Sailing ferry across the English Channel: From France to England with SailLink

At the jetty in Boulogne-sur-Mer, there are bicycles with bulging panniers, rucksacks and a small group of people. The group includes a couple from Munich, a young Frenchman from Marseille, two men from Belgium and the Netherlands, and a pair of teenage French siblings. Today, they are all united by a common goal: to cross the English Channel under sail.

The atmosphere is full of anticipation, with a touch of stage fright in the air. Tim from Munich glances over at his partner and grins: “I’m as excited as a child at Christmas!” Seagulls circle above the harbour; the smell of seaweed and salt hangs in the air. Boulogne-sur-Mer is a historic port city in north-western France. It has linked the shores of the English Channel for centuries. From here, it’s just under 50 kilometres as the crow flies to Dover.

Setting off on the route aboard the catamaran ‘Echoes’

The “Echoes” arrives about an hour late. The waiting passengers take it in their stride. Anyone travelling under sail has to accept that the wind and tide set the pace. In the harbour, the mainsail and genoa are stowed away. Then the 17-metre-long catamaran comes alongside the jetty. The passengers from Dover disembark, say goodbye to the crew and make their way towards the old town. Now the loading for the return journey begins: bags are passed over the rail, and bicycles are hoisted on board and secured. Meanwhile, French border officials check passports and the passenger list. A few minutes later, everything is sorted.

Unlike on large car ferries, the journey here does not begin with long security checkpoints and waiting areas, but right by the water’s edge. The ‘Echoes’ has been in regular service for the company since 2025 SailLink and connects Boulogne-sur-Mer with Dover. It is authorised to carry twelve passengers and twelve bicycles per journey. This licence allows the catamaran to call at small town harbours. Unlike the industrial harbours, which are situated far out of town, the departure points are right in the town centre.

Safety briefing and departure

At the helm is Andrew Simons, skipper and founder of SailLink. He greets every guest with a handshake, whilst the three-person crew hand out life jackets and safety harnesses. A crew member demonstrates the lifeline, explains how to clip in with the carabiners and impresses upon the passengers the most important rule on board: “One hand for the boat, one for yourself.”

At 3.40 pm, shortly before high tide, the mooring lines are cast off. The ‘Echoes’ leaves the harbour under engine power. The wide sandy beach at Boulogne grows smaller as we head out, whilst fishing boats criss-cross in front of the harbour entrance. A gentle swell awaits us out at sea. With practised ease, the crew hoist the mainsail and genoa; the engines fall silent. Travelling at eight knots, the catamaran cuts through the water.

No sooner has the ‘Echoes’ set course than the crew bring hot tea into the cockpit. It is early May, and despite the sunshine, it is quickly getting chilly in the north-easterly wind of 17 to 20 knots. The initial excitement soon gives way to a relaxed atmosphere on board. The passengers spread out across the boat. One is reading on the foredeck trampoline, whilst others are perched on the railing, gazing out over the water. In the cockpit, conversations spring up about the boat, the route and sailing.

​An overview of the connection:

• Route: Boulogne–Dover
• Boat: Lagoon 57s
• Capacity: up to 12 passengers
• Price: Adults £85
• Bicycle: plus £10
• Concessionary: children, teenagers and young adults
• Duration: approx. 4–6 hours, depending on the wind, tide and traffic
• Season: April to October
• Frequency: 6–8 crossings per week
• Book at: saillink.co.uk

Passengers become part of the crew

Most of today’s passengers have only sailed a few times, if at all. The crew patiently explains how to handle the sheets and winches and lets the guests have a go. The French siblings seize the opportunity straight away: the young woman pulls in the lines, whilst her brother takes the helm. A few minutes later, he stands behind the wheel, focused and visibly happy, with a crew member at his side.

For Fabian, too, the crossing is a special experience. The Dutchman lives in England and works as a commercial pilot. Moving from place to place quickly is part of his daily life, but in his private life he prefers a slower pace of travel. He has just completed a cycle tour through the Netherlands and France. He found out about SailLink via social media. “For me, this is the perfect way to round off my cycling holiday,” he says.

Planning a course taking wind and tide into account

Andrew Simons shows the route on the chart plotter. It does not head directly for Dover, but takes a gentle curve across the Channel, which he describes as a ‘banana’. The reason lies in the particular geography of the sea area. The Strait of Dover is a bottleneck between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Masses of water flowing through the English Channel with the ebb and flow of the tides create strong tidal currents. The route must therefore be adapted not only to the wind, but also to the tide.

