Saga Ruby Captain's blog

San Sebastian, much like Santa Cruz (La Palma) is a simply designed harbour ,largely consisting of an outer wall that serves as both berth and sea defence. The main difference with San Sebastian however is how the topography of the island interacts with the elements. La Gomera is essentially round and is known as the Isla Redonda (Round Island) and as such the tides tend to sweep around its short coastline creating moderately strong tidal currents that run largely parallel with San Sebastian’s harbour wall. Also when the wind is in a certain direction the valley opposite the harbour wall gets turned into a sort of wind funnel that only affects a part of the harbour. It’s actually not uncommon to see the wind sock on the harbour wall, flags and funnel smoke on the ship, all blowing in different directions. When the wind is strong it can make for a more interesting approach than you would otherwise expect from such a straight forward looking port.

On this occasion the bow took a sheer off to port, just as the ship came past the harbour wall as the wind changed direction for our approach to the berth. Not to worry though, it was half expected and quickly countered with a minor adjustment to the balance between the rudder, engines and bow thruster. One more change of wind direction and with the bow thruster working hard Saga Ruby came to gently rest alongside the harbour wall for our day in the sun at La Gomera.

The pilot was telling me about the local “whistled speech”, by way of an explanation as to what he was doing when communicating with the linesmen on the jetty as the ropes were allocated to the appropriate bollard. Indigenous to the island the language called “Silbo Gomero” was used to communicate with neighbours across the deep volcanic ravines that score the islands surface. The language was documented as far back as Roman times and has been passed down through generations. Worried about its extinction in modern times now that everyone has a mobile phone, it is now taught to all children in the island’s schools.

Christopher Columbus famously called at the island on the way to the Americas in 1492, replenishing water, wine and food. He had only intended to stay for four days but ended up staying for a month due to his romantic involvement with a local woman of prominence.

We only stayed until that evening, sailing at 11pm. The wind had got up to 20 knots, pinning us on the quay by then, and a little more than what we would attempt without a tug under normal conditions. However, San Sebastian has no tug, but with a slightly unorthodox technique combined with the simplicity of the harbour, I managed to keep a good cushion of water between the ship and quay, “gunning” the engines astern and backing out of the harbour and into the sheltered waters leeward of the cliffs before turning the ship and sailing for Tenerife.

The short passage south from Madeira to the first of our ports of call in the Canary Islands, Santa Cruz, La Palma, was uneventful with the northerly swell still present but in a diminished state.

Santa Cruz harbour is largely a single sea wall running parallel to the shore which used to create a haven for marine vessels with the wall doubling up as the berth along the inside face.

This makes arrival and departure very straightforward in all except the windiest conditions. Thus the “stand-by” before Saga Ruby was safely moored on the inner side of the sea defences, took only 20 minutes from when the pilot boarded in the light winds.

Sometimes called “Isla Bonita” or Beautiful Island by its inhabitants, La Palma is almost tear shaped to look at from the air, with the large volcanic crater “Caldera de Taburiente” dominating the widest part. This active volcano last erupted in 1971 and rises almost 4 miles above the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. There is road access from sea level to the summit, which is marked by an outcrop of rocks called Los Muchachos ("The Lads"). This is the site of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, one of the world's premier astronomical observatories.

Given the close proximity of the next port of call we stayed alongside in Santa Cruz until 23:00, when undercover of darkness we left the port for our next port of call and our next island, La Gomera.

Before leaving Southampton the weather forecast heading southwest looked dreadful. Severe gale force winds, very rough seas, and the computer program that forecasts swell height had something resembling a large bruise (never good) on it where we were heading.

After relaying the doom and gloom to the passengers and with south-westerly near gale force winds (force 7) already waiting for us in the English Channel, we left the berth at Southampton and proceeded out towards the Nab Tower east of the Isle of Wight.

In truth the weather turned out to be nowhere near as bad as the forecast indicated. It did get up to gale force 8 for a time on the first night but there was no accompanying swell to go with it. Saga Ruby only really started moving after rounding the Isle d’Ouessant, when the Atlantic swell started to take effect. Though uncomfortable to the uninitiated, the swell only ever reached a maximum of 3.5m (about 10ft), which was just over half of what the evidently pessimistic computer program had predicted. This eased a couple of feet for our second sea day but otherwise remained with us throughout our passage to Funchal as we searched for warmer and sunnier climes, away from the encroach of autumn.

