Ferrying in July 2018 - Part 8, Prince

18th July 2018, p.m.
At the beach near Brindisi

We had booked a local taxi for late afternoon to take us, reluctantly, to the new ferry terminal here at Brindisi. This evening we are to embark on the ship PRINCE; not the one we have sailed on last year, but the ship we knew originally as CESME back in 2007. She was built in 1974, and her gross tonnage is shown as 13,336.

Prince

Her new name

Stern view


She was in port, in her new colours for the Arkoumanis family, the European Seaways owners. She looked freshly painted and gleamed in the sunlight as we checked in. She was previously used as an accommodation ship (WIND AMBITION) and her use on this new service on 12th July from Greece had been delayed due to faulty fuel. As my friends said, with new fuel on board this much-travelled veteran did depart Igoumenitsa the previous evening, and our booked crossing actually became her first departure from Italy. We were happy to be the first passengers on board.

Wind Ambition name on a sign, with an interesting font


They also said she would be instantly recognisable to anyone who knew her as either Norway Line (or Color Line)'s VENUS or DFDS's KING OF SCANDINAVIA. We will be sailing overnight from here in Brindisi over to Igoumenitsa, the coastal port in north-western Greece. It is also across the water from the island of Corfu, with frequent ferries sailing between the two.

It was good to look around this little ship and admire the way the money has been spent to make the newly decorated insides of the ship look good, but there were many reminders of her previous name and use.

Buddha Bar

Buddha

Another part of the lounge

In another part of the lounge was this, what I called a definite 'trip hazard'


All was well until we realised that sailing time had come and gone and the reason was a lorry that was stuck on the stern ramp, half in and half out of the ship. She has the original narrow stern door and we thought that the ramp was in fact too short for the angle needed to get vehicles on to the car deck. It took over an hour to get the lorry on board - goodness knows how!

A life ring out on deck

The funnel

Builder's plate

On the forward deck

The bell

I turned round and this was the view

Beside me was this forward section

A few steps ahead brought this sunny view

Another view of the funnel

Along to the stern


Once we realised we were not going to sail for some time, we headed for a bar and hoped for something alcoholic; that proved to be a problem as the Barman apologised but said that drink supplies had been ordered but had not been put on board. Ah well, it will have to be fruit juice or cola again. Instead we headed for the self-serve restaurant and discovered there was pasta to eat, which didn't immediately look appealing.

We eventually sailed at 9.30 p.m. from Brindisi, heading for Igoumenitsa, here on PRINCE.

Ships seen in Bari: Rigel II, GNV Azzurra
Ships seen in Brindisi: Prince, Eurocargo Catania


To be continued...

Ferrying in July 2018 Part 7, Rigel II

Wednesday 18th July 2018
Last night we were indeed lulled to sleep on the RIGEL II but after that the ship made heavy weather of the sea and waves and I woke early feeling glad that the night was over. The bed was comfortable, the linen was lovely and the bathroom facilities fine, but I was glad to be up and able to go and see the Panorama Bar in daylight and get a coffee and croissant to start the day.

Part of the Panorama Bar in daylight

I liked this decoration


We are approaching Bari in Italy, and after arrival in hot sunshine again we disembarked and could photograph the ship. Then it was time to queue for Passport Control and leave the port security area.

Stern of Rigel II

Another view

The Visby name can just be seen under the current name


Once outside the fencing we could see that RIGEL II's sister ship GNV AZZURRA was entering the port, as she is on a similar route and timing. We walked round to the terminal where she was heading and could take photographs of her arrival.

Reminder of when trains ran into the port

GNV Azzurra arriving

2 sisters together again


As she turned and backed up it was interesting to compare the similar funnels but different hulls. GNV AZZURRA's forward loading bow doors were visible.

Look at those bow doors

Looking back at Rigel II


We bought cold drinks in the nearby little quayside cafe and enjoyed sitting outside in the shade to drink them; nearby was what I know as a 'stop me and buy one' ice-cream seller and I think he was inside the cool cafe buying something for himself. It was certainly very hot again today under this cloudless Italian sky.

A "Stop me and buy one" - a memory from my UK childhood



It was time to continue with today's schedule and get the free port bus to Bari Station and buy train tickets back to Brindisi. We are sailing from there this evening, but have the day at leisure first.

In Brindisi we took the bus from the train station to the airport,

Seen at the airport


and then took a taxi to a nearby beach we had discovered. It was the Lido Granchio Rosso, Brindisi Beach, which had cabins and amenities for families and others, with a very casual atmosphere. It is open daytime only, with an excellent cook in the back of the cafe, and a very satisfying menu and well-stocked ice-cream fridge. We were there for a good part of the day, enjoying the heat, sight and sound of the sea, and good food; I sat in the shade on my steamer chair, occasionally reading or resting my eyes, quite involuntarily as I recall.

Part of the beach - a strong wind prohibited swimming today


To be continued...

Ferrying in July 2018 Part 6, Rigel II

My friends wanted to visit some of the numerous travel agents in the town's main street and they did this whilst I strolled along nearby. They obtained several new-to-them ferry company brochures and were very happy. We finally arrived at the town square and could take an overhead walkway leading over a dual-carriageway road and right into the port ferry terminal. That felt much safer and the views in the gathering darkness were good too.

We had to queue to show our tickets and passports for only a couple of minutes and then we could walk out of the terminal and across to the RIGEL II.

Rigel II

Closer

The sisters

Side of GNV Azzurra


The two sister ships loomed ahead in the darkness, with lots of lights blazing from the public decks. We walked up one of the two ramps leading to the car decks on RIGEL II, and were directed up to Reception to collect cabin keys.

At last we are on board this 23,842 gross tons ship, built in 1980 as VISBY, and now named RIGEL II. This seems to be the sixth name in her life. One of my friends very kindly prepared a note about her history and here it is:

"In terms of Sealink she is one of a kind, but as built she was one of a pair, built for Rederi AB Gotland as the Visby and delivered in 1980; her sister was to have been the Gotland but never entered service as such.

The Gotlanders didn’t really want new ships by all accounts (their existing pair, the current SARDINIA REGINA and CORSICA VICTORIA, were less than a decade old) but the government leant on them to order the pair from a Swedish yard.

The VISBY was famously overweight when delivered so after some frantic weight-saving was only in intermittent use until the harbour in Visby could be dredged to accommodate her. In 1988 Rederi AB Gotland managed to lose the concession to operate the routes to Gotland so the ship was chartered to their replacements, Nordström & Thulin. N&T later half-owned Estline and were involved when the ESTONIA was lost, after which they renounced passenger shipping. The VISBY had moved on by that stage, becoming in 1990 a large and impressive presence on the St George’s Channel between Fishguard and Rosslare as Sealink’s FELICