A new wind-powered shuttle service will soon run daily between England and France, offering slow, low-carbon experiential travel.
SailLink, the firm behind the service, is primed to launch its first full season in 2025. The idea is not to compete with the big ferry operators as SailLink cannot, for example, carry a truck across the Channel. Instead, they will focus on foot passengers and cyclists, and provide a unique, rather more adventurous crossing experience.
Capable of carrying 12 passengers, SailLink’s catamaran will take between three and four-and-a-half hours to cross the English Channel. The first route will run from Dover to Boulogne (approx. 33 miles) and the schedule is designed around the tides: essentially one return crossing per day, starting and finishing in Dover - from April to October. Tickets will cost from around £85 ($107).
The company says their 2025 schedule will be published shortly, offering "an unforgettable experience of travel on a human scale, at an affordable price and with pleasant border procedures."
The SailLink website sums up their concept rather well: "Why should boarding a sailing boat and making a short crossing using the natural forces of wind and tide be unusual? We believe it should be completely normal. That it is considered unusual, unique and even innovative says a lot about our present situation. So our mission is simply to help make naturally obvious solutions the new normality. In this way, SailLink is just one more step towards the world we need and the one we should be handing on."