Quest for Adventure Captain's blog

We had made good progress across the Baltic Sea during the night and picked up our pilot ahead of schedule for our run into Helsinki. Cassie gave her port briefing on Tallinn and Visby in the morning, as we were not due to arrive into Helsinki until midday. At approximately 10.30am we passed Suomenlinna, the sea fortress that guards the entrance to Helsinki, and Neil came up to the Bridge to offer a little more detail on this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nik Kovacevic completed his trilogy of Baltic presentations with, ‘Russian Lacquer, Legends and Fairy Tales’ just as we were coming into the heart of Helsinki. We passed the ‘Costa Voyager’ and three large ferries before docking ahead of schedule in the centre of the town, almost in the shadow of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral and the Eastern Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral. The weather was overcast and cool, and rain came in the afternoon.

An early lunch was taken on board before the passengers headed out on their eagerly anticipated shore excursions. Options included Sibelius Experience, Old Town of Porvoo, City Tour of Helsinki, and Helsinki Highlights. Although it turned out to be a wet afternoon the passengers came back reporting that they’d had a good time on their tours with very well-informed guides showing them the sights.

All aboard was set for 5.30pm and soon afterwards we let go the lines and headed out towards St. Petersburg. The pre-dinner lecture was delivered by Dr Anne Anderson and titled, ‘Tallinn: City of Culture’. We will be visiting Tallinn immediately after our call to St. Petersburg.

Last night was an hour forward on the clocks, and tonight is the same as we reach GMT+4. Therefore many passengers headed to bed after a lively evening show of ‘Call My Bluff’ hosted by Angela and featuring a panel consisting of Neil, Martin Sixsmith and Frank Halliday. I am expecting to welcome the pilot at 5.30 tomorrow morning as we make our approach to St. Petersburg. The skies are gradually clearing tonight so I am hoping for improved weather tomorrow!

Yesterday we had sailed up the east coast of Sweden as we began our proper transit of the Baltic Sea. The weather was perfect, with the greatest danger being passengers getting sunburnt on the open decks. We passed between the islands of Öland of Gotland as we headed towards the Stockholm pilot station. I was tempted to go between Öland and the Swedish mainland, as I had done back in 2008 with ‘Spirit of Adventure’ but the vertical clearance under the Öland Bridge is only 36 metres, so we would have knocked the top off the funnel of ‘Quest for Adventure’! Fortunately I decided to stick to the open sea. This also meant that passengers had the opportunity to come up to the Bridge and view the operation from the sharp end.

You may have thought that after our transit of the Kiel Canal it would have been a leisurely day at sea. The reality was far from it. The programme was packed with activities, including six talks! Cassie kicked things off in the morning with a look at the shore excursion programme in St. Petersburg. Nik Kovacevic followed with ‘Baltic Amber: The Ancient Gold of the North’, then Martin Sixsmith recalled his days in the then Soviet Union over twenty years ago with ‘The Last Day of the Soviet Union’. The latter was a fascinating personal insight into the struggles between Gorbachev and Yeltsin surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the afternoon the talk continued with Art Historian Dr Anne Anderson displaying the ‘Highlights of the Hermitage’, before Nik Kovacevic returned with, ‘The Life and Works of Carl Fabergé: Court Jeweller to the last of the Russian Tsars’. Former British Ambassador Charles Crawford CMG concluded the day’s talks with ‘The 1996 UK/Russia Spy Scandal’. In between all the talks there had been a galley tour, deck sports, exercise classes, dance classes, spa demos and much more.

Yesterday evening had seen Neil host a Swedish Trivia in Shackleton’s Bar before then introducing vocalist Craig Price in the Discovery Lounge. Craig included hits from many West End shows in his repertoire and an enjoyable evening was had by all. Sadly I was not able to attend as I had an appointment with the pilot at 3am this morning.

