Are you on the Pont Aven? Bigger ships weather rough seas better. I've see videos of her with waves coming up to the windows and just ploughing onward. When I was 11 I went on a school trip to Holland. Ferry got involved with a Force 9 IIRC. We were called to assist a fishing boat in distress, it sank before we got there but apparently the RNLI got there in time to rescue all aboard. As school boys we saw this experience not as a danger but something to be enjoyed. Got hold of some towels and sat on them on a lino passage running across the beam and had a great time as the ship rolled from side to side
Once took a ferry over to Sweden in winter for a ski holiday with my family (I was about 18 yrs old at the time). Set off from North Shields (?) and the North Sea was flat, on a whim I took anti seasick medicine. My Da mocked me for being a wimp. Well...the weather/sea changed...halfway across the boat was jumping about 6 feet out of the water whilst also rolling side to side. Almost everyone was throwing up, there was so much vomit it was flowing down the corridors. I'll never forget my Da trying to talk to me from his top bunk... "Help...I'm so i....bluuuurghhhhh!" Oh how I laughed...
A very long time ago i was about 8 on the ferry to the IOM For the TT. They were tiny boats in those days Rough as hell, sick all the way there. Didn't want to go home was a repeat
I was on an overnight ferry to Jersey with my girlfriend and her parents in the early '90's. The English channel can get surprisingly rough, especially the western approaches to the channel Islands. A storm blew up mid channel. It was a big Truckline ferry but they locked the doors to the promenade decks because water was breaking over the rails and it was too dangerous to go outside. Most passengers were sleeping in recliner chairs in the pullman lounge and the whole voyage became a massive spew-fest. Every toilet and urinal was blocked and there was vomit in all the corridors. Fortunately for us we had booked our own cabin with bunks and our own shower and toilet. With a bunk to lie down on in the dark, none of us were ill. On the plus side the duty-free lounge and the bar was empty. I stayed in the bar until 1 am. Other than myself there were only two blokes from Alderney who were used to it. We had a great time. Cheap beer and the place to ourselves. The only drawback was you couldn't put your glass down. When I wanted to roll a fag one of the other lads had to hold my pint or it would have been dashed against the wall. It was an experience certainly.
8 of us went shark fishing off Padstow. 4 mackerel rods (for bait) and 4 shark rods. It got so rough out there that 4 disappeared below deck for the whole trip leaving the remaining 4 with 2 rods a piece. Seasickness is a state of mind, I enjoy a rough crossing.
I agree. At least I like rough seas back when I was young. Haven't tried it recently... I lived in Weymouth for a number of years in the early noughties and I was a regular on the angling charter boats. I drank in the same pub as the skippers and knew most of them well. Often I'd crew for them on trips and get a bit of free fishing. I went out once with a skipper who was a good mate. He only had two paying anglers on board and we'd planned an inshore trip to the other side of Portland to fish for plaice. It was a nice day and the fishing went well so we stuck at it longer than intended. This meant that the return trip would take us through Portland race when it was running full bore. The skipper had to be home to pick up his kids so with only two anglers on board who could fit in the wheelhouse he couldn't be arsed to circle two miles out and avoid the race, so we went through the middle of it... You're basically climbing up at a very steep angle and then surfing down vast stoppers that dwarf the boat. Looking f'wards wasn't too bad but if you looked astern it was horrifying and these enormous swells towered over the boat and blotted out the sky. Skip told the two anglers to sit on the floor of the wheelhouse so they didn't fall over and hurt themselves. Afterwards he told me he'd really done that so they couldn't see what was behind us as they could have panicked. They seemed to enjoy the ride but they chattered excessively throughout and both had white spittle in the corner of their mouths. They were shitting themselves. My job was to stand next to the wheel and keep the skipper supplied with roll-ups, light them and stick them in his gob as he couldn't take his hands off the wheel. I don't know it you've ever tried to roll fags on a 30 foot boat that's constantly climbing and plummeting by 45 degrees and yawing at the same time but it's bloody difficult.
My missus insisted on taking a seasick pill before riding a camel in Australia... Later in the trip we went on a whale watching cruise off Queensland. It was quite rough and an elderly woman had a panic attack and became hysterical, insisting we were all going to die. My missus was fine. Wimmin. No rhyme or reason to em.. It was me that almost felt queasy because I had my camera to my eye for about an hour trying good pics of humpbacks breaching. I went up and joined the skipper on the flying bridge where there was lots of fresh air and a tea urn and a big tub of fruit buns. I was fine after that.
I am in the bar at the Hotel now, drinking beer, so life is good! I spoke to a few regulars - English,but now living in Spain or Portugal. They said that it was unusual to be so rough at this time of year. It wasn’t just me who suffered. I am being visited by Mr Quandary. I really like Plymouth and the surroundings, as I do Santander but not getting here. The train trip would be fine, if it was not CrossCuntry messing and the ferry from Plymouth to Santander would be great if it wasn’t for the sea. Santander does have an airport, but doesn’t have many destinations. I know that they do go to Madrid and Madrid is easy to get to. I have loads of time here, with nothing planned. So a good opportunity to have a think.