Our arrival in Funchal would no doubt have been a welcome respite from the motion of the vessel for our passengers, even though not excessive, and sunshine was also the order of the day, at least on Funchal’s part of the island.

Madeira, like much of Europe at the moment appears to be having its own financial problems and related discontent with the Funchal port engaged in strike action for the day of our visit. Fortunately for us this had little impact; though tugs were not available should I have needed them.

I’ve been to Funchal many times over the years, and I’ve always liked it as a port of call even though I rarely go ashore myself. It’s a friendly island and its lack of sandy beaches has always meant that the “wrong sort of tourists” have invariably boycotted the place, leaving it all the nicer for the rest.

As it came to time for us to leave Funchal black clouds had started to congregate over the island in ominous form ready to drop their wet payload. We managed to slip our lines and head out to sea before the impending rain, setting course for the Canary Islands.

We exited Sognefjord just before midnight having had clear skies and smooth waters for our evening cruise out to sea. There was even a nice sunset to mark the journey, before the stars came out on view, crisp, clear and free of the light pollution of human settlements.

During our time in the fjords the bad weather had had time to dissipate leaving only a low northerly swell, barely enough to move us, and force 4 winds to push us along the coast. Passing inside of the island of Utsira (which also lends its name to two of the shipping forecast areas based on the old spelling of Utsire; South Utsire and North Utsire), we soon found ourselves making our approach to Norway’s oil capital and third largest city.

The weather certainly stayed in our favour through the night, the skies had remained clear and the winds light. The sun rose over the mountains to the east as the night sky gave way first to dark blue then lighter shades, and though cold at first the day looked like it was going to be our best of the cruise yet.

Berthing alongside at the Skagenkaean, as near to the city centre as possible; it was evident that we were at the end of the summer cruising season. As a lone cruise vessel, probably the last for the year, the other berths normally taken up by cruise liners were now home to a number of offshore support vessels and the like, a reflection of Stavanger’s primary source of revenue, the oil industry.

Stavanger has many attractions to offer, especially in the sunshine. There is “Gamle Stavanger” or Old Stavanger sometimes called the Straen, which is an area of wooden houses and buildings nearly all painted white, with the odd exception like the one that for some reason is allowed to be blue ! The Straen is the largest surviving wooden house settlement in northern Europe, and without other cruise ships being in port on this day blocking the line of sight, we had a good of it view from where Saga Ruby was berthed.

There is also St. Svithun’s Cathedral which looks like it could be at home somewhere in the UK. There is of course a good reason for this as it was built by the English Bishop Reinald, being completed in an Anglo-Norman style in 1150AD.

More natural attractions include the Pulpit Rock, a massive rock overhanging the Lysefjord over 1800 feet above the water, as well as the “Land of the Mountain King” for hikers and walkers.

At four o’clock it was time to cast off and depart, with the sunshine still reflecting off of the water and Straen alike. Letting the last of our mooring lines go, we backed up into water with enough room to turn through the 180 degrees using the bow thruster and engines before setting for Southampton and heading south like all sensible migratory animals do for winter.

It was 2300 when Saga Ruby arrived just off of the berth at Skjolden. With the sun having set around 1930 and the moon yet to rise it was very dark indeed. With the village about a mile further down the fjord and no light pollution from the sparsely inhabited vicinity, torchlight was used to illuminate the quayside as we came to rest alongside our intended berth in the tranquil waters of the Lustrafjord, Sognefjord’s innermost arm.

A peaceful night alongside without even so much as a breath of air to stir the black, glasslike waters around Saga Ruby’s hull, would ensure that everyone would be well rested for the events of the morrow.

With the sun’s rise, the black, glasslike waters of the fjord turned to a grey mirror, reflecting the sky on its surface. The morning tours included “Scenic Sognefjell” and as well as trips to “Urnes Stave Church”, Norway’s oldest.

The afternoon’s tours however were helicopter trips along the mountain ridges, into U shaped valleys, over snow covered peaks and glacial ice. I’d even managed to blag the spare seat to fill up a helicopter to see the majesty of this rugged terrain myself.

Not long after putting my feet back on the ground, it was time for us to set for sea, first though the task of navigating the length of the Sognefjord!

With the two pilots staying with us from Bergen, all the way to Stavanger, we entered the Sognefjord just before midnight and only a few hours after leaving the fjords from Bergen. With the sea swell at 10ft and winds near gale force still, it came no doubt as relief to some.

