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 rather dirty-white uniform to my name, the Americans on the base were kind enough to donate clothing, mine being a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of bright blue and white striped trousers, one could see me coming a mile away .

I was concerned about the conditions at the anchorage, as I knew from past experience that there can be quite large South Atlantic swells, the area offering little protection from them. Unfortunately, so it came to be; having anchored in the pristine water, the swell looked deceptively low, although we were moving, even at anchor. Sending our tender ashore, the crew had enormous difficulty getting alongside the relatively short and exposed dock, it wasn’t really designed for ships’ tenders, rather the small boats that the islanders use and seldom do they try to tie up, preferring to get close and having the occupants ‘jump’ off. It soon became apparent that this was not going to work, the safety of our guests is paramount and damage to our tenders is to be avoided, these conditions were a harbinger of both factors.

Reluctantly, I had to cancel our call and recover our tenders, waiting in the anchorage while the Island merchandise was sold on board and at 1 p.m. weighed anchor for a scenic cruise of the island, before setting courses for Brazil. My guests were disappointed of course, as was I, however the majority were very understanding, there are always those who do not quite see it from my perspective though.

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Topics: Captain's Log, Explorer's Scrapbook, Grand Voyages, ms Amsterdam, Postcards from... | | 6 Comments

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 forecast for us, as we made our way north, paralleling the west-coast of South Africa and Namibia. This one was a ‘south-easter’ and was to reach gale-force 8, with 5 metre swells. Sure enough, the prediction was correct and we found ourselves ‘surfing’ the massive swell with a 50-knot wind coming from astern of us, however our stabilisers coped admirably and the movement of the Amsterdam was quite reasonable under the circumstances.

Walvis Bay caters mainly for cargo ships and the port was full, with 15 or so ships waiting outside at the anchorage, waiting their turn to dock. We had another ‘tight’ docking; squeezing in between a cargo ship ahead of us and a trawler, one of many here because of the rich fishing grounds to seaward; the Benguela current providing the nutrition for marine life.

Walvis Bay lies on the edge of the Namib desert, as does Swarkopmund, a town to the north, which many of our guests visit. Both places have a strong German influence, particularly Swarkopmund, as this was settled by the Germans long ago and there was a large influx of them after WW2. The tours cater for treks into the ‘badlands’, National parks of inhospitable desert country and the vast shifting sand dunes that line the coast; here quad-bikes are the norm and many tour them on these vehicles.

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Topics: Captain's Log, Explorer's Scrapbook, Grand Voyages, ms Amsterdam, Shore Excursions | | 2 Comments

I captured a farewell picture from the New Zealand season. Shortly we will be back in Alaska. However the crossing is still ahead and I am looking forward to capturing the amazing journey.

Csaba Desvari is Oosterdam’s culinary operations manager.

Topics: Australia/New Zealand, Explorer's Scrapbook, ms Oosterdam, Postcards from... | | No Comments

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 found that current, once we hit it, we started flying along and were able to reduce the number of diesel generators we needed. That was the good news; the bad news was that the ‘south-wester’ I mentioned came up the coast like a bat out of hell and the early morning found us in 35 to 40 knot winds and driving rain showers; unfortunate, because the direction of channel leading into the harbour resulted in this wind being on the beam as we went in. Hmmmnnn…

There were 20 or so ships at anchor outside, all waiting for a ‘slot’ to berth, all riding awkwardly in the rough sea and wind. I hove-to off the port while we assessed the situation and also waited for the pilot. Distances inside the harbour were checked and re-checked again, speed going in was crucial, speed would offset some of the wind’s effect, but being able to stop, once in, had to be taken into account too.

The pilot boards by helicopter here and soon it appeared out of the rain, it circled once and then the pilot brought it in, hovering over the foredeck, winched the pilot down and was gone in a thrice; neat work in such conditions.

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Topics: Captain's Log, Explorer's Scrapbook, Grand Voyages, ms Amsterdam, Postcards from..., Shore Excursions | | 6 Comments

Enjoy these photos from Statendam’s visit to the Panama Canal.

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Topics: Explorer's Scrapbook, ms Statendam, Panama Canal, Postcards from... | | 3 Comments

My travels allow me to see some fabulous sites, architecture, people and landscapes. Sometimes we forget to look up. These clouds are from around the world and reflections are something that have become an interest to me since taking up this camera. They are from Cambodia, Alaska and the fiery skies of Rouen, France.

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Topics: Alaska, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Explorer's Scrapbook, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, Postcards from... | | No Comments

It’s not everyday that you get to capture such a beautiful and haunting weather phenomena.

Rico Dabay
Plumber
ms Ryndam

Topics: Explorer's Scrapbook, ms Ryndam | | No Comments

South America is a continent fill with every type of scenic backdrop — from beaches to mountains to fjords. The colors and sights are always impressive, no matter the photo subject.

Martin Jaxa-Rozen
Shore Excursion Office
ms Rotterdam

Topics: Explorer's Scrapbook, ms Rotterdam, South America | | No Comments