It was PONT AVEN. I can't say "Never again" às it will probably be that ship on the way back. Lots of thinking to do.
The only skipper I knew based in Weymouth Was Woody Woods. He skippered a diving boat but would take fishermen out when the diving was quiet. He was a real character swore like a trooper and drank like a fish.
I think I knew who you mean. Had an Orange Offshore 135 dive boat with a cage lift on the back and was also a farrier when he wasn't skippering. That the same bloke? Had a slight cleft lip and a beard. Certainly spoke fluent Anglo Saxon, liked a pint or nine and didn't suffer fools gladly. Or at all.. Thankfully I got on OK with him. The aforementioned skipper I went through the race with was Clem Carter. Younger than me I think but a fine boatman and ex-commercial trawlerman. Sure knew how to handle a boat. I spent far too much time and money in pubs in those days and consorted with a succession of unsuitable wimmins but we all had a laugh and I had some memorable days on the water. Fast living times that couldn't last forever, but happy days. I hope they're all still surviving and doing well.
Yep that's him, they don't make them like that anymore. He was a mate of our local blacksmith. I haven't seen him for about 13 years I hope he's still about.
I won’t check flight times until home but I could do it Bristol to Madrid and Madrid to Santander, in theory. There are flights from England directly to Santander, but not from airports anywhere near me in Gloucestershire.
The Plymouth - Santander ferry came on me from doing what I did on a motorcycle about forty years ago and so that is where the ferry idea came from. But now, I am a foot passenger and the ferry is not a good option. It just takes me a while to catch up. As a consequence of BREXIT, we have severely pissed off the Spanish, so the boat is as complicated as flying. Now, they stop just a smidge short of photographing a guys nuts. If I have to go through all that, I may as well fly here. Only problem may be not being able to do in a day, but there are many flights per day between Madrid and Santander. I was planning to spend time in Madrid anyway so could kill two birds. Achewy. Feck it! I’ll not do the ferry again, apart from going home in a few weeks. Overnighting in Madrid would turn into spending a few nights here. And I will investigate the train journey between Madrid and Santander. I was a bit put off flying due to distances you need to walk. At least you are not expected to do it carrying your luggage without a cart, as Brittany Ferries expects. If you got to Bristol Airport and was told to climb up and put your bag on top of the tail plane you might raise an eyebrow. It’s not as difficult as that- imagine THREE 737s stacked is more like the challenge you face. So Bristol to Madrid and then Madrid to Santander, or maybe just Madrid, or Madrid to somewhere else. i remember when I was thinking of living here, I discounted it because of of not just the bureaucracy, but I didn’t want to tie myself to one place.
Thx, useful. TBH I don't know if I will need assistance. If I can cope with Brittany Ferries then I can cope with anything! Also, more importantly, you drop off your bag at check-in. You are not expected to carry it on the plane and lift it into the hold yourself. I've slept on it and think that I will stay in Madrid. The Spanish railway system seems too wacky for me. I I'll try to use the railway whilst on this trip by just turning up at the station. I will try their app again on my iphone. On my tablet, it installed but claimed no service from Santander to anywhere.i believed it last time I was here two months ago, but now believe it's shite I know that I could use Heathrow as well as Bristol and Exeter Airport if I go there in a roundabout way.
You've stayed in Santander a couple of times now. Is there anything other than familiarity that dictate you should return? Flying will free you up to visit a larger range of locations. If you can bear it adding in rail will expand that further. If you particularly liked Spain, Portugal is not too dissimilar in culture, then Seville and Barcelona are places I've been to fairly recently and found great cities to visit. Similarly, in Portugal; Lisbon and Porto. Though Porto is quite hilly... @Helmut Visor's suggestion of airport assistance is a good idea. Not sure on qualifying criteria but used this to get back from Geneva to Birmingham after my bike accident in France in 2024 and given my broken and plated fibula from a few days prior wasn't too bad an experience at all. It's a free service that the airlines and airports provide.
Fowlers have my bike and will deliver it in four weeks yesterday. I am a little excited. The Spanish RENFE train app has gone weird. It claims that I don't know my password so OK send me a reminder then. Nothing is ever sent. A big hint. Fly to Madrid and stay there. Hopefully, that will be in September/October time. After that, Italy and France will be the focus with a bit of Berlin. For a country so close, it's all so difficult here. Of course, there's the jet fuel thing going on. If that is still active when I get back to England, then I will cancel everything planned and just potter about on my new bike.
After this, I'm done with Santander, the future targets are Bologna and Berlin. I hope to fly to Madrid in September or October. Apart from stuff in England, that's me for this year and next.