The Sognefjord is Norway’s longest fjord and second only to Scoresby Sund in Greenland on a global scale. 127 statute miles or 205 km in length it is on average 2.5 miles wide (4 km). The fjord also reaches a maximum depth of 1,308 metres (4,291 ft) below sea level.

Our first port of call within its waters was to be Flam, some 101 nautical miles in from the sea. Arriving to be fast alongside for 8am, the water was still, except for the ripples created by the rain drops that had evidently followed us from Bergen. The day was to soon brighten up though, and the sun would reflect off of the fresh snow that had fallen on the tops of the mountains that contain Sognefjord’s waters.

Flam is renowned for its railway, the steepest unassisted railway in the world and no visit here would be complete without a ride to the top, and this was the basis for our shore excursions from this port.

Once everyone had returned back aboard at 7pm, it was time to get underway once more, and complete the transit of the full length of Norway’s longest fjord by sailing on to Skjolden.

The passage to Norwegian waters through the North Sea was not the most comfortable for our passengers, and those onboard for their first ever cruise with us would be given a chance to test their sea legs early. The motion of the vessel was not overly great but none the less there would be more than a handful that would find it nauseating. The pilot boarded at 5am to commence the 3 hour passage to the berth, through the sheltered fjord system that serves as the port approaches.

Bergen is surrounded by mountains, nature’s windbreakers, and you wouldn’t even know that it was near gale force conditions at sea, in the city itself. Of course one drawback with being surrounded by mountains is the increased precipitation this sort of topography generates. As such Bergen has a reputation as the rain capital of Europe, an unenviable honour but one that is probably deserved. Umbrellas used to be sold here in vending machines to give you the general idea!

So yes it rained, it rained in the morning, and it rained in the afternoon. But it was not as glum as it sounds; the rain was punctuated with large pauses of sunshine, allowing the colourful buildings of the Bryggen to be photographed in all their glory by our passengers.

There are a number of tours available in Bergen, but for the independent traveler who doesn’t mind a bit of walking I always recommend walking into town past the Bryggen to the funicular railway which takes you up to the observation point on Mount Floyen. This point commands spectacular views over the city and surrounding fjords. From here there are also a number of walks along leafy tracks and around fresh water lakes, allowing you to get lost in the mountain fauna, or just sit by the water, an ideal spot for a picnic – just don’t forget to bring your umbrella!

From Sassnitz we rounded Cape Arkona on the northern tip of the island of Rugen, and headed west transiting the Fehmarn Belt en route towards the start of the Kiel Canal at Holtenau. It’s been a few years since I’ve travelled westbound through the Kiel Canal, with our normal Baltic itinerary favoring an eastbound transit instead. There is more to look at on the stretch of canal between Holtenau and Rendsburg in my opinion, with the narrower and more meandering waterway at this part of the canal flanked on either side by trees and rather expensive looking property.

The length of time for a transit through the canal is very unpredictable and not conducive to planning an accurate and fuel economical schedule so it is imperative nowadays to allow extra time to get through the canal. Indeed to start with, before even entering the canal, we were forced to wait for nearly 2 hours whilst the eastbound traffic cleared the canal. Entering the locks at lunchtime in less than pleasant conditions (heavy showers, leaden grey skies and at times near gale force winds); I could see this being an extremely long day! Though perhapse not as long as the day for our Cruise Director Jo Boase and two of her team, Kayleigh Lucus and James Selman, who were to race the ship along the 61 mile length of the Kiel Canal to raise money for the Saga Charitable Trust!

So it was quite a surprise when the transit of the actual canal itself was completed in a personal best time of 7 hours and 10 minutes (that’s a PB for the Ship). This didn’t help the Saga peloton however who were having some problems! Initially taking the lead Jo’s team raced ahead as the Saga Ruby waited for the lock gates to open and our initial slow progress looked promising for the cyclists as they peddled out of sight. The team of cyclist remained in the lead and reported in that they were on the ferry in front of us as they crossed over to the south side of the canal. But it wasn’t long before the Saga Ruby caught up and overtook our cyclists when they had to divert from the canal for a short distance.