The route to Stockholm is a long and winding road through the archipelago that guards this marvellous capital city. It is 46 nautical miles from the pilot station to Stockholm and this is done at varying speeds, depending on how wide the channel is and how much ferry traffic is about. We were following the 122,000 tonnes ‘Celebrity Eclipse’, but she turned off our path and docked a fair way out of town at the new cruise terminal, while we continued into the heart of Stockholm, docking within sight of the Royal Palace.

There were five different shore excursions for our passengers to choose from today, including Waterways of Stockholm, Vasa Museum, Walking Tour of Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace, and Stockholm Panoramic Tour. The weather wasn’t too favourable, with occasional downpours, but that didn’t dampen our passengers’ spirits. Many passengers had selected both a morning and afternoon tour and the gangway was busy with people dashing back and forth. All aboard was set for 5.30pm and with everyone dried off the rain stopped and many came out on deck to witness our sail away from this imposing port. Neil came up to the Bridge and with the assistance of the pilot he pointed out the various landmarks as we sailed back through the archipelago. The most amusement came when we passed an old steam boat, and through much encouragement the skipper blew his whistle for us, although I think it may have used up all the steam he had left!

As I write this we have just said farewell to the pilot at 10pm and are heading at full speed across the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia towards Helsinki, Finland. Neil is busy hosting his popular Scattergories quiz in Shackleton’s Bar and I can see from the live feed on the cabin television that Angela is hosting the evening show with virtuoso violinist Michael Bacala. I’ve no doubt that, like me, many will be early to bed tonight as we move the clocks forward an hour to be on Finnish time. I’m hopeful we’ll make our midday arrival into Helsinki in good time tomorrow, so with that I’ll say goodnight to you all.

We were due to take the pilot for the Elbe at 7am, so you can imagine my surprise when Second Officer David Shaw rang me at 2am. It transpired that he had received a call stating that we should aim to reach the Kiel Canal earlier than scheduled, otherwise we may get caught in traffic and be delayed. Not wishing to see our passage delayed I agreed to speed up to ensure we reached the canal in good time.

The passengers enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then after a short pause we made our approach to the Brunsbüttel lock.I was pleased at our progress as far as the locks, as we were expecting some delays. The canal authority have had to take one of the two big locks out of action for some time to carry out some essential maintenance so it is a first come first served basis!!

We had been racing another large ship heading for the locks, but thankfully managed to keep ahead and got first refusal.The pilot was telling me another cruise ship, the week before had to wait 10 hours for a slot!!. I am sure this would not have pleased their Captain. However today we had luck and a bit of speed on our side. The weather was overcast but dry and fairly warm. As we came alongside in the lock the' Fire Brigade Brass Band of Looft' struck up on the quayside and entertained our passengers. During this time Cassie was delivering her Port Briefing on Stockholm and Helsinki, and we were still in the lock when it finished so everyone could then come out on deck and enjoy the music. The lock was soon filled to match the level of the canal and once the gate opened we were ready to proceed. Immediately on entering the canal we passed the cruise ship ‘Marco Polo’ which was leaving the canal, and we exchanged salutes with the ships’ whistles. Passing the ‘Marco Polo’ helped our passengers to appreciate the fact we were doing a daylight transit so that they could appreciate all the sights, as opposed to a night-time transit when you miss out on this glorious waterway.

Neil was up on the Bridge delivering a deck commentary as we headed eastwards along the canal, but he nipped downstairs to the Discovery Lounge to introduce former British Ambassador Charles Crawford CMG with his first lecture, ‘My Role in the Downfall of Communism’. Many passengers enjoyed a hearty lunch out on deck as the skies started to clear, and then the early afternoon saw Frank Halliday begin his watercolour workshops and Marine Biologist Dr Susan Gubbay present, ‘The Bountiful North Sea – What Next?’ The lectures ended in perfect time for everyone to come back out on deck to witness our sailing past the port of Rendsburg, complete with its famous transporter bridge. The pilots confirmed that there is an age-old tradition that if a train is passing over the bridge at the same time as the ship’s bridge passes underneath, then the Captain has to buy a round of drinks for everyone on board. Of course, on a small container ship this could be just fifteen people, but we have over 600 on board at the moment! To my horror a freight train appeared and did indeed pass over us just as we passed underneath. Never a man to break with tradition I have promised all the passengers a drink – at my Farewell Cocktail Party at the end of the cruise!

