https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcKkFVDGpT0 Condor Ferries new "Safety Video" Are we really going to have to endure this rap (apologies for missing off the "C"), blaring out of the PA system on every trip? On balance I think that I prefer the rather childish animation complete with cavalry trumpet sounds for the rescue ship racing to the "emergency event" and the rather sinister bearded gentleman moving around the ship leaving the suspicion of being "a terrorist" in his wake. Condor Liberation I appreciate that Condor Liberation is a new addition to the fleet and probably needs to have the safety video refreshed, but why not try just giving the information instead of resorting to juvenile gimmicks and and cringe worthy video's?
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http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11420375.Condor_Ferries_to_leave_Weymouth_next_spring/?ref=var_0 Condor purchase new high speed Austal 102 trimaran The "new" Condor Ferry:: Austal’s 102-metre trimaran Why should anyone be shocked and surprised by this story? On the 19th April I blogged this entry. http://new-agenda2012.blogspot.co.uk/201 4/04/the-writing-has -been-on-wall-for-al most.html Today, channelonline.tv carries the following: "Condor Ferries has bought a new £50 million high speed vessel. The latest addition to the fleet will come into service in spring 2015. The purchase follows the news Condor secured a ten-year licence to provide Jersey and Guernsey with ferry services. The Austal 102 trimaran can carry 1,165 passengers, 254 cars and has a 630 nautical mile range. The new licence allows for a rival operator to set up providing it can match Condor's services. CEO James Fulford said: "I am delighted to announce th...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-28806481 Condor Ferries signs 10-year operating licence. Condor Express Condor Ferries have signed a 10 year non-exclusive agreement with Jersey Ports, allowing the company to operate passenger, vehicle and freight services until 2024. It is also announced that Guernsey's government have agreed to extend a "memorandum of understanding" with Condor until 2018. These new arrangements made public yesterday, may come as a bit of a blow to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council as the way is now clear for Condor to proceed with their plan to bring into service their new 102 meter trimaran for the UK to Channel Islands routes. The "new" Condor Ferry: Austal’s 102-metre trimaran The reason for the concern in Weymouth, is the continuing controversy and discussions regarding the required improvements to Pier 1 at the Weymouth ferry terminal. The improvements to Pier 1 will require a £10million ...
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=509935 The latest Stuart Syvret court case 'pending' Former Health Minister Stuart Syvret The witch hunt continues. A vindictive and spiteful States "establishment" determined to silence someone who dares to stand up to the excesses, duplicity and sinister secrecy of the politicians, police and judiciary. The very sad thing about the whole "States verses Syvret" story, is that there is a substantial number of islanders who actually believe the "establishment" propaganda, that Former Health Minister Stuart Syvret is "the bad guy", rather than those past and present politicians, civil servants and public figures who are the real villains.
http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2014/02/07/50m-ship-may-be-on-line-by-october/ A new £50 million ship could be in operation by October Austal’s 102-metre trimaran Condor ferries are in discussions with the Jersey States in respect of a long term operating licence with the company for the UK Channel Islands ferry routes. Senator Alan Maclean, Economic Development Minister announced last week. In the meantime, the company has been given an interim five-year licence after its previous one expired at the end of 2013. As part of the new arrangements, it is also reported, that provided all goes well. Condor will replace two of its existing fast ferries with a new £50 million Next Generation 102m Trimaran. The new ferry, built by Austal in Australia, with defence subsidiaries in the United States and a commercial shipyard in the Philippines, has a capacity for 1165 passengers and 245 cars. It is proposed that the ferry will be in service by October of this year (201...
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_guernseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=508819 Both High speed ferries to Weymouth cancelled following news of high winds and wave heights Condor Ferries For sometime, I have been critical of the fast ferries operated by Condor on the Channel Island routes. Engine problems, delays and "high winds and wave heights exceeding limits", have frequently caused disruption to the service and frustration to the passengers. In addition, when they do sail, the condition of the facilities on board are less than satisfactory,and as I wrote in "The terminal decline of tourism to Jersey ?" (and in other blogs on related subjects) ".... the ships are generally grubby, the reclining seats are mostly broken and remain un repaired, and Club Class travel now only provides complimentary coffee and a muffin, which has usually seen better days". (http://new-agenda2012.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-terminal-decline-of-tou...
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=507500 Condor Ferries is working with Channel Island governments to secure two new vessels I was having a conversation with some Condor people on the ferry back to the mainland a couple of days ago after another stay in St Aubin. It seems that the proposed "new" ships will be larger than Express, Vittesse and Rapide. However, the rebuilt Ferry berth 3 at the Weymouth Ferry terminal, is apparently not big enough to take larger ships. It seems that the planners did not see that problem coming. It this is in fact the case, then Poole may be the only port (other than Portsmouth for the traditional ferry) for arrival or departure from the Channel Islands. This would fulfill a long standing prediction that Condor's long term objective to relocate its operation to Poole and end its long standing relationship with Weymouth.
