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DFDS direct Ireland-mainland Europe ferry route of Rosslare-Dunkirk, as from today have special deals available to passengers booking in advance for travel in 2024.

The Ireland-France service, offers tourists, with up to 50 cabins available for customers to book on each sailing. There are five passenger departures from Rosslare Europort to Dunkirk each week and the overnight crossing takes just under 24 hours. 

Last year Afloat reported of a trial passenger service which was added to freight operations avoiding the UK landbridge, and so the route has become increasingly more popular. 

In addition to cabin accommodation, all passenger bookings include meals with freshly cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner on offer in the self-service restaurant onboard during the journey. For those wishing to stay connected online WiFi is available onboard with a free basic service and premium packages available to purchase for those looking to stream.

Standard prices for a car and four passengers with a cabin start from €400 each way, but a 20 per cent discount is available for customers who book early, providing the opportunity to save on the costs of the journey and spend more on the holiday experience.

The Early Booking Offer applies to standard vehicle and cabin fares on the Rosslare service and is available for all bookings made by 29 February 2024.

Dunkirk is a fantastic arrival port for passengers looking to explore Northern Europe. Disneyland Paris is three-and-a half hours’ drive from the port, while Bruges is just 80 minutes away. We have seen strong demand for passenger crossings on the Rosslare to Dunkirk service since we launched a limited trial in August last year.

Over the summer we offered a full passenger service on the route and with our great value early booking offer we expect to welcome even more customers on board to enjoy the comfortable, relaxing experience we offer. With our straight-forward booking and check-in process, no baggage limits to worry about, and time to relax during the crossing, families can sail into a stress-free holiday by sea.

Published in Ferry

About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance. 

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.

 

At a Glance - Melges 15 Specifications

  • LENGTH 15 ft 
    BEAM 5 ft 6 in
    DRAFT 2 ft 7 in 
    HULL WEIGHT 230 lbs
  • SAIL AREA
    MAIN 93.6 sq ft 
    JIB 39.8 sq ft 
    ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKER 156 sq ft 
  • CREW 2

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