We were scheduled to reach Holtenau lock at 6.30pm, so Neil brought forward the late afternoon lecture to accommodate this. The lecture was delivered by former BBC Moscow correspondent Martin Sixsmith, and titled ‘From the BBC to Whitehall and Back Again’. With the lecture complete we were ready to make our approach to Holtenau lock. The skies had indeed cleared by now and it was hot and sunny out on the bridge wing from where I steered the ship into the lock. We waited patiently for the level of the water to lower to that of the Baltic Sea and soon we were on our way again. Our Executive Chef had taken advantage of the warm evening to host a barbecue outside the Sundowner Bar, and passengers enjoyed the trivia quiz with Cruise Staff David, and the 'Deck Party' with DJ Neil and the Cruise Staff and Dining Room waiters. We have a day at sea tomorrow as we head towards Stockholm so we hope for continuing good weather!

Our transit across to the Netherlands had gone without a hitch and at 6.30am I was in position to welcome the Dutch pilot on board. IJmuiden is the port at the entrance of the canal to Amsterdam. In recent times more and more ships have been using IJmuiden instead of sailing up into the heart of Amsterdam as it saves time not having to go through the locks and transit the canal. It is quicker to moor here and have the passengers take the coach into Amsterdam than it would be to take the ship there!

Four shore excursions were in operation, namely A Taste of Holland, Van Gogh Museum & Canal Cruise, Amsterdam on your own, and Panoramic Amsterdam & Canal Cruise. A shuttlebus service was also provided into IJmuiden town centre for anyone who preferred to stay local.

With all the passengers ashore this morning it was the turn of the crew to have their weekly emergency exercise, which was passed successfully. The weather was overcast but dry, with a fresh breeze across the decks. All aboard was set for 4.30pm and at 5pm we were ready to sail. The pilotage distance is just under ten nautical miles, but we were clear in time for me to be able to welcome passengers to my cocktail party in the Discovery Lounge.

It was good to see familiar faces but many new ones too, and I kept the photographers busy with the new passengers asking for photos. I introduced my fellow officers to the passengers and then headed to the dining room to host my table with Angela. The evening trivia was compèred by Nicki Synkar and had a Dutch theme running through it, and then Neil introduced our dynamic violinist Michael Bacala who performed a great show with passion, energy and humour. Tomorrow morning is an early start as we welcome the Elbe River pilot at 7am as we head for the Kiel Canal, so I’ll sign off now.

Yesterday had been a pleasant enough day as we retraced our steps back down the North Sea towards Dover. The sea conditions were good, but the sky was overcast with the occasional outbreaks of rain. We had borrowed Professor David Munro MBE from the National Trust for Scotland to deliver a couple of lectures during the day, and he duly obliged with “From Macedonia to the Sea of Japan: The Geopolitics of Place-Names” and “A Scotsman in Monte Carlo”. David will be leaving us in Dover and heading back to his native Edinburgh so we thank him for joining us for the short trip down to Dover.

There were plenty of activities throughout the day, including deck sports and a Jubilee Quiz with Neil, and Clive Carrington played his last afternoon tea set before he disembarks tomorrow. The big television outside the Sundowner Bar had attracted a sizeable crowd to watch the latest tour match for the British & Irish Lions and after an enjoyable dinner it was time to watch the second performance from Welsh vocalist Samantha Link accompanied by the Quest Quartet.

