Don't say there's not a problem

I have been travelling between Guernsey and the UK since 1957. Back then (if my memory serves me well) it was run by British Rail. The boats in service at the time were the Isle of Guernsey, the Isle of Jersey and the St Patrick (a converted ex-naval vessel) and boy did she roll. The vehicles were craned on and off the ship and they were referred to as the mail boats.

Next in the 1960s came the Sarnia and the Caesarea. These boats were much more futuristic at the time with their drive-on, drive-off facilities, however with the extra decks she did roll around quite a lot. The owners saw the problem and rectified it by having 'stabilisers' fitted.

Then came the 'high speed' hydrofoils and catamarans. Up until this point it was run from Weymouth and I can honestly say I enjoyed them all.

When I heard about the new Liberation, I was so looking forward to my first trip. She looked great. I was disappointed that she was based in Poole as this would add at least half an hour to the trip due to the speed limit from her berth in Poole to 'Old Harry Rocks'. That is not a criticism, as Condor's options were limited. At least it's a very scenic part of the trip.

On 12 May, I had my first trip on the Liberation vessel, Poole to Guernsey. The state of the sea I would describe as choppy (about force three) with a mediocre western swell. I left my seat once on the outward trip and was a little surprised that I had to grab the back of a couple of seats to maintain my balance on a boat of that size.

Let me point out at this stage, I have had a boat mooring in Poole Harbour since 1974, much smaller of course, but I am very familiar with sea conditions and boat handling.

On the return trip to Poole on 15 May I sat in the rear row of seats. I could see something was not quite right with the handling of the boat – her wake, the white water trail she leaves in the water, was a definite zig-zag shape and I came to the conclusion that it was caused by several factors. The size and shape of the boat's hull is what is commonly known as cathedral shape, i.e. triple hull, unlike the catamaran twin hull. As the swell of the sea from the west lifted the hull on that side, the boat pivoted on the larger centre hull. This pushed the opposite side deeper into the water, creating a drag on one side of the vessel. This is enough to affect its course and when the swell hits the other side of the vessel, the opposite course change would happen.

This, in my opinion, would account for the zig-zag shape wake.

Taking into consideration also the height above sea level of the passenger deck, all this movement will be magnified.

Also to bear in mind, water reacts differently when you are moving over it at 35mph. I noticed the timing of the side-on swell and the change of course were linked together.

I am partly disabled and at times require a walking stick. As I was carrying a small case I felt I needed a stick to cope with the staircases. Even so, I still felt I was holding up the fitter passengers. When I disembarked I decided to use the lift.

There were already a number of people there, some with children in pushchairs, along with several people using wheelchairs.

After about 10 minutes a member of staff appeared and explained that the lift could not be used until the cars were cleared below.

A short time after, a member of staff appeared and took some people down in the lift. Half-an-hour later the lift had still not reappeared.

I then decided, as all the cars had gone, along with all the passengers (apart from those still waiting at the top of the lift) and what looked like half the crew in their high-vis jackets, I would take the stairs.

There was an empty coach waiting. I got on and after about five minutes, the driver and myself could see the people still waiting at the top of the lift. The driver decided to run me to the passport control. I was the only passenger on board the bus and I did not see any other passengers going through the passport control section. I took the only taxi left waiting outside.

My experiences with Condor leads me to believe they will sort the problem.

However, don't say there is not a problem. I heard several people remark: 'You won't be seeing me on this again.'

Thought you should know.

P. DREWETT,

17, Lampard Terrace, Salisbury,

SP2 0LB.