The Ship proceeded down the canal with a “green light” all the way to the locks at Brunsbuttel. Receiving regular reports from Jo and using the kilometer markers as a way to gauge how far behind they were, it looked initially like the team was starting to gain back some of the lost distance. But the strong headwind and the rain were starting to take their toll on the trio and predictably disaster struck. I received a phone call that the wind had been causing issues with James’ contact lenses and as a result he had crashed. We had a man down! Not wishing to leave there fallen comrade Jo and Kayleigh had to call for motorized support in the form of a taxi. By the time the taxi arrived the cyclists were 30km (19 miles) behind us and the Saga Ruby was entering the locks at Brunsbuttel. Jo and Kayleigh had no choice but to accompany James in the taxi in order not to be left behind in Germany, vowing to complete the distance on the cycling machines in the gym once they’d returned.

We departed the locks at Brunsbuttel a little after sunset, thankfully with a full complement of crew. With tide against us it was nearly 1 am by the time we met the pilot tender for the pilot to disembark on at the mouth of the Elbe. By now winds had increased to gale force and the swell was over 3 metres, and despite several attempts it was decided that in the interest of safety the pilot would have to sail with us, disembarking at our next port.

We continued our passage north of the East and West Frisian Islands before turning south towards our destination, the port of Vlissingen (Flushing) on the Dutch side of the Western Scheldt, another maiden port for the Ruby as well as being the 7th country visited during this 2 week cruise.

Vlissingen is a city in the south-western Netherlands, on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt River and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. Vlissingen was a main harbour for ships of the Dutch East India Company and is famed for the wharves on the Scheldt where most of the ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy are built. Now the port is looking to raise its profile and generate interest from Cruise Ship operators and as such warmly welcomed us to the port.

Departing that night at 10pm dropping the pilot off  a few hours later just before 1 am, it was only a couple of hours further sailing to the one port of call passengers did know about on this cruise, Dover.

Passengers awoke Thursday morning looking out to the lush green low level land mass of the German Island of Rügen with its sandy beaches a thin barrier between the greenery and the Baltic Sea. It is the largest and said to be the most beautiful of the German Islands (at least by the locals), and has many unique attractions such as an old hunting castle from the beginning of the 18th century, a steam train that is still operational and the nearby Hanseatic City of Stralsund.

Our port of call was Sassnitz, which is sometimes known as the “Gem of the Baltic". We were actually berthed in the small ferry port to the south of Sassnitz itself called Mukran, being somewhat too large to tie up in the harbour of the town itself.

The shuttle bus didn’t actually go into Sassnitz, but rather went to the more tourist orientated seaside resort town of Binz, just 5 miles around the bay and visible from the ship. With its white sand it reminded me a little of the beaches in Cornwall where I grew up, except of course for the lack of surf and the rather bizarre looking deck chairs called "Strandkörbe".

Passengers who took up the tour got to travel on another steam train; the so-called "Rasender Roland" which translates to the Roaring Roland. The Train and wagons are about 100 years old and invite guests for a unique experience (evidently unique is also synonymous with uncomfortable), with “Roland” taking our passengers past several small towns and other points of interest on the island.

With the exception of a couple of showers passing through before lunchtime the weather was nice and sunny too, a bit of a must for going to the beach, but with the temperature just below 20 deg C it was unlikely to tempt anyone into the sea for a swim!

Sassnitz is one of the few German ports that is exempt from compulsory pilotage, which is understandable given the simplicity of the approaches. It’s a shame that other “simple” ports don’t take a similar pragmatic approach to pilotage at times. So once everyone was onboard a quick call to the port traffic services on the VHF was all that was needed and we could leave. Turning in the harbour using the usual 180 degree manoeuvre the Saga Ruby left Sassnitz and Binz proceeding in the general direction for Dover, though despite having now met the remit in terms of ports for this Mystery Cruise, we’re not quite done just yet!

Our next port of call for the cruise was Gdynia in Poland. A port we visit fairly regularly in the Baltic, so was the port  most likely to have been visited by our Britannia Club members so far. That being said in recent years our length of stay had only been half a day, so it was nice on this occasion to be able to spend a full day there with the included three city tour at a more sociable hour than when we normally visit this port, this also gave time for our passengers to explore independently as well.

The weather however, decided to be less than sociable on this day, at least in the morning, with rain ensuring that manoeuvring the vessel alongside was not going to be a pleasant experience for the Pilot, Staff Captain and myself. The port band was on the quay to greet our arrival. However, as we made the Saga Ruby fast to the quay, they were playing “raindrops keep falling on my head" just in case we’d not noticed!

