couldn't take a picture from behind the glass. This was something that was clear all around the ship, the windows were rather dirty especially the ones at the sides.
I have to agree with Kris as he found the Spirit to be a boring ship. It is very true, there isn't a lot of deck space, and they force you to spend money in order to pass your time. If you compare her to the Pride of Kent/Canterbury, where you can spend the entire crossing out on deck, it is clear which ferry is better for a ferry enthusiast.
We left Dover already running 30 minutes behind scheduele but the crossing was fast and we arrived in Calais more or less on time. As we made our approach she hit the pads at the berth quite hard and the vessel shook rather violently. There were 2 buses of Dutch teenagers next to her on the dock at Calais and one guy was playing football. He managed to lose 2 footballs to the sea
.
The expected return load was very good, 100 freight units, 80 tourist cars (not a lot) and about 3 coaches. It was rather busy at Calais, there were 12 buses waiting to board the Pride of Calais and at least another 60 lorries. And the Pride of Burgundy which left earlier then the Calais also had a full load of freight. Departure time came and went and it was clear we were going to be in Calais for some time. This was due to a cargo ship that had to enter Calais at the exact same moment that we had to leave. This caused a bit of a pile up at Calais because at one time the Spirit of Britain, Pride of Calais, Pride of Burgundy, Seafrance Nord Pas De Calais were all together in port with the Seafrance Berlioz and Rodin nearing the port. We finally left 45 minutes late, a curious things was that the engines had been kept running during these 45 minutes that she was at the berth
.
The International Food Court is IMHO on of the best looking areas along with the Horizon Lounge
The Seafrance Nord Pas De Calais looks immaculate and sporting a full deck of freight
The Pride of Calais has only a few months left on the Dover Strait
The crossing was uneventful but I think that the Spirit has strange seakeeping, it seems like she counteracts the waves. She also shakes quite a lot when she hits a slightly bigger wave and this was in a slight sea state.
Upon arrival at Dover Kris realised that we didn't have a lot of time to get to Ramsgate so we had to make a dash for it once again. After being forced onto the wrong road by another car
and going a bit faster than the speed limit allowed we made it to Ramsgate on time. Only to find that the Larkspur was running late due to a lorry that was blocked on her upper deck. There was a film crew filming the harbour and we thought that perhaps there was some news about TEF, turns out it was about wild animals. After going through customs and joining the other 2 cars for loading we were able to board the Larkspur. She looked to be in good condition despite her 35 years of service. Loading still had to begin so in fact we were the first vehicle to board her.
After loading it became clear the Larkspur had 2 full decks of freight onboard. We left about an hour late and the captain apologised for this.
This is one of the best features of the Larkspur
The Larkspur makes her way to Ostend
Due to the late departure we missed dinner and so we couldn't get anything to eat except some candy. Luckily we had eaten onboard the Spirit so it wasn't really bothering us. The Larkspur remains one of my favourite ferries because of her huge outside decks and her vibrant history. Of course she is not the most stable and she is notorious for her rolling, even from her days with Sally Ferries. I think ferries are like wine, the older they get the finer they become. We went on a shipwide search for Sally relics. We went to the Neptune Bar where we found that "new" seats had been installed, they were also working behind the bar. Along with the new safety instructions in Spanish and the installation of seats in other areas it became clear that the Larkspur is most likely to leave Ostend for Spain. The outside decks were also being refurbished. We did find some relics including a Sally Ferries sticker in the bar, some seasickness bags and some Christmas decorations from 1996.
Sally Ferries sticker in bar of the Neptune Bar, we weren't allowed to enter but try stopping us
The bar in the Neptune Bar was being refurbished
"New" seats in the Neptune Bar
Signs from her time with Sally Ferries
Original lifejacket dating back to November 1976 which is one month before her delivery to Gedser-Travemünde Ruten A/S
We spent more than 2 hours exploring the Larkspur and we looked high and low for sings of her past. We arrived at Ostend at around 1 o' clock in the morning. It was 2 in the morniing by the time I got home but it had been a very enjoyable day. I want to thank Kris for this excellent day out and for getting us on time everywhere. I hope we can do this again in the future but with the TEF's current situation things are quite uncertain.
Morning broke on 17 May, the sky was grey with a stiff breeze from the SW. This was it, after 7 years I was finally going to use the Ostend route again. In that time a lot had changed and things were clearly not as rosy as when I last travelled. I had arranged to meet Kris at the car park of the Earth Explorer at 6.45. We both arrived at exactly the same moment, talk about perfect timing
. We left for the terminal and checked in, everything was still like I remembered.The Gardenia was on time and it was clear that there was a very healthy load for that sailing, the Gardenia was almost completely full. After passing through customs we joined the queue of cars (4 in total) to board the Gardenia. Once onboard we made our way to the accomodation which is rather small since there is just 1 public area. But most lorry drivers had breakfast and then went to their cabins so it wasn't very busy inside. The Gardenia appeared to be in good nick for her age. The big advantage of TEF is their friendly attitude towards ferry enthusiasts and they allow you to venture into areas otherwise restricted.
One of the Gardenia's lifeboats
Access to restricted areas allows you to take pictures from different angles
The Gardenia's top deck was packed with lorries
Right on time Gardenia's twin Stork-Werkspoor diesels rumbled into life and she was soon spewing out thick smoke. We left on time and headed to sea. There was WSW'erly force 5-6 blowing with slight or moderate seas. It was rather cloudy but as the crossing progressed the skies became clearer and by the time we were near Dunkirk the sun was out in full force.
