The company behind a catamaran ferry service between Boulogne and Dover is set to pilot a new France-UK route later this year.
SailLink is midway through its second season of sustainable summer sailings in a 17m long catamaran between France and England via Boulogne and Dover, and has plans to expand.
The company aims to test a new eight-hour route between Shoreham, West Sussex, and Fécamp in Normandy.
The pilot – using an 18m catamaran – will last six days in September and, if successful, SailLink said it would explore the prospect of setting up the route on a more permanent basis.
In its first season of operation in 2025, SailLink carried more than 450 passengers on a four- to five-hour daily crossing between Dover and Boulogne in groups of up to 12 per sailing. According to the company’s website, they reached nearly 70 percent ‘pure sailing’ powered by wind and sail alone in 2025. The website proudly boasts that they only use engine power when necessary.
Passengers can help the crew sail the vessel, or relax and enjoy the views.
As well as foot passengers and crew, the catamaran can carry bicycles and panniers and carry-on luggage, making it a popular option for environmentally minded hikers and cyclists. There is also space for so-called ‘micro-freight’, offering climate-neutral transport of small quantities of goods.
Passport control at the current and new service are carried out at the marina from where the catamarans set sail. With no more than 12 passengers to check, this process takes only a few minutes.
Andrew Simons, SailLink’s founder and skipper, told The Independent: “We started SailLink to prove that a wind-powered ferry could be a real, scheduled crossing, not a stunt.”
The series of crossings can be booked on SailLink between September 8th and 13th at £220 per crossing with the option to bring bikes on board for an additional £10. Meanwhile tickets for the Boulogne-Dover crossing start at £85 – book here.
