Remembering the chunnel beaters : The Pride of Dover and the Pride of Calais /John Hendy

"In 1987, Townsend Thoresen's Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais were the first of a new generation of super ferry and represented their owner's response to the building of the Channel Tunnel. There were those who had warned that the opening of the tunnel would bring an end to the traditional cross-Channel trades, and in a bold move to counter this threat, the new ships were labelled the 'Chunnel Beaters'. Sadly their entry into service was overshadowed by the English Channel's worst ever ferry disaster and new owners P&O lost little time in creating P&O European Ferries whose dark blue hulls and funnels would remain throughout the new ships' illustrious careers. Impressive upgrades to their passenger accommodation followed, introducing the iconic P&O branding which set a benchmark for quality that their competitors were quite unable to match."--Provided by the publisher.