The remaining incoming tide initially pushes the ‘Echoes’ northwards along the French coast, before the outgoing tide takes over, carrying it south-west. As well as wind and water, shipping traffic also determines the course. Freighters and container ships appear on the AIS. The Strait of Dover is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. For the crew, this means they must remain fully focused: the ‘Echoes’ must navigate through the traffic separation scheme as close to a right angle as possible and must not get in the way of commercial shipping.

Between the thrill of sailing and commercial shipping

On deck, the journey seems effortless. Passengers enjoy the view, whilst in the navigation room the crew check, calculate and adjust the course. A large car ferry passes by, heavy and fast, heading straight for England. Its passengers spend the crossing behind glass panes in restaurants or lounges. On board the ‘Echoes’, you can smell the sea air, feel the movement of the water and experience the surroundings first-hand.

Then the white chalk cliffs of Dover appear on the horizon. At first just a faint line in the haze, the striking cliffs gradually come into view as we draw nearer. In the late afternoon, the wind drops. Andrew Simons starts the engines – first to give way to a tanker, and later again to stay within the time window dictated by the tide for entering Dover.

“If I had the money, I’d switch to electric motors,” says Simons. For him, running on diesel is one of the compromises of the start-up phase. “Usually, around 70 per cent of the journey can be covered under sail. But these days, it’s not possible to complete this route entirely without using the engine.”

Arrival in Dover

Depending on the wind and weather, the crossing between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dover takes between four and six hours. Passengers sit together on deck and watch the coast draw nearer. “When you arrive on a sailing boat, it feels as though you’ve earned your destination,” says Fabian, the pilot. “Body and soul can keep pace with the journey. It’s as though this is the right way to travel.”

It is not until we reach the large outer harbour of Dover that the sails are lowered. The ‘Echoes’ enters the marina under its own power, passing massive dolphins and floating jetties that rise and fall by around six metres with the tide every day. Once the boat is moored, the passengers make their way into town. The farewell is a warm one.

For Andrew Simons and his crew, the day isn’t over yet. The ‘Echoes’ is being cleaned, the lines are being checked, and preparations are being made for the next trip. During the day, Simons is a skipper, host and instructor; in the evenings, he is a manager and managing director. During the season, he lives on board for several weeks at a time. The northern Englishman trained as a shipbuilder and later studied environmental sciences. It wasn’t exactly the traditional route to becoming a liner shipowner. “At first, it was a crazy idea,” he says. “Then it became my lifelong dream.”

An old idea makes a comeback

The idea of a sailing ferry is not new; it is more of a revival. For centuries, sailing ships transported people, goods and post between the coasts. With the advent of steam shipping 200 years ago, these connections disappeared. Andrew Simons does not want to revive this historical form of travel as a museum piece, but to bring it into the present day. “The bureaucracy is far more difficult to navigate than the waters themselves,” he says. Licences, border controls and port regulations had to be coordinated on both sides of the Channel.

SailLink does not see itself as a replacement for the major ferry operators. Anyone wishing to travel between France and England as quickly as possible should still take the car ferry. The crossing on the ‘Echoes’ is aimed at people who don’t just want to cover the distance as quickly as possible, but want to experience the journey: cycle tourists, walkers, sailors and anyone for whom the crossing itself is part of the journey.

SailLink is planning a further route

Following the first commercial season in 2025, SailLink expanded its timetable. The company now operates six to eight crossings a week. In September 2026, a second Channel route is also set to be trialled, between Fécamp in Normandy and Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. However, it is not the ‘Echoes’ that is intended for this, but the chartered regatta catamaran ‘Mer Agitée’, helmed by none other than Michel Desjoyeaux, the two-time Vendée Globe winner.

Find out more: Timetables and bookings are here can be found on the official SailLink website.

At around 70 nautical miles, this crossing is considerably longer than the route from Boulogne to Dover, which is just 27 nautical miles. From a financial perspective, SailLink remains a major undertaking. Maintenance, fees and crew require a great deal of organisation and tie up both time and money. Much of this is managed by Andrew Simons, who is responsible for both day-to-day operations and the company’s expansion.

Late in the evening, the ebbing tide gurgles against the mooring posts, and the lights go out on the neighbouring boats. In the saloon of the ‘Echoes’, the screen of Andrew’s laptop is still lit up. Emails, bookings, weather data. The next morning, passengers will come on board again and the ‘Echoes’ will set course back for France.