The weather did brighten though; with the rain stopping by the time the morning tours had departed ensuring that the call was not a wash out.

Having turned to face bow out in the morning, departure couldn’t be easier. So when we sailed at 17:00 it was just a case of slipping the lines and heading through the harbour entrance and out to sea.

After Wismar we headed predictably east. This was hard to disguise given that the following morning the sun rose from right ahead, and the clocks being advanced may have also been a bit of a clue (though there is nothing in the rules to say I can’t play with the time zones). East of Wismar however is a lot of Baltic, with many countries and ports within geographical reach.

Several passengers had a go at guessing where we were going on the sea day between the ports, each was happy to share their assessment as to our destination with me, looking for a hint that they were right. However none that approached me had guessed that Ventspils in Latvia would be where we ended up. Ventspils was the third of our maiden ports and also marked the fifth country, leaving me only to find two more ports to make it to eight in order to fulfil the criteria of the mystery cruise.

Ventspils translates to Castle on the Venta, Venta being the river that flows through the small city. Ventspils is located in the region of Courland in north-western Latvia and grew up around the Livonian Order Castle that is still there today. I went off to find this castle with an image in my head of a moat and bailey, large imposing walls, a keep and a draw bridge. I was a little disappointed to find that the castle was a small (by castle standards) building that had plastered exterior walls and was painted primrose yellow! Still it was very well restored inside, worth a visit, and the cost of entry worked out to be only about £1.20.

A few years ago, it seemed like every port you went to, had brightly coloured sculptures of cows in it. These painted glass fibre cows toured the world and you would stumble across them in various countries. If you ever came across this bizarre “art” on your travels and wondered what had happened to them, a number of them are in Ventspils. Apparently Ventspils hosted the “Cow Parade” in 2002 and a number of the original exhibits didn’t moo-ve (sorry) with the rest!

Walking around the city, beside the cows, a number of flower sculptures in various shapes add a splash of colour here and there making for a surreal experience. Particularly given how empty the streets were. The city’s inhabitant’s number around 40,000 which is small by city standards, however I think I only saw about 4! The city reminded me in many ways of Tallinn 10 years ago before the tourism boom. Except of course their castle isn’t painted yellow, and the city is flatter to walk around.

All in all it was a nice port of call and passengers seemed to enjoy their time in the small and quiet Latvian city, especially those who took up the mystery tour on the narrow gauge steam railway.

We departed Ventspils in the early evening sunshine proceeding back out into the Baltic for the next of our mystery destinations.

After a night running down through the Great Belt we picked up two pilots just after 0630, and proceeded in towards the second of our maiden ports of call, Wismar, in Germany. Under normal circumstances we are considered to be too large a ship to go into Wismar due to our draft but obtained an exemption in order to exceed the normal allowed maximum by 15cm (less than 6 inches). It doesn’t sound a lot but when the under keel clearance is only a metre (just over 3 feet) you can understand the extra red tape. In order to use the port we also had to agree to use compulsory tugs, which had to travel from Rostock, as well as take two pilots (one assistant). All in all, a fairly expensive undertaking.

The pilotage was to take 2 hours along the narrow channel, which was just over twice the width of the ship, as we had to proceed at a slow speed in order to reduce the effects of squat (this is the apparent reduction in the depth of water under keel due to the vessels speed). To give you an idea of the numbers involved at 7 knots the apparent reduction in the depth of water under keel (squat) is about 60 cm (approx 2 feet) in a narrow channel. This would leave us with around about 1 foot of water beneath the keel, just a little over 3% of the ships actual draft (or in the words of Paul Daniels “not a lot”). At 9 knots we would be on the bottom according to our squat tables!

Turning through 180 degrees just off of our intended berth we backed up to our mooring with the two tugs made fast to fulfil the local regulations.

Wismar has a historical inner city that is a UNESCO world heritage site, an honour that the city was celebrating as the day we arrived marked the 10th anniversary of the award. Our timing was not an accident but was planned to coincide with the event. Wismar had only had two other “large” cruise ships in before, both carrying predominantly German passengers, so we had the privilege of being the first to carry British passengers to the port, though I was amused at Saga Ruby being referred to as a “large” passenger ship.

The centre of Wismar has a well defined layout that is typical of the medieval age and is a rare showcase of Hanseatic architecture. The mystery tour for the day though was to Mecklenburg, Pomerania’s most beautiful city, and nearby Schwerin, with its breathtaking fairy tale castle on the lake.

