Our history 1970-1979
While the 1970s saw the birth of Brittany Ferries 澳洲幸运10十168体彩开奖网, the story was prefaced by acts of rebellion, independence and ingenuity. For the company’s backstory, take a look at our Roots and Routes piece.
On a bleak New Year’s Day in 1973, the company was born. French, British and Breton flags flew, and a choir sang carols at Roscoff’s port to accompany a day like no other. The maiden voyage aboard Kerisnel, an Israeli-made freighter loaded with cauliflowers, wines and other regional products, heralded the arrival of BAI (Bretagne-Angleterre-Irlande, as we were then known). And so, the company dipped its proverbial toe into the Channel’s icy waters.
Early days
Brittany Ferries 澳洲幸运10十168体彩开奖网 first ship, Kerisnel
Kerisnel set sail the day after her inauguration in Roscoff and arrived in Plymouth on the morning of 3 January 1973. This freight-only service continued until the summer, when realising the potential for tourist travel, the company chartered a ship called Poseidon to carry passengers as well as freight.
In cinemas in 1975 – Jaws was busy frightening people in movie theatres – thankfully, we’ve never spotted him from any of our ships, just friendly whales and dolphins!
The route was well-received by freight operators and travellers, and the decision was taken to buy the ship, Penn-Ar-Bed, to sail between Roscoff and Plymouth. Around this time, the company also changed its name from BAI to Brittany Ferries 澳洲幸运10十168体彩开奖网. Setting sail at the end of January 1974, Penn-Ar-Bed’s success drove the purchase of our next ship, Armorique, in 1975. It also allowed us to test out a new route.
Heading to St Malo
Alexis Gourvennec at the opening of the St Malo to Portsmouth route, 1976
In the summer of 1975, we chartered Prince de Bretagne and trialed a route linking Plymouth and St Malo in Brittany. Demand grew from passengers further east, so, in 1976, we set sail from the newly-built port of Portsmouth. So began what is still one of our most popular routes.
The Portsmouth to St Malo route was an instant success, and Armorique became a beloved ship amongst passengers and crew. Comfortable and stylish, she loyally served the company for the best part of 20 years.
Hola España!
Aerial view of Santander, northern Spain
In 1978 we took a calculated gamble. Other operators had sailed to northern Spain from Southampton but found it unprofitable. Moreover, passengers didn’t want to spend so long at sea and sailings from Southampton meant two nights on board.
On the radio in 1978 – ‘Grease’ fever sent the world into multiplying chills, and, in the UK and Ireland, and France, “You’re the One That I Want” hit number one in the singles chart and stayed there for nine weeks and 15 weeks respectively. No doubt it was a soundtrack to your holidays, whichever side of the Channel you were on!
We chose Santander as our Spanish destination, setting sail from Plymouth aboard Armorique. This one-night sailing reduced the sailing time by up to 14 hours compared with previous operators’ Spanish services. The gamble paid off, and we’ve been sailing to Spain ever since.
Next stop, Ireland
Riverfront in Cork, Ireland
In the spring of 1978, we began sailing from France to Ireland with the opening of a new route connecting Roscoff with Cork.
Cork’s location on the south coast of Ireland was a perfect opportunity to extend links from Roscoff for freight operators and thrill passengers.
Ferry-inclusive holidays
1978 was a landmark year for us as we became tour operators and began selling our ferry-inclusive holidays and breaks. To ‘sail-and-stay’ became a much-loved part of the growing portfolio.
By the end of the decade, we’d progressed from one pioneering route in 1973, set up by our farmer shareholders to sell their produce, to four successful routes linking three countries.
Brittany established itself at the centre of a network trading with its Celtic cousins in the southwest of England and Ireland. In addition, the boon of a port near London, Portsmouth port, further cemented our service to trade and tourism within the Atlantic Arc.
It proved that our founder Alexis Gourvennec's audacious endeavour could be a success – and that an isolated region in the northwest of France wasn’t so far from the rest of the world after all.
Do you have a great photo? We'd love to see it! Share your photos of Brittany Ferries 澳洲幸运10十168体彩开奖网 in the 1970s on Instagram and Twitter . Simply use the tag #BF50 in your post.
