Spirit of Discovery blog

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am the Chief Officer onboard Spirit of Discovery and I have been with SAGA since April 2019. Although a newbie for SAGA I have 24 years experience at sea.

As Chief Officer I was involved in the latter stages of the build and was heavily involved in the Shakedown period prior to our first cruise around the UK in July. The Chief Officer position resembles that of Voyage Planner / Navigator and I have been responsible for creating hundreds of routes for this ship to sail. I am also responsible for ensuring high standards are maintained by the bridge team but more importantly I am responsible for advertising bridge tours in order to welcome our lovely guests to the heart of the operation.

This cruise (Pure Canaries) we have been spoilt / blessed with fantastic weather conditions, especially when you compare these to the Gales which the UK is currently receiving. We have seen highs of 25 degrees Celsius which is hot enough even for me to consider a little bit of sun cream.

Our trip to Tenerife was very enjoyable, a lovely arrival, with the port being called 2 hours before arrival in order to arrange for a pilot to join us. We then slowed to within the speed limits for the port and passed between the breakwaters before turning to port and approach the berth. The Staff Captain was responsible for berthing the vessel and I was actually in charge of the aft mooring deck in order to get the vessel secured to the quay.

It was a longer stay than planned due to other traffic movements (ferry & cruise ship) but we eventually left and swung off the berth and exited the port for Las Palmas. Thankfully, the islands are very close so it was a low speed run, but that is still better than swimming.

Steve Ritchie, Chief Officer