The city had pulled out the stops to welcome us to the port as well as give us a good send off. Arriving to a band playing music, we departed to gunfire from 6 riflemen in traditional uniforms. At least I presumed it was a salute to send us on our way and not us just being shot at! Either way they missed and I’d even managed to persuade the pilots not to use any tugs for departure, though they still insisted one stood by, as we made our very slow, passage out the way we came in the evening sunshine.

Though you can see a large part of the Danish coast from Helsingborg to go to that bit would be far too obvious. Our passage instead took us first north back into the Kattegat and then west along the north coast of Zealand, past Samso and the start of the Great Belt and onto Jutland, with the charming city of Aarhus to be our destination and the fourth of our ports of call, with Denmark as the third country visited on this Mystery Cruise.

Aarhus is no metropolis but is the second largest city in Denmark and the principle port. It also has the unofficial title “Capital of Jutland”. Dated to be before 770AD Aarhus is considered to be the oldest large city in Scandinavia.

On arrival the sun was out but wind was still blowing with some force from the west. The harbour provided a suitable haven from the wind and once alongside a Majorette Band greeted our passengers with music from James Bond’s theme tune to the Muppet Show as well as more traditional pieces.

A couple of passengers were excited by the fact that they were in Aarhus because they’d always wanted to see the Tollund Man, which was in a museum in nearby Silkeborg. So they set about arranging independent travel to achieve their goal. I remember studying the Tollund Man at secondary school in history class. For those of you that haven’t heard of him, the Tollund Man was a naturally mummified corpse dated to the 4th Century BC and was so well preserved that at the time of discovery in 1950 it was mistaken for a recent murder victim.

Meanwhile the rest of the passengers embarked on a tour of the city with too many sites to list in a short blog.

The evening quickly came around and with it the time for our departure. Manoeuvring astern from the berth, Saga Ruby was turned around in the swinging basin, at the harbour entrance in the usual fashion, before we put once again to sea for unknown shores, well, for our passengers they were unknown at least!

On the morning of the fourth day of this Mystery Cruise our passengers found themselves in The Sound with Sweden on the port side and Denmark on the starboard side with ports such as Malmo and Copenhagen ahead of us. Passing between Helsingborg and Helsingor with the pilot already aboard, Saga Ruby was brought around sharply through 180 degrees, serving to both confuse passengers as to where we were going and more importantly make the approaches towards our third port of call, Helsingborg.

The wind had picked up in the night and was blowing at near gale strength on the beam as we approached the port. With 2 knots of current also trying to push us where we didn’t want to go, the bow had to be pointed at the harbour wall right up until the last minute before altering course to slip through the harbour entrance, not unlike the approach to Dover to be honest. With little more than two ship lengths in which to “take off the ships way”, the engines were run astern and an assisting tug, that was made fast to the stern, worked in unison to arrest our forward motion. Shortly afterwards with further tug assistance we manoeuvred alongside the berth ready for our passengers to explore Helsingborg.

Situated in Skane County in Sweden, Helsingborg is the closest city to Denmark, with Helsingor clearly visible just over 2 nautical miles to the west on the other side of the Orsund. The locals call their city the “Pearl of the Sound” and the blend of new and old architecture including a medieval fortress makes for quite an attractive little city. The city is also home to the Sofiero Palace & Gardens which has a link to English history as Crown Princess Margaret, (Queen Victoria's grandaughter who married King Gustav Adolf) received the Palace as a wedding gift.

By the time the evening came and it was time to depart the wind had eased a little but not enough that we could safely depart without tug assistance, using the turning basin astern of us, appearing to pass just a few yards from danger as we swung though the turn to line up for the mouth of the harbour. Once out of the shelter of the harbour it was plain to see we’d turned north back the way we’d come this morning!

From Kristiansand there were several options open to me: north along the Norwegian Coast; south towards Denmark; or east towards Sweden. We headed East, but not to Sweden, to another Norwegian port of call, Brevik. Brevik is in the traditional district of Grenland in the Norwegian county of Telemark.

Brevik have never had a cruise ship call before so this was not only a maiden call for the ship but a historical moment for the town. The pilotage into the port involved approximately 10 miles through a small fjord system, passing small islands with summer houses down at the water’s edge, flying the Norwegian flag or a national pennant to provide a large hint to our passengers as to where we were.