We arrived into Dover early this morning, quite a few hours ahead of schedule. We had originally been timed to arrive at lunchtime, as there is a tidal restriction in the port, but with a little extra coal in the boilers we had made good progress from Leith and managed to dock before the restriction came into force. This meant that those passengers who had joined us in Leith and were continuing on to the Baltic Sea could enjoy a full day in this corner of Kent, the Garden of England. A shore excursion was provided for said passengers so that they could explore the English Heritage’s Dover Castle, perched high above us on the famous cliffs. We said farewell to those passengers who were leaving us today, and then the ship was ready to receive the 300 passengers who were embarking to make this a full ship. As you would expect, with the close proximity of Folkestone, a lot of staff from Saga’s Head Office came to visit the ship on this, her first call to Dover since August last year. With all the usual meetings and the loading of stores and embarkation complete I put the newly-embarked passengers through their paces with the mandatory safety drill before we prepared to head out of the protection of the harbour and into the Dover Strait.

At 5pm we eased off the berth with the assistance of a couple of tugs. The wind had been blowing fresh to gale force winds from the NE pinning us on the the berth so a helping hand was required by the Dover harbour board tugs. The passengers came out on to the back deck to gain the best possible view of the White Cliffs of Dover, complete with the blue birds flying over them! Tours & Travel Manager Cassie delivered a pre-dinner talk on tomorrow port of call, IJmuiden, and then Neil presented his introductory talk after dinner in the Discovery Lounge. We are now sailing at approximately 13 knots to cover the 146 nautical miles from Dover to IJmuiden on what we hope will be a fulfilling first port of call on this Baltic cruise.

After a warm and sunny day’s sailing up the east coast of Britain we arrived this morning into the port of Leith. To enter the port of Leith you sail up the Firth of Forth and then swing to port to enter the lock that guards the entrance to the basin. Having negotiated our path through the lock we entered the basin and passed the permanent moored former Royal Yacht ‘Britannia’ before making fast at the cruise terminal.

The ship then became a hive of activity as the National Trust for Scotland staff stripped the ship of all their possessions whilst also bidding a fond farewell to the passengers on their “Celtic Connections” cruise. Throughout lunchtime the more usual fixtures and fittings where put back in place and we were ready to welcome our passengers on board. We have 150 passengers sailing with us from Leith, twenty of whom are sampling the ship for just a couple of nights as we head down to Dover, with the others continuing on to the 'Baltic Cruise'. We will be picking up close to 300 passengers in Dover so will have a full complement on board come Sunday afternoon.

The day in Leith had started overcast but the cloud gradually burnt off throughout the day and we were bathed in warm sunshine by the time evening came. We were not sailing until 7.45pm as there is a tidal restriction in place in Leith, so this gave me the opportunity to run the lifeboat drill for the newly-embarked passengers and for Cruise Director Neil to present his introductory talk.

All aboard was set for 7.15pm and with the assistance of a couple of tugboats we pulled away from the quayside on time. We retraced our steps back through the lock and were soon out into the Firth of Forth, with the distinct silhouette of the famous Forth Railway Bridge in the distance. Cruise Staff Nicki Synkar hosted the evening quiz before vocalist Samantha Link welcomed passengers to her excellent show in the Discovery Lounge. Tomorrow we will be sailing back down the North Sea, passing between the numerous gas and oil rigs, before we are scheduled to arrive into Dover at eight o’clock on Sunday morning.

On Monday we had sailed round the northwest corner of France and into the English Channel. The weather was fine with calm seas and sunny skies. Passengers took the opportunity to come up and view the Bridge and I was interviewed on the Bridge Wing as part of the National Trust for Scotland’s 60^th Anniversary of Cruising Celebrations. Meanwhile, in the Discovery Lounge, Paul Johnson was giving an illustrated talk on ‘Wildlife of Sand and Silt’ followed by a binocular workshop. A poetry reading by Kenneth Steven, titled ‘A Song Among the Stones’ and accompanied by Ian Watt and Paul Livingston, rounded off the morning.

