By Car
On 16 September 1965, two Amphicars crossed from Dover to Calais. One was crewed by two Army Officers, Captain Mike Bailey REME and Captain Peter Tappenden RAOC, the other by Tim Dill-Russell and Sgt Joe Minto RASC. The crossing took 7 hours 20 minutes, with mid-channel wind conditions reaching force 5 on the Beaufort scale. The cars went on to the Frankfurt Motor Show of that year where they were put on display.
In 2007, the presenters of the BBC programme Top Gear (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May) "drove" across the Channel from England to France. They did it by designing 'Amphibious Cars' which could be driven on land and also operate in water. After four attempts - twice failing to leave Dover Harbour - they reached the coast of France in a Nissan pick-up (The Nissank) with an outboard motor and oil drums attached to the back to aid stability in the open water. The other two vehicles that attempted the crossing (a Triumph Herald with a sail and a Volkswagen Campervan with a propeller attached to the flywheel) both sank.
Clarkson believed it might be possible to break the world record for crossing the channel in this manner, but the team was unsuccessful.
The Daily Mail claimed that the BBC received criticism from the coastguard who claimed that they had not been told that the stunt was going to take place, and allegedly branded it "completely irresponsible", despite the aired episode showing the co-operation of the coastguard.
Read more about this topic: English Channel, Notable Channel Crossings
Famous quotes containing the word car:
“One way to do it might be by making the scenery penetrate the automobile. A polished black sedan was a good subject, especially if parked at the intersection of a tree-bordered street and one of those heavyish spring skies whose bloated gray clouds and amoeba-shaped blotches of blue seem more physical than the reticent elms and effusive pavement. Now break the body of the car into separate curves and panels; then put it together in terms of reflections.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)