I must confess I was a little nervous about having this port included on the Mystery Cruise. This was in no small part to the fact that the only berth at the town was at the cement works! Not generally a view that would be considered to be pleasing on the eye. But ports have to serve a purpose and like it or not freight and industrial architecture were present in ports the world over long before tourism came to pass. Without the loan of such berths to visiting cruise ships, fledgling tourist destinations would not have been able to grow into the destinations they are now. That being said the facility was very clean and suitable for the purpose despite the utilitarian backdrop. Looking away from the berth though you started to get an idea why this port was chosen, with stunning scenery and the charming little town of Brevik itself presenting a contrasting vista of tranquillity and harmony with the natural world around it.

Of course Brevik also has an ace up its sleeve in that it affords an ideal maritime base in which to embark on a trip along the Telemark Canal. This is in addition to providing access to the nearby towns of Porsgrunn and Skien. In fact the complimentary tour included for our passengers for this port of call was a canal trip on one of the most charming of stretches of the canal from Ulefoss to Vrangfoss. From the comments I received from passengers I wished I’d had the time to complete the trip myself.

The enthusiasm of the local inhabitants in receiving their first visiting cruise ship cannot be overlooked in making this port of call a special experience either. I would be not be surprised to be back here again in the near future, and no doubt other cruise lines will follow our lead.

Departing Brevik the passage out to sea was different than the one we came in by, a little shorter but incorporating a stretch of narrows less than half a ship length wide, and provided some more dramatic scenery to conclude the day with before the pilot disembarked and our passengers were left once more wondering where we were going?

We departed from Dover on a sunny and calm afternoon with the conditions threatening fog and parts of the coast line hazy and obscured to help mask our direction from our passengers at the start of this mystery cruise. However, the following morning’s sunrise would give away our northerly course to those who noticed and the oil and gas rigs of the North Sea presented other obvious clues as to our current location for our sea day. This afforded those who liked to guess the ports of call a little more focus as to where our first landfall would be made.

Kristiansand, on the south coast, named for the King who designed the layout of the 17th century town, was to be our first port of call. Saga Ruby has called here before, but it has only been used sparingly on itineraries in recent years so there was good chance that the majority of our more travelled passengers had not been here before, well certainly not recently. That being said, with two thirds of our passengers being Britannia Club members, the chances were that someone would have visited in the past, if not on board Saga Ruby then perhapse on Saga Rose or Saga Pearl?

The approaches to the port are good, Norway is blessed with many naturally deep harbours that afford good protection from weather out at sea, and Kristiansand is a fine example of this. The wind was still a little blustery, left over from some strong gale force winds we’d encountered during the small hours. The stormy conditions hadn’t lasted long but just had time to dishevel a few cabins so that when passengers arose in the morning a few unsecured personal items had relocated themselves under gravity! Other than the wind the skies’ were blue and the sun was out as we made our lines fast in southern Norway’s regional administrative centre.

The town could be described as “charming” with a blend of old and new buildings including the Posebyen, which is home to rows of painted white wooden buildings neatly arranged in rows. The Otra River bisects the town and it is only a short walk to get into the surrounding countryside from the port.

We departed at 8:30pm just after sunset making our way towards our next stop, and leaving passengers wondering where we would be tomorrow.

I was pleased to see the pilot boat come out to the ship nice and early before 9am. Oslo is a long way from the pilot boarding position and we had to transit varying widths of waterways from the more open spaces to narrows only wide enough to pass at much slower speeds.

The forecast for the day was good and the sun was shining brightly for our approach. Once alongside our guests quickly went ashore to enjoy this afternoon call and were treated to something else as well. The Norwegian Air force was actually celebrating its 100th Jubilee and aircraft were flying low overhead in Oslo providing a rare if noisy treat for all to see. This show went on all afternoon showing off both modern and old aircraft with helicopter displays going on over the hundreds of boats that had gathered in the harbour.

Tours were arranged to walk the heart of the city as well as Panormaic and Maritime excursions. A quick stop but all were back onboard the ship by 6pm so that we could head out again along the same long and winding route although this time our own whistle had to be sounded to remind a few smaller craft that it is not a good idea to stop in the middle of a narrow channel directly ahead of a big ship to take pictures!

With most of the small traffic behind us we continued down the fjord to drop off the pilot late in the evening and set sail for Dover once again.