Monday afternoon saw Margaret Campbell discuss ‘Water-lillies and Norman beaches: Impressionistic Inspiration’ ahead of our visit to Honfleur. Everyone was then ready and waiting for a full ship’s cocktail party at 6pm to celebrate '60 Years of Cruising with the National Trust for Scotland'. The Commercial Director of the NTS, Henk Brits, and the Head of NTS Holidays, Anne Campbell, had flown out to Bordeaux to join us on this special occasion and both of them joined me in addressing the passengers. I was stunned and honoured to be generously presented with a Life Membership of the National Trust for Scotland. I will endeavour to make the most of it when I am on my shore leave, especially having promised Robert Lovie that I’ll drive my motorbike from Oban to Fyvie Castle! Speaking of Robert, he had kindly leant me a kilt and full Scottish attire for the evening so that I looked the part. I was delighted to then host my table in the main Dining Room before enjoying the 60^th Anniversary Concert which featured music and dance with all the entertainment cast on the Verandah Deck Aft.

Tuesday had been an early start as we reached the pilot station for Honfleur. The charming port of Honfleur is a medieval town located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine in Normandy. It is especially known for its 17^th-century picturesque port, characterised by timber-framed houses, which has been a popular subject of 19^th-century artists including Courbet, Boudin, Monet and Jongkind.

We were safely tied up by 8am and shortly afterwards the shore excursions headed ashore to explore the surrounding areas. Tours included Rouen and Giverny, Hiking in Etretat, Operation Overlord, Bayeux and Honfleur, Fécamp and Etretat, and Pays d’Auge. With the shore excursions all on their way I put the crew through their weekly paces with the emergency drill and then greeted the local officials who had come aboard to mark the occasion of Quest for Adventure’s maiden call to Honfleur. During the day I was receiving constant weather updates for our planned visit to Alderney. Sadly, the sea forecast was poor to the extent that tendering would be impossible, especially in light of the anchorage being completely exposed. Having spoken with the National Trust for Scotland it was decided that we would be better off staying overnight here in Honfleur and sailing for Leith tomorrow afternoon. With a heavy heart I announced the decision to the passengers, explaining that naturally their safety has to come first.

The evening show last night was a performance of the 'Filipino Crew Show', hosted by our resident Cruise Director Neil. The show was excellent, and included a new piece I hadn’t seen before, compiled by our Christian Fellowship Group. I don’t want to go into too much detail as it would spoil the surprise for anyone who has booked a future cruise, but suffice to say it brought a tear to the eye of even the hardiest of souls and is worth the cost of the cruise alone! With that, it was off to a good night’s sleep before another day in Honfleur.

We awoke this morning to continuing good weather, although as predicted there was quite a strong wind coming in off the sea. There were no shore excursions today, but a frequent shuttlebus service operated to and from the centre of the old town. The Eugène Boudin Museum, Maisons Satie, Normandy Culture & Ethnography Museum and Naturospace (France’s largest tropical butterfly house) all opened their doors to allow the passengers the opportunity to view their fine displays.

The organic market in Place Sainte-Catherine also enjoyed a roaring trade with the unexpected boost in attendance. All aboard was set for 3pm, and during the afternoon the passengers enjoyed a poetry reading from Kenneth Steven and a classical guitar and violin recital by Ian Watt and Paul Livingston. With everyone back on board we edged our way off the berth and back out into the English Channel. Sure enough, the sea conditions were such that tendering at Alderney would have been impossible, so whilst it is sad to have to cancel any port, I was pleased that I had been justified in my decision to stay alongside in Honfleur.

As we headed up the coast of France tonight and towards the Strait of Dover the evening concert was called “Music for a Summer Evening” and featured performances by the Rhona MacKay Trio, Claire Telford and Wayne Robertson. Tomorrow we will be heading up the North Sea towards our final destination, Leith, and the end of what has been another memorable charter with the National Trust for Scotland.

Although we were not due to arrive in Bordeaux until 3pm, it was still a morning start up on the Bridge as we welcomed the pilot on board at 9am.

The distance from the pilot station to our berth in the heart of Bordeaux is 67½ nautical miles, so it was going to be a busy day for me. The pilot boarded promptly by pilot boat and we entered the Gironde Estuary before veering right to take the Garonne River to Bordeaux. As this can be quite an exposed pilot station in the winter, being in the heart of the Bay of Biscay, the pilots tend to use a much easier option, a helicopter to board the vessels. However this morning conditions were ideal and safe for a boat transfer. With a morning “at river” I was able to welcome some of the National Trust for Scotland lecturers to the Bridge to offer a commentary as we headed upstream. In the Discovery Lounge, poet Kenneth Steven discussed the words of French poet François Mauriac, who was recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1952.

Everyone was out on deck as we passed under the Pont d’Aquitaine and then the new lifting bridge and into the heart of Bordeaux. Once clear of the bridge, we had to turn the ship in a fast running river, the river “ebbing” i.e going back out to sea. So I got enough distance from the swing bridge and started to quickly swing the ship.

The trick is to make sure you have enough room to drift back towards the bridge during swinging and this happened. By the time we had completed the swing, we were close to the bridge as expected so started to move astern upriver to the berth. In stark contrast to yesterday it was a glorious summer Saturday, with many families on the promenade watching as I berthed the ship alongside the historic waterfront.

With the very strong current, it was one of the more difficult manoeuvres and with all the passengers on the ship watching over me, and about 5000 locals ashore enjoying the sunshine and watching me berth, talk about pressure!!. Anyway all went well thankfully and we gently landed alongside the fenders.

Bordeaux has been a major port since pre-Roman times. Its “golden age” was towards the end of the 18^th century when commercial activities, and in particular the wine trade, flourished. The city underwent a radical transformation with the creation of grand boulevards, elegant townhouses and neoclassical squares. Around 5,000 buildings in the city date from this time and have earned it UNESCO World Heritage Status. Bordeaux was much-loved by Victor Hugo, who wrote “take Versailles, add Antwerp and you have Bordeaux”. Since my last visit here the tram system has been completed and even this modern form of transport has had to sympathise with the original architecture as there are no unsightly overhead wires powering the new sleek trams.

As we arrived, bagpiper Jim Butler was performing much to the amusement of the families gathered on the quayside. His rendition of “La Marseillaise” drew cheers from the crowd. A couple of shore excursions were operating this afternoon, including ‘Panoramic Bordeaux and a Chateau’ and ‘Bordeaux City Tour’. With the passengers now orientated they were prepared to head out for the evening if they wished and sample the local delicacies. On board there was a sumptuous French dinner prepared by George, before a local folk group, “Lous Reoules” performed in the Discovery Lounge. Then everyone came out on deck to witness a grand firework display to mark Bordeaux’s ‘Festival of the Sea’. Astern of us was the Mexican tall-ship “Cuauhtémoc” which was understandably attracting a great deal of attention. She is one of four tall-ships built in Bilbao in 1982 to be a sailing ambassador for her home country. The other three were purchased by Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. “Cuauhtémoc” translates into English as “Descending Eagle” and was the name of the last Aztec ruler of what is now Mexico. The firework display began at 11pm and lasted a good twenty minutes. With that it was time for bed and the joy of not having an alarm call in the early hours.

We awoke on Sunday to more glorious sunshine and the passengers eagerly headed out on their tours. Options included Pyla Sand Dune Hike, Saint Emilion, The Medoc Vineyards, and Château de Cazeneuve. For those going ashore independently it was a short stroll into the centre of Bordeaux. All aboard was set for 1.30pm and then the pilot came aboard to take us downstream and back out into the Bay of Biscay.

Whilst I was navigating the ship down the river, with the pilot being ‘interesting’ to work with, Reverend Professor Andrew McGowan conducted the Sunday Service with Neil and the Filipino Choir, before Michael Barnett delivered a piano recital featuring the works of Erik Satie, titled “Man of Honfleur, Collector of Umbrellas”.

At 8pm we said an eager farewell to the pilot and headed out into the Atlantic Ocean, setting course to sail round the northwest corner of France to our next port, Honfleur. The evening concert saw a variety showtime titled, “Clan Jamffray” with contributions from Jamie McDougall, Alistair McDonald, Ian Watt, Paul Livingston and Michael Barnett.

It really has been a marvellous overnight stop here in Bordeaux and one that will live long in the memory. I hope we are back here sooner rather than later!