A brand-new ferry route connecting England and France is launching in just a few weeks

Budding yachties and aspiring skippers, this one’s for you. 

Earlier this year, we reported on a company called SailLink that was running sailboats from Dover to Boulogne-sur-Mer, and vice versa. The small British startup launched its very first public trips across the Channel in 2025, offering people the chance to take a five-hour sea-bound journey by catamaran, powered entirely by wind.

Now in the midst of its second summer season, which runs until September 20, the company has announced it’s extending its journey options with a brand-new route. 

For just six days in September, SailLink will be ferrying passengers between Normandy and Sussex on boat rides skippered by award-winning sailor Michel Desjoyeaux on his very own vessel, called Mer Agitée.

Running from September 8-13, each journey will take around eight hours, setting off from Shoreham-by-Sea and docking at Fécamp, a coastal town surrounded by the white cliffs of France’s Alabaster Coast.

As with SailLink’s existing journeys, trips will take up to 12 passengers and cyclists will be able to store their bikes onboard. As for how you can expect to while away the hours, passengers can get involved in the sailing, taking the helm or helping to trim a sail. Alternatively, spread out on the forward trampoline or in the saloon below deck.

Passport control will take place at the port on arrival and departure, and a valid passport is required to travel (obvs). 

SailLink’s original 24-mile journeys between Dover and Boulogne were priced at £85 for adult passengers, a rate of £3.54 per nautical mile. The Shoreham to Fécamp route is around 70 nautical miles, and will be priced at £220 one way per person. You can book a trip via the company’s website here.

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