The Business Breakfast Club,
Bournemouth

Visit To Cherbourg

27th September 2007

Our second fun day out to Cherbourg began at 6:30 in the morning. Poole was dark and cold and we were glad to get on board the Normandie Vitesse for our outward crossing.

Once settled into our seats, everyone got down to breakfast (or not!), catching up on some sleep and getting to know each other better.

On arrival in Cherbourg, the plan had been to meet representatives from the Cherbourg Chamber of Commerce but, due to an unfortunate clash of dates, everyone was 'out of town' and the meeting wasn't possible. The next best thing was to head off into town and indulge in some sightseeing, shopping, eating and sampling the local atmosphere.

Breakfast Club in a Nuclear Sub!

Highlight of the trip was a visit to 'La Cité de la Mer', located in the former transatlantic liner terminal complex. We toured Le Redoutable - France's first missile-launching nuclear submarine, launched by General de Gaulle in 1967, and were totally amazed by the size and complexity of the vessel.

Equally impressive was the oceanarium with it's wide ranging displays and the highest cylindrical aquarium in Europe. At 10 meters deep and weighing in at over 1,000,000 Kg, this is definately not one to try at home!

Advanced networking - French style!

One of the problems with short trips to France is the difference in time. Keeping track of which times were UK and which were French, as well as knowing which was being shown by watches and phones is a feat that not everyone completly mastered. However by a combination of language skills, applied panic and a high speed taxi, everyone made it back to the terminal before the Barfleur left (just).

Having assembled the party once more, the journey home was uneventful, but with plenty of informal networking going on in the bar and restaurents!

The trip was a great day and we going to repeat the event next year. Watch this space for details.

Visit 'La Cité de la Mer' web site

Here are the pictures of the 2006 event