SO MR David Peach waxes lyrical about the demise of the Condor Service from Weymouth travelling to all points South of Portland Bill.

Why should it ‘be interesting’ that the MD of Condor Ferry Services left the door ajar for the long term future of ferry services out of the port?

Could the statement in previous issue of this newspaper on the move away ‘being of a medium term nature’, (which to me implies veiled request to put up the £10m now or lose out completely), mean that the gentleman realises that his running costs operating out through the shallow waters of Poole approaches costs him money in journey time hence increased fuel consumption and servicing of his operating craft and may therefore not be in his company’s best interests for the future?

Why seek to lay blame like Mr Peach does at the council’s door when there is a ready- made answer almost staring him in the face and that the optimism shared by some that ‘something will turn up’ lies very close.

He realises that ‘we live in a competitive world’, so why not ask the council and local chamber of commerce, if such a body still exists, to join him in turning back from page 8 and his letter to page 6 of Thursday’s issue where we see the existing competition, Brittany Ferries, offering half-price trips to France in, surprise, surprise, a vessel which would appear to be exactly the same as the current Condor Ferry catamaran service, thus well suited to Weymouth operations, presently working for Brittany Ferries out of Poole as suggested by the advertisement.

Let Poole have the Condor trimaran single boat service and negotiate an operating contract with Brittany Ferries to run their ‘cats’ out of Weymouth from the newly refurbished Ro-Ro facility supporting the use of No.3 berth.

This will give an income to recoup the £4.5m spent on the harbour wall by the council last year and bring business back to the town as a whole.

Easy access to Normandy through St Malo and Cherbourg and thus to the rest of France would be appreciated by many a traveller I’m sure.

KEVIN SEAR

Nothe Parade, Weymouth