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:
“The reason American cars don’t sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That’s why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)
“I marched in with the men afoot; a gallant show they made as they marched up High Street to the depot. Lucy and Mother Webb remained several hours until we left. I saw them watching me as I stood on the platform at the rear of the last car as long as they could see me. Their eyes swam. I kept my emotion under control enough not to melt into tears.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)