This page is devoted to latest news and developments in travel between the Channel Islands, England and France.  The picture above of Elizabeth Castle in Jersey is not decrying Guernsey's stunningly beautiful St Peter Port Harbour but is the common point travellers pass when leaving the islands for France! 

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Condor have a new vessel on the Channel Islands Saint Malo route!

May saw the arrival of the Condor Rapide.  The vessel is a great improvement on the previous vessel Condor 10 as it carries three times more cars.  Islanders were actually fond of the Condor 10, preferring it to other vessels but the new Rapide is a pleasant surprise being bright and roomy with a very much lighter interior than the 10.  The shop is bigger - very welcome - and the cafeteria better.  As Condor Rapide is very new on the route, Condor have spent some time this year improving her interior and I hear have plans to further refurbish the vessel this winter when, I am told, she will have a new first class area similar to those on the two other vessels. At present the First Class Lounge is partitioned off from the other passengers rather than being a dedicated room however it is very pleasant with more tables and chairs and a great improvement on the upstairs area used for this purpose on Condor 10.

History of Condor Rapide

The Condor Rapide is an 86 meter catamaran constructed by Incat in Tasmania and is the younger sister of the Condors Vitesse and Express being launched in November 1997. Her first voyages were between Victoria and Tasmania and then she was chartered by the Australian Government in 1999, named HMAS Jervis Bay and was used for carrying troops and equipment between Darwin in Australia and Dili during the peace keeping operations for East Timor. When that need ended in 2001 she was chartered by an Italian company and sailed between Genoa and Palau. The Italian company failed and she was laid up until 2004 when Speed Ferries took her over and she was given a new name HSC SpeedOne. We wrote a magazine article about the launch of SpeedOne in 2004.  Click here to read it!  In late 2008 SpeedFerries went into administration until 2009 at which stage she had been renamed Sea Leopard.

Magazine Articles from the Archives

Above - Condor Rapide upper deck dressed up

for the launch party

Below - entrance to shop

HD Ferries sets sail between the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey an Saint Malo.  HD Ferries took the decision to pull off the Channel Islands route in February 2009.

Emeraude Ferries the End of an Era  2006 sees the end of a ferry company that had sailed in local waters for 100 years

Speed Ferries went into liquidation in 2004 but in view of their vessel now being the Condor Rapide this makes interesting reading!

SpeedFerries the line that ran between Dover and Boulogne -

Travelling from Jersey to France in the 1960's.