A former Commodore Captain waved goodbye to the Goodwill as she sailed out of Guernsey for the final time this morning.

Michael Child had worked for Commodore from 1970 until his retirement.

During that time he regularly sailed between Guernsey, Jersey, and the UK, including as Captain of the Commodore Goodwill for a decade.

He told Express that he would be on board for “two weeks on, two weeks off” as Goodwill and other ships carried freight across the English Channel.

Pictured: Michael Child worked aboard Commodore ships, including Goodwill, for a number of decades.

He said he had many “good times” while working for Commodore, which became part of the Condor Ferries brand during his employment.

“I always enjoyed my time on Goodwill,” said Mr Child.

She was “ideal for Guernsey,” he added.

Regarding Brittany Ferries he said “they’re starting off well” but he agreed it is the “end of an era”

“That’s the last of the Commodore ships,” confirmed Mr Child as he watched the stevedores load Goodwill ahead of her sailing back to the UK this morning.

Pictured: Commodore Goodwill being loaded in the fog at St Peter Port Harbour on March 27, 2025.

Brittany Ferries’ new contract for Guernsey’s ro-ro passenger and freight services commences this weekend.

Ships owned by Condor and Commodore are either being sold off or repainted in the Brittany Ferries livery as the new era dawns.

From now, the high speed Condor Voyager will operate a St Malo-Guernsey-Poole-Guernsey-St Malo rotation daily in the high season and three times a week off-peak.

The recently repainted Brittany Ferries Islander will run a freight and passenger service six days a week from Portsmouth.

The Clipper will operate back-up services when needed.

Clipper’s future had been unsure until Brittany Ferries confirmed this week that she is staying in its ownership.

The vessel had been listed for sale on shipselector.com with ‘Price on Application’, alongside the Liberation and Goodwill.

A Brittany Ferries spokesman this week confirmed to Express that Clipper is not for sale.

Both the Liberation and Goodwill are both still believed to be up for grabs for €24,000,000 and €14,000,000 respectively.

Pictured: The repainted Brittany Ferries Islander on her visit to Guernsey earlier this week.

Mr Child told Express that the timetable and fleet changes will have a positive impact on timings at St Peter Port Harbour, which could benefit those tasked with unloading and loading the freight ships.

“There’ll be no need for (the boats) to come in at 3am anymore because (they’re) not going to Jersey. (They’ll) be able to come in at 6am instead,” he said.

Mr Child also explained that Goodwill was flying flags to signal ‘good luck’ as she made her final departure from St Peter Port Harbour this morning.

“She’s flying a signal which means ‘communication’ I think, but the flags have changed since I learned mine. The others mean ‘good luck’,” he said.