BRITTANY FERRIES are to introduce a new high-speed catamaran at Portsmouth to operate the Cherbourg and Caen routes. The new vessel, the Normandie Express, the largest of its type on the Channel, has capacity for 900 passengers and 280 cars. It will operate from mid-March until mid-November with crossing times of only 180 minutes to Cherbourg and 225 minutes to Caen. There will be up to two return trips a day to Cherbourg and a daily service to Caen every Friday, Saturday and Sunday supplementing the three return crossings a day by conventional cruise-ferry. The Normandie Express is propelled by hydrojets and has a cruising speed of42 knots (48 mph).
http://www.brittany-ferries.com