roubaixtuesday wrote: 23 Jan 2025, 12:44pm
*All* cyclists were subject to metal detectors when we used BF Portsmouth last April. One pannier per bike was picked to scan, plus we had to walk through a detector.
Weird.
I went Portsmouth-Ouistreham (& back) in July, not a sniff. (3 wheelmen also without problems - we all used different crossings to get to Tours, can't remember which way they all came sorry!)
Seems to be like airports - pot luck, and you're a bit at the mercy of jobsworths
roubaixtuesday wrote: 23 Jan 2025, 12:44pm
*All* cyclists were subject to metal detectors when we used BF Portsmouth last April. One pannier per bike was picked to scan, plus we had to walk through a detector.
Weird.
I went Portsmouth-Ouistreham (& back) in July, not a sniff. (3 wheelmen also without problems - we all used different crossings to get to Tours, can't remember which way they all came sorry!)
Seems to be like airports - pot luck, and you're a bit at the mercy of jobsworths
Yeah, no idea how unusual it was, first ferry trip with a bike for decades!
I sailed Plymouth to Santander April 2023. Mitie were the the security contractors.
At the security check on dockside I was asked if I had any knives in my panniers. Without giving it much thought I said yes (I am too honest at times). He asked to see it. I retreived my brand new, just out of the impossible to open package, Opinel 5" blade lock knife. He immediately asked what it was for. I didn't really give a coherent answer, it was just a sharp knife for, perhaps, sorting some of life's technical problems as often encountered when cycle touring. He confiscated it and when I pointed out that each of the 20, or so, camper vans would be stocked with a selection of sharp knives he said they were exempt because they had a kitchen. Utter bull$hit!
I suspect that if I had quickly said it was for food preparation when first asked he would have let it go. It never occurred to me it would be an issue.
There was no sign of any bikes or motorbikes being scanned or searched with a metal detector.
3 days later I stopped at a local market and bought a replacement, identical knife. £13 down the drain because of some jobsworth in a (ill fitting) uniform.
Well you can feel hard done by, or lucky. To carry that knife without a reason is a criminal offence, so good job he wasn't a police man. Btw I also regularly carry a 5 inch locking opinel knife!
Nealc wrote: 24 Jan 2025, 11:34am
Well you can feel hard done by, or lucky. To carry that knife without a reason is a criminal offence, so good job he wasn't a police man. Btw I also regularly carry a 5 inch locking opinel knife!
You do have to question why shops are allowed to sell them. I bought it from Tiso, no questions asked (I look well over 18yo).
Can anyone explain why knives that lock open like Opinels are so much more illegal than your bog-standard penknife? They don’t seem significantly more lethal.
nirakaro wrote: 24 Jan 2025, 4:15pm
Can anyone explain why knives that lock open like Opinels are so much more illegal than your bog-standard penknife? They don’t seem significantly more lethal.
I don't make the laws, so I can't, sorry - and can we please not clutter up this useful topic?.