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10635801.Disruptions_after_Condor_breaks_down/?action=success Condor Vitesse suffers engine trouble Condor Vitesse Déjà vu. When will Condor get rid of these troublesome ferries, which incidentally are now looking well past their sell by date both mechanically and in the lounges, and replace them with proper vehicle ferries built for the prevailing conditions and traffic, rather than for the very different conditions around Australia or the Caribbean? We have been on both the "Express" and the "Vitesse" on a number of occasions since April of this year and the standard of both vessels has declined rapidly.The ships are generally grubby, (including the Rapide which we have also travelled on frequently) the reclining seats are mostly broken and remain un repaired, and Club Class travel now only provides complimentary coffee and a muffin, which has usually seen better days. The condition of the ships, particularly ...
Sun Sea & Satan View video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq6lJsBz9UY Filmmaker Bill Maloney You may not have watched this video. It is an interesting 59 minutes. The "beeped" comments at 34.30 "AUDIO INTERVIEW: Three senior citizens of Jersey tell their story about a major serving politician" section, refers to the story which is common knowledge on the Island, and has also been related to me by many friends and acquaintances in Jersey. The documentary was made some years past, (2008) and the members of the States have changed since then. It is well documented in other places that there is a "secrecy culture" within the Jersey "establishment" and within the Jersey States, which has made victims of both former Jersey politicians and police investigators who have been discredited and removed from office. The victims of the "Historic Child abuse" have yet to achieve justice and many ordinary people of the Island ...
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=502427 The week of competitive dining featured some ruined food, shameless self promotion, raucous fun, and some truth telling round the table. The contestants: Jane-Anne Collier, Jess Stanier, Craig Dempster and Kevin Pamplin Watched this programme last night. It seemed to follow the usual format of the 1week to a 1 hour view, as other Come Dine With Me programmes from around the country. I am still pondering a question which comes to mind each time that there is nothing else on TV for that hour and we watch a "Come Dine With Me". Are these people/contestants hamming it up for the sake of the camera, or are they really as crass, ignorant and cheap as they come across? (The commentator/presenter is actually very good with his wit and asides, and makes the "show" watchable).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-19609680 The number of people travelling to Jersey in July was down by 10.6% on the same time last year. A Jersey Tourism spokesman said 16% fewer people travelled to Jersey by ferry in July compared with the same time last year.And 18,500 fewer people chose to travel here by ferry in the first seven months of 2012. This is hardly surprising. The cost of getting to the Island, by sea or air, is expensive and then the prices of the traditional tourist attractions (those that are still left that is), make a day out for Mum Dad and two children rather prohibitive. The days of duty and tax free goods, spirits and cigarettes are a distant memory, with a bottle of wine being around the same price on the Island as it is in our local Morrisons supermarket. I remember not too long ago, paying more for a litre of petrol on La Route des Quennevais than at Tesco in Dorchester, but sanity now seems to...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19232124 Condor Ferries delays after engine refit Here we go again. This type of ship seems to have had more than its fair share of "engine trouble" over the years. Back in the 1990's I remember a Condor Ferry out of Weymouth was running on only one engine for months as engineer's tried to repair it as the ship was on route. On more than one occasion, the ferry took 14 hours or more to travel from Weymouth to Jersey. Fortunately, if it can be called fortunate, the majority of ships my wife and I traveled on were only delayed by "a few" hours. Since then, there has been a series of problems annually, resulting in delays in both directions. I have always been of the opinion that this type of ferry, albeit that it substantially reduces the travelling time by sea, is probably not the best solution for the UK, Guernsey/Jersey/France routes. Perhaps I am a bit of a traditionalist but I would dearly...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-18767068 A motion to reprimand Jersey's treasury minister for his handling of a failed deal to buy a new police station has been withdrawn. Why am I not surprised that another senior Jersey politician has avoided the potential criticism from a States debate, notwithstanding his protestations that he "..........was disappointed the censure call would not go forward as he wanted a debate on it." There is an old saying that those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. How true.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey Jersey Tourism is spending £250,000 on extra TV advertising in the UK after a drop in visitors. Having been a frequent visitor to Jersey since the days of Caledonian Princess, Earl Godwin, Corbiere etc (and we were passengers on the last sailing of the Havelet. It was very rough, but that is another story), it seems to me to be rather optimistic of Jersey Tourism to hope for some tangible return on their £250,000 TV campaign. Over the years, I have witnessed a significant decline in visitors specifically from the UK. I am unable to comment on the visitor numbers from Europe, but I would imagine that the same situation applies. In my view, there are a number of factors contributing to this decline. The provision of accommodation in the traditional tourist sector, the Guest House and small hotel range has been decimated. On each visit, there have been numerous examples of this type of accommodation disap...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/28/jersey-secrecy-culture Graham Power claims he was punished for daring to investigate allegations against some of the island's power players The Jersey "Establishment" are a very secret society and are more powerful and influential than can be imagined. The scandal of Haut de la Garenne and the wider "Historic Child Abuse" investigation are only the tip of a very large iceberg. Planning decisions,building activities, states housing, changes of use, criminal investigations and much much more, have never resulted in anything more than a letter to the editor in the Jersey Evening Post. As someone who lives on the mainland but frequently travels to the Island to visit friends, it never ceases to amaze me that these activities are rarely if ever discussed, but strangely seem to be widely known. It is as if a collective fear of reprisal grips the ordinary Jersey person. It is for example, "rumored" that a...