Major travel disruption due with strong winds forecast

The south-west winds are predicted to reach up to gale force nine in Guernsey tomorrow morning [Saturday 2 November].

Condor Ferries has been forced to amend, cancel and add extra sailings this weekend due to forecast gale force winds and extremely rough seas in the English Channel. Some services are under review.

Wind speeds of up to 50 knots have been predicted for tomorrow, with wave heights in excess of six metres. This is outside the safe limits for both high speed and conventional ferries, forcing the company to cancel all of tomorrow's passenger sailings, a company spokesperson said.

‘Sunday’s Poole sailing will also not operate, but Sunday’s Clipper crossing from Portsmouth to the islands and the Rapide departure from St Malo, which had both previously been cancelled, are being reinstated due to a change in the forecast,’ they said.

‘To accommodate those affected, Condor is transferring today's passengers to Sunday and Monday and scheduling a new return service from the islands to Poole next Tuesday.

Condor’s executive director – operations, Elwyn Dop, said: ‘We share our passengers’ disappointment at the obvious inconvenience and uncertainty caused by this sustained period of atrocious weather, particularly at the end of the half-term holiday.’

Additional staff in Condor’s customer contact centre and port teams have been drafted in to notify and re-book travellers on alternative sailings where space is available. All passengers are being offered free transfers or a full refund. Departures cancelled tomorrow are Poole/Portsmouth-Channel Islands and St Malo-Jersey/Guernsey and Poole and St Malo today.

On Tuesday, the additional Poole sailing has been re-timed to run Jersey-Guernsey-Poole-Guernsey-Jersey and so sail in reverse.

Within the Bailiwick, Sark Shipping has cancelled all sailings between Guernsey and Sark tomorrow. Travel Trident cancelled its last sailing to Herm tonight and the company is set to announce tomorrow morning whether it will operate any sailings tomorrow.

Anyone looking to swap from the ferries to the planes to get back at the end of half term might find it difficult. Aurigny’s Sunday evening flights from Southampton and Gatwick are both full.

The UK Met Office has put out wind warnings for the south of England for tomorrow.

However, the local Met office has stated that the winds are set to ease down overnight tomorrow night, although it will continue to be wet and blustery tomorrow.

The Commodore Clipper ferry has just returned from being in dry dock, while Condor Liberation is set to go into dry dock from the middle of next week and is due to be out of action for five weeks.