This was the first port of our cruise and it started in the best way possible. Glorious sunshine; just a gentle breeze at the anchorage and we were the only cruise ship in port. That meant I could drop the hook as close as possible to the port entrance; about 5 cables away (3000 feet)….   read more of “30 August 2010; St….”

So we departed Tilbury at the civilized time of 8 am in the morning. As we were docked with the nose up the river we had to swing around off the berth before going down the river. With a wind force four blowing from the West and the current coming from the same direction (ebbing),…   read more of “29 August 2010; At…”

We are still on the multiple day stays here in Tilbury, courtesy of the fact that the original schedule was for Greenwich. As so far up the Thames the draft of the ship becomes a problem so the arrival and departure has to be done on high water and the change over day in between….   read more of “28 August 2010;…”

It was very breezy when we arrived at the North East Spit pilot station just north of Ramsgate in Kent. This is where the pilot boat is docked and where the pilots board the boat for a15 minute journey to get to the Pilotage area. This morning they had a very bumpy ride as the…   read more of “27 August 2010;…”

Late last night when we disembarked the pilot and sailed out of Oslofjorden we had our first surprise, being that the weather was not as bad as expected. It was only forecast to get better, today, during the day. In the morning the wind was indeed as forecast with a Northerly wind force 5. At…   read more of “26 August 2010;…”

It was quite nasty outside while we made our transit through the Skagerak. Luckily the swell was nearly on the stern. Same for the wind, wind force 9 was whistling over the water but it did not do the ship any harm. Instead it pushed it forward even a bit faster. Tonight will be a…   read more of “25 August 2010;…”

By 5 am we were approaching the South entrance of Drogden channel on the East side of Copenhagen. This is the shortcut between the Sound or “Sund” to the North and the Baltic Sea to the South. Ships with a draft of less then 8 meters can transit this dredged channel; all other ships will…   read more of “24 August 2010;…”

By 3.30 am. we were heading for the pilot station of Warnemunde. The pilot was in an eager mood and instead of being there at 0400 as scheduled; he came racing out and was onboard 20 minutes early. We managed to get the Boatmen on standby, just in time. These are the sailors who open…   read more of “23 August 2010;…”