E(v)kranoplan.

[nuttinnew]

[nuttinnew]

More info; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-h ... e-57483039

[Carlos]

Fabulous concept.

Holyhead to Dublin in 20 minutes

[mik]

Wasn’t the Ekranoplan only successful on relatively calm (massive) inland lakes as opposed to choppy UK waters? Epic though it was….

[V8Granite]

I think so, similar to the hovercraft.
I’m not sure how much energy is in the batteries but 180 miles seems quite a stretch for the weight. Maybe these new ones have loads more lift ?

Either way, it’s a brilliant idea and a lot more interesting than most, fingers crossed it gets some momentum!!!

Dave!

[nuttinnew]

Wasn’t the Ekranoplan only successful on relatively calm (massive) inland lakes as opposed to choppy UK waters? Epic though it was….

That rings a bell, and isn't that crossing a rough one? I hope they can make it work, it'd become a tourist destination in its own right (the IoW hovercraft always gets an audience).

[mik]

Wasn’t the Ekranoplan only successful on relatively calm (massive) inland lakes as opposed to choppy UK waters? Epic though it was….

That rings a bell, and isn't that crossing a rough one? I hope they can make it work, it'd become a tourist destination in its own right (the IoW hovercraft always gets an audience).

I took Mrs mik’s Ford Ka over to Ireland on the Troon>Larne ferry and drove it down to Dublin. It was borderline Gale force and the other ferry (to Dun Laoghaire) was cancelled.

Our skipper told us that it wouldn’t be pleasant and we could cancel, but he would get us there….

It started off OK as we headed to the channel. But after that….

Fuck me - it was a wall to wall vomit fest. Every urinal filled - up the walls. Every sink. It was mental.

Those Hollywood deep groaning creaking noises that ships make in storms? Yep regularly. Was pretty certain we were going down like Limp Bizkit.

Scarey

[Jobbo]

I did Holyhead to Dublin about 20 years ago. Waiting at Holyhead for the Sea Cat to come in, it was delayed due to heavy seas. When it arrived they sent a proper ferry over from Dublin to get us (much longer delay); the Sea Cat wasn’t going back out. Every piece of crockery on board was broken, they said

I’m not sure if the Channel is much better, though I’ve had plenty of lovely smooth crossings of both over the years.

More of an issue is that the new thing is foot passengers only; I know Brittany Ferries will have plenty of data about passenger numbers but nobody runs a pedestrian-only cross channel service now, so where’s the demand? The existing Ro-ro ferries will need to keep running to serve the vehicular demand and they serve the existing foot passenger need.

[DeskJockey]

That does seem odd. Before the bridge (of the TV "The Bridge" fame) there was a thriving catamaran pedestrian only ferry service. But that served two cities with services, amenities, shops, etc. in walking distance either side.

[McSwede]

Wasn’t the Ekranoplan only successful on relatively calm (massive) inland lakes as opposed to choppy UK waters? Epic though it was….

That rings a bell, and isn't that crossing a rough one? I hope they can make it work, it'd become a tourist destination in its own right (the IoW hovercraft always gets an audience).

I took Mrs mik’s Ford Ka over to Ireland on the Troon>Larne ferry and drove it down to Dublin. It was borderline Gale force and the other ferry (to Dun Laoghaire) was cancelled.

Our skipper told us that it wouldn’t be pleasant and we could cancel, but he would get us there….

It started off OK as we headed to the channel. But after that….

Fuck me - it was a wall to wall vomit fest. Every urinal filled - up the walls. Every sink. It was mental.

Those Hollywood deep groaning creaking noises that ships make in storms? Yep regularly. Was pretty certain we were going down like Limp Bizkit.

Scarey

I was working in NI and stayed to go the see Ireland Vs Scotland in the 6 nations (last one at Lannsdowne road) and that was a horrid weekend. Travelling home from Belfast -Stranraer was similar conditions to what you described. My Fastcat had been cancelled so I took the ferry. The crossing was incredible just like you described but I loved it. It was hilarious watching other people and feeling how much the boat was moving!

[Jimmy Choo]

More of an issue is that the new thing is foot passengers only; I know Brittany Ferries will have plenty of data about passenger numbers but nobody runs a pedestrian-only cross channel service now, so where’s the demand? The existing Ro-ro ferries will need to keep running to serve the vehicular demand and they serve the existing foot passenger need.

When I've gone travelling without a car, I've either flown (which gets you near to a city rather than a nearby coast) or Eurostar/TGV (which actually gets you to a city). Ekranoplans are very cool but I don't see a viable business plan.

[jamcg]

More of an issue is that the new thing is foot passengers only; I know Brittany Ferries will have plenty of data about passenger numbers but nobody runs a pedestrian-only cross channel service now, so where’s the demand? The existing Ro-ro ferries will need to keep running to serve the vehicular demand and they serve the existing foot passenger need.

When I've gone travelling without a car, I've either flown (which gets you near to a city rather than a nearby coast) or Eurostar/TGV (which actually gets you to a city). Ekranoplans are very cool but I don't see a viable business plan.

This feels very Concorde like- massive expensive flagship that’s really just an exercise in Willy waving because they loose money every trip