We had some really lovely evenings during our holiday aboard Royal Clipper. As you can see, the sea is really calm which did not enable the crew to fully sail and we often motored along gently.
Actually I think this photo is sunrise rather than sunset just after we had passed Stromboli which was gently smoking. Royal Clipper always slowed down when we passed a really interesting and lovely place.
The anchor was huge and when it was rattling out clouds of rust particles flew into the air.
This is the Bosun who is in charge of the deck crew, he came from Goa.
My only visit ashore came at Corfu when Royal Clipper actually moored alongside instead of anchoring just off land. Husband and I were enjoying the best ice cream we have ever tasted. It was fresh Kumquat. I enjoyed Corfu - we took a taxi straight to the Old Town and wandered around finally reaching the Cricket Ground.
The cafe in which we ate the ice cream was situated near a square where this photo of the statue plus pigeon was taken.
This is Husband boarding the Royal Clipper tender vessel to go ashore - as you can see it is not easy, once having stepped aboard there is a drop down off the seat. We decided that I, with the wonky knees, would not take the risk. No matter - there were water sports available off the marina. This marina was an integral part of the stern of Royal Clipper and hinged downwards into the sea so as to provide a platform. To reach the marina one had to climb through a series of watertight doors.
From the marina one could swim - this was lovely although rather cold. There were diving opportunities for the nutters that liked sinking into the depths to look at wrecks and things. Snorkels and flippers were readily available. There were also two kayaks, a couple of small sailing dinghies and of course the Zodiacs. Here you can see me in the blue tee shirt yakking to the others as we donned life jackets in readiness for a zodiac safari. The others hopped in - I did a slow shuffling on my behind!
Here we are all set for a zoom through the seas exploring the inlets and coves around the Korcula area. For those of you who watched a lovely documentary on TV about Francesco Da Mosta and The Black Swan, Korcula is one of the places he visited.
The three people in charge of the water sports were all from Sweden. I asked if I could swim a circle around Royal Clipper but due to health and safety we were not allowed to do this. Once, whilst on deck, looking down at the marina, I saw the biggest jellyfish of my life - it was about 18 inches in diameter, a solid pink in colour with an inner circle of deep red. I shouted a warning down to the swimmers and all made a hasty exit!
Royal Clipper during our holiday. Actually I think the Captain was taking a photo of another vessel during our entry into Corfu. The Captain was from Poland and was very charismatic. He had visited many of the churches dotted along the coastline and had arranged that whenever Royal Clipper sailed into view of one of the churches, the ship's horn would sound three long blasts - the noise was absolutely ear splitting - then we would hear the church bells ringing out - wonderful. On our first night on board he appeared on the top deck, introduced himself and implored us all to have a lovely relaxing time. A couple of days later upon another gathering on the top deck he stared at a German lady and suggested she smiled a little more!! There was much laughter from the rest of us! The Chief Officer is seen here wielding a couple of radios connecting to the various crew members to deliver instructions. The Chief Officer was called Vlad and he needed to take the Captain's advice and smile - he never did!
During time in port all the deck crew were busily but quietly keeping the ship - well - shipshape! These two were high up on one of the spars changing some pulleys. The fair haired one was obviously the crew's most athletic member and he was often seen hanging upside down inspecting, repairing and generally keeping busy. Varnishing and painting jobs were carried out non-stop. The ship, I think, has only a week in dry dock a year. At the end of this month the ship sails to the caribbean for the winter.
Husband took the opportunity and visited the engine room. Apart from the engines there was a de-salination plant for all water needs, a sewage cleansing system - the water so clean by the end of the treatment it is pumped back into the sea.
Tomorrow I shall describe the water sports facilities (my particular interest).
The Royal Clipper. This ship is the largest fully rigged sailing ship in the world! We sailed from Civitavecchia (Port of Rome) to Ponza, Capri, Sicily, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar, Rovinj and ended up at Venice.
The crew were made up of over 26 nationalities but everyone seemed to get on well. We were amongst a motley group of approx 240 passengers -only 3 british couples, quite a few from Australia and USA and the majority from Germany. We especially enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on board - no rigid table places at mealtimes etc.
The weather was fantastic - 30C and clear skies for the 11 days - we could have done with a little more wind to have been able to sail more often - however the deck crew did their utmost to utilise the wind. These first two pictures were taken by Husband whilst going ashore in one of the tenders - mostly we anchored off the ports. Lots of little boats used to flock around and take pictures as Royal Clipper was quite a sight - especially sailing at night - the masts and rigging were lit up. Enough for now as my brain is still not working properly after the holiday and I am still swaying along with the ship!