A fishing vessel trailed us along the French coast
The Gardenia makes her way along the French coast
I hadn't eaten yet I went to get some breakfast. Of course it had been some time since breakfast was first served so it was a bit on the cold side. The lady behind serving me wanted to give me some chips, I refused so she just gave me some more bacon instead
. I paid €9.50 which is a lot but I think that since you can have as much as you want it makes some sense. After I finished my breakfast we went back outside and despite the small outside decks it was a very nice place to spend your time. As with all older ferries you have signs which remind you of her earlier incarnations.The Gardenia was in very good nick for her age
A view down the side of the Gardenia
The MS Deutschland on her way to Bremerhaven
Soon after that the Larkspur passed us on her way to Ostend
We arrived in Ramsgate on time but by the time we were able to disembark there wasn't a lot of time left to get to Dover. So after a dash from Ramsgate to Dover we arrived in the nick of time for check in. The lady at the check in desk immediately knew who we were so it was the speediest check in I have ever experienced at Dover.
We made our way to the designated lane and then we had to wait for 30-35 minutes before we could board. There had been a technical issue which prohibited boarding so the Spirit of Britain was already running late. Since Kris had bought a car park shopper ticket we were supposed to park our at the rear of the Spirit. However the crew did not see the Car Park Shopper sign and put us in a normal lane for disembarkation at Calais. Kris went outside and told them that we were in the wrong place so the crew directed us to the right location this time.
Once onboard it was clear that the outside decks of the Spirit were dirty, very dirty even. The entire deck was covered by soot from the funnel and there were small pieces of rubbish flying around. Clearly there is a lack of garbage bins onboard and the crew solved this by placing buckets on the deck
. The idea of putting glass instead of a typical railing was also a downside. The glass was very dirty and full of salt, you couldn't take a picture from behind the glass. This was something that was clear all around the ship, the windows were rather dirty especially the ones at the sides. I have to agree with Kris as he found the Spirit to be a boring ship. It is very true, there isn't a lot of deck space, and they force you to spend money in order to pass your time. If you compare her to the Pride of Kent/Canterbury, where you can spend the entire crossing out on deck, it is clear which ferry is better for a ferry enthusiast.
We left Dover already running 30 minutes behind scheduele but the crossing was fast and we arrived in Calais more or less on time. As we made our approach she hit the pads at the berth quite hard and the vessel shook rather violently. There were 2 buses of Dutch teenagers next to her on the dock at Calais and one guy was playing football. He managed to lose 2 footballs to the sea
. The expected return load was very good, 100 freight units, 80 tourist cars (not a lot) and about 3 coaches. It was rather busy at Calais, there were 12 buses waiting to board the Pride of Calais and at least another 60 lorries. And the Pride of Burgundy which left earlier then the Calais also had a full load of freight. Departure time came and went and it was clear we were going to be in Calais for some time. This was due to a cargo ship that had to enter Calais at the exact same moment that we had to leave. This caused a bit of a pile up at Calais because at one time the Spirit of Britain, Pride of Calais, Pride of Burgundy, Seafrance Nord Pas De Calais were all together in port with the Seafrance Berlioz and Rodin nearing the port. We finally left 45 minutes late, a curious things was that the engines had been kept running during these 45 minutes that she was at the berth
.The International Food Court is IMHO on of the best looking areas along with the Horizon Lounge
The Seafrance Nord Pas De Calais looks immaculate and sporting a full deck of freight
The Pride of Calais has only a few months left on the Dover Strait
The crossing was uneventful but I think that the Spirit has strange seakeeping, it seems like she counteracts the waves. She also shakes quite a lot when she hits a slightly bigger wave and this was in a slight sea state.
Upon arrival at Dover Kris realised that we didn't have a lot of time to get to Ramsgate so we had to make a dash for it once again. After being forced onto the wrong road by another car
and going a bit faster than the speed limit allowed we made it to Ramsgate on time. Only to find that the Larkspur was running late due to a lorry that was blocked on her upper deck. There was a film crew filming the harbour and we thought that perhaps there was some news about TEF, turns out it was about wild animals. After going through customs and joining the other 2 cars for loading we were able to board the Larkspur. She looked to be in good condition despite her 35 years of service. Loading still had to begin so in fact we were the first vehicle to board her. After loading it became clear the Larkspur had 2 full decks of freight onboard. We left about an hour late and the captain apologised for this.
This is one of the best features of the Larkspur
The Larkspur makes her way to Ostend
Due to the late departure we missed dinner and so we couldn't get anything to eat except some candy. Luckily we had eaten onboard the Spirit so it wasn't really bothering us. The Larkspur remains one of my favourite ferries because of her huge outside decks and her vibrant history. Of course she is not the most stable and she is notorious for her rolling, even from her days with Sally Ferries. I think ferries are like wine, the older they get the finer they become. We went on a shipwide search for Sally relics. We went to the Neptune Bar where we found that "new" seats had been installed, they were also working behind the bar. Along with the new safety instructions in Spanish and the installation of seats in other areas it became clear that the Larkspur is most likely to leave Ostend for Spain. The outside decks were also being refurbished. We did find some relics including a Sally Ferries sticker in the bar, some seasickness bags and some Christmas decorations from 1996.
Sally Ferries sticker in bar of the Neptune Bar, we weren't allowed to enter but try stopping us
The bar in the Neptune Bar was being refurbished
"New" seats in the Neptune Bar
Signs from her time with Sally Ferries
Original lifejacket dating back to November 1976 which is one month before her delivery to Gedser-Travemünde Ruten A/S
We spent more than 2 hours exploring the Larkspur and we looked high and low for sings of her past. We arrived at Ostend at around 1 o' clock in the morning. It was 2 in the morniing by the time I got home but it had been a very enjoyable day. I want to thank Kris for this excellent day out and for getting us on time everywhere. I hope we can do this again in the future but with the TEF's current situation things are quite uncertain.
