She's big, she's fast and she's beautiful in an almost surreal and futuristic way, more like something you might expect to see floating through space in Star Trek or Star Wars rather than cleaving a passage across the English Channel, at speeds often approaching 50mph!

Starting a summer season of daily crossings on Friday 26 March, the MV Norman Arrow is one of the most remarkable vessels ever to operate out of Portsmouth's historic harbour, and whilst the likes of Nelson might have stared in one-eyed disapproval, LD Lines futuristic looking car ferry is winning approval from travellers, no doubt.

In the harbour itself, and even out in the Solent, until she clears the Nab Tower, the Arrow isn't allowed to demonstrate her true paces, which is probably just as well, in one of the word's most congested waterways, but once past the Nab she is able to open up and really fly - well, almost!

Conventional ferry sailings to Le Havre, which is just under one hundred miles from Portsmouth, usually take around eight hours, but the ship that locals have dubbed the "Supercat" makes a nonsense of that, crossing in just three and a quarter hours, despite the speed restrictions in place for the first half an hour or more on the outward leg, and the same again for the last half hour on the return journey.

At 112 metres long, the Norman Arrow is big, and can carry up to 415 cars (or an equivalent mix of cars, vans and lorries) in car decks that look like metal cathedrals, or some subterranean cavern out of a Doctor Who adventure.

And the car decks aren't the only impressive feature of the Arrow ... everything about her is on the grand scale, but at the same time offering such a degree of personal comfort that it's quite easy to forget you're actually on board a ship - or it would be, if almost every seat didn't offer such a spectacular view of the sea outside!.

Make no mistake, this is the ultimate way to travel between England and France.

Originally brought from the other side of the world to operate on the Dover to Bolougne route last summer, Norman Arrow's owners then decided to take the step of transferring her to a longer route, to make the most of her terrific speed.

And although at present she is scheduled for one return crossing every day, we hear rumours that there is a strong possibility that will be doubled if demand justifies it.

You may not quite be able to forget that you're at sea, but such is the scale of this fantastic vessel that it's all too easy to forget that she's actually a catamaran, or that she's taking you to France at twice the speed of any conventional ferry.

In many ways the Norman Arrow is a bit like a floating town - certainly a floating village - and a journey aboard her is an experience and part of any holiday on its own!