I know this island well, one might say ‘intimately’, for not only did I call here on the ‘Mail’ run, but I also spent over a week here, after abandoning my ship, along with 83 others, we were brought back here by the tanker which sighted our lifeboats and rescued us. Having nothing but a… read more of “Captain’s…”
Another port I had visited during my early years, in those days on cargo ships and loading bags of fishmeal, now I was here on a magnificent cruise ship; I wonder what thoughts would have been passing through my mind, had I seen the Amsterdam arriving during my days as a cadet…… A gale was… read more of “Captain’s…”
Our voyage towards this beautiful city paralleled the South African coast and as we made our way south-west we passed some of the ports I used to call at during the days of my early career. I used to visit South Africa regularly, when I was a junior officer with the Union-Castle line and grew… read more of “Captain’s…”
Richard’s Bay, South Africa When I left you, we were heading south towards this port on the Natal coast of South Africa. I had last been here on a bulk-carrier, loading 100,000 tonnes of coal for Europe, now I was appearing on a luxury cruise liner, how times change. The good news is that we… read more of “Captain’s…”
Maputo, Mozambique Maputo lies on the East African coast and I last visited there during my ‘general cargo ship’ days of the 1970’s; then it was called Lourenco Marques and was under Portuguese administration. As a cadet, one could use bars of soap as currency, this came in handy because I only earned $15 or… read more of “Captain’s…”
I recently presented Veendam Staff Captain Paul Spaas with his 25-Year Service Award. This special occasion was celebrated in style with a surprise dinner in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant. Bas van Dreumel is Veendam’s captain.
30th March, Madagascar Landfall, after leaving the Seychelles and crossing 10⁰South latitude, the demarcation line for ‘pirate’ country we sight the northern tip of Madagascar in the early morning light. Our destination, Adoanay, formerly known by its French name Hell Ville, lies on the island of Nosy Be, on the north-west coast of Madagascar. It’s… read more of “Captain’s…”
28th March, Victoria, Seychelles We had perfect weather across the Indian Ocean and although we arrived off Victoria on time, we had to wait 45 minutes, our berth was occupied by a Danish frigate, one of the naval contingent that patrol the Somali pirate waters in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Who am… read more of “Captain’s…”
