Alderney Ferry 'humbled and blown away by support'

Wednesday 05 September 2018

The eleven week Alderney Ferry trial between the northern-most isle and Guernsey has been hailed a huge success by its operators as it comes into its final month of operation.

The Little Ferry service was supported by a £77,000 States of Alderney subsidy and has been operating two sailings a day between Alderney and Guernsey since 13 July 2018 and will continue to operate until Saturday 29 September.

Spokesperson for The Little Ferry Company, Janette Bouracier, said: "We are so humbled and blown away from the support by everyone, not only when things have gone well but also the support when weather has not been on our side."

The ferry company is a partnership between Bruno Kay-Mouat, managing director of Alderney Shipping, and Isle of Wight based Nick Sice,  MD of Faversham Ships, whose company bought the 12-seater Spike Islander vessel from Holland.

The multi-role catamaran, which is based in Alderney, was built in 2009 and originally made to service wind farms, but as vessels for these operations were needed to be bigger, the Spike Islander had been used primarily for a ferry operation in northern Holland.

Ms Bouracier said: "The boat has been perfect for the day trip market, which is where we fit in, although the fuel consumption has been a lot greater than when it operated in Holland as it is constantly pushing strong tides in our waters and we have been topping it up each day."

Pictured: The Little Ferry.

The 11 week trial operation has seen the boat full on most sailings.

"It has superseded our expectations with support from both Alderney and Guernsey residents and tourists too. I set up the Facebook page a week before we started and within a couple of days it had a reach of 38,000. It has been incredible with the service marketing itself via word of mouth," said Ms Bouracier.

The subsidy from the Alderney States meant the ferry company could operate with a fixed price return rate of £40 per person, with other standard charges for a single trip and options for pets and bikes. Ms Bouracier said that most people thought the price was right: "When talking to our customers most indicated they thought the prices were fair and tourists too have been using us for day trips, much like they would to the other islands. We have also had an incredible number of Alderney residents using it and even seen office staff treated to day trips."

"The tourism market in Alderney has also seen a boost with guest houses and camping bookings. We are not trying to compete with the airline but offer a new market to allow people to travel inter-island in an hour at a reasonable price. We have been so lucky with the weather this year and people have been so supportive, I think it has given Alderney a morale lift."

She said that the States will now have to decide if a subsidy is offered for 2019: "It has been a small and manageable project this year with a great team, it will be up to the States of Alderney to see if it has served its purpose and we will know more when all the statistics have been looked into nearer the end of the year. If the States are happy we can certainly look at doing it again next year."