Warning Peter snores LOUDLY (and readily warned me of this for Le Mans)... HOWEVER, he also has the habit of 'accidentally' switching his phone on to recite the contents of Bill Bryson's "A Small History of nearly everything" throughout the night... Which can be most confusing after you've consumed copius amounts of cheap beer + the best Malt, and wake up throughout the night wondering who's talking to you about Astronomy, Chemistry and Physical sciences ...

£4 for Visa? explain please Dave, have I missed something here?

Jan

Norfolkline's direct website adds a surcharge if payment is made by visa, mastercard and a couple of others. I paid with maestro, which carries no surcharge.

By the way jang - are we still up for travelling, erm, down together? Given the 6am ferry, are you planning on leaving Thurs and spending a night in a holiday inn place, or just making it a very early Fri (from where I am, Google Maps says it's a 5 hour drive + the 45 mins we've gotta be there early, might as well be 6 hours, so leave at midnight)?

DOOHH


Jan

I agree with you Dave, but it would still be 11pm by the time I get down there.
Mike, you can travel down with me if you want

Jan

Great - hopefully we can get almost all of us there on Thurs night so we'll all be able convoy to the ferry. Maybe it's me just being tight, but according to this, there's a few other Travelodges in the area that are £14 cheaper than Ashford... I'm quite happy to pay the extra if it's regarded as being a better bet for some reason... Just thought i'd point out the cheaper alternatives

Oh lol - in that case I think I might do that, then. I'm thinking if I can get myself to bed the day before at something like 5pm, it should all be fine and dandy...

Actually Dave, the reason why they want £53 is because there's only family rooms available. They contain a double bed and a sofa bed, which I guess amounts to splitting rooms in 2.

I'm torn: a bad night's sleep in a Travelodge + money vs small amount of good sleep at home + very early morning drive. I guess being only 20mins away on Fri morning means there's much less chance of hold-ups on the way down causing concern. That said, I doubt there'd be any, what with leaving home at midnight...

Ferry
Info:
Dover - Dunkerque @ 6am 19/09
Dunkerque - Dover @ 2:01pm 22/09
Arrival at port required 45mins before scheduled departure
Booking:
http://www.aferry.to or http://www.norfolkline.com (direct)
Booked:
jang - http://www.aferry.to - £48
Screamer - http://www.norfolkline.com - £50 - 04/09
druck - http://www.norfolkline.com - £54 - 04/09 (including £4 for Visa)

Travel Insurance
Info:
Booking:
http://cheaper.travelinsurance.co.uk or compare at http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travelinsurance/
Booked:
druck - Direct Line annual policy
Screamer - £8.72 - 18/09 to 22/09 (cost no extra for cover on the 18th) - http://www.travelinsurance.co.uk (weirdly cheaper than http://cheaper.travelinsurance.co.uk)

'Ring Recovery
Info:
ADAC
Booking:
http://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft_leist ... efault.asp
£80 full year's cover (covers UK as well)
€180 recovery if not paying for ADAC's cover
Booked:

'Ring Insurance
Info:
Booking:
http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk or http://www.moris.co.uk or http://www.dayinsure.com
Booked:
druck - www.moris.co.uk quote £85.50 basic per day (£126 with life & excess) used then for Brands trackday- will book later

Accommodation
Info:
http://www.hotel-an-der-nordschleife.de
Booking:
MetA, €35-45/night/person
Booked:
MetA & druck?

Need To Do
- Adjust lights or use light stickers
- GB sticker (unless car has numberplates with blue euro box)
- Get reflective jacket - 80's disco cool, and required for avoiding fines from the French police. Shouldn't be enforced until 01/10, but reports of fines already being issued.

Need To Take
- License (both parts)
- Insurance w/document(s) indicating cover in Europe
- Car registration document
- Passport
- Crash helmet
- Pad & pen
- Details for sat nav (if applicable): Dover port; hotel; ring entrance; Dunkerque port

Meta (Peter) can you please confirm have you actually booked the apartments?

Dave, have got the track insurance booked and if so have you booked 2 days or 3?

Jan

Think I might do the same, Dave - not sure hammering around the 'ring after a dubious night's sleep (however I do it) and a rather lengthy drive is the best idea in the world...

Just purchased a Sparco Lid from Demon Tweeks so at least my head will be safe Kevlar reinforced to keep the squashy bit in
I think I will follow the concensus and travel down overnight and kip on the ferry. 5 hours drive to Nurburg, get settled into apartment and then get a ring taxi to takes me round.
I think I will be purchasing the track insurance if you can pass on any details when you get them Dave! I don't know yet about the ADAC cover, does it cover for repatriation to the UK? I can't seem to find the T&C's anywhere
Bring it on
Oh by the way Maz isn't coming as her works won't give her the time off so I have promised her that we will go to the Donnington trackday and she can come round with me, but I will have to either buy or hire her a helmet on the day.

Jan

Just tried Moris and got a quote for £132 incuding life cover but not excess. Not sure whether it was for 1 or 2 days so will have to ring them.

Jan

Haven't got written confirmation from hotel yet as Eddy's computer is busted

Have spkoen to him by phone and confirmed 3 rooms
- Meta, druck and Jan ?
- Screamer and NickD
- newspeedie and linda rich ( provisional )

WIll have his computer fixed by tomorrow, so will finalise with him then.
Are the above numbers now correct ? and do those sleeping arrangements work out OK -- or similar Past experience of 3 day rallies is the rest of my crew woudl end up sleeping on baths, on sofas and in vans to get away from me snoring soundly in bed. You are warned ... bring ear plugs

Anyone know Tim/Lindas mobiles and see if they're coming or not ?
We can either hang on to the 3rd apartment or not. I'll see how Eddy is with being flexible for us -- there are also 2 larger apartments in the block and one might be available.

I'm "negotiating" for ferry over via Rosyth and then come back with you guys. WHat's the best way of getting cheapest single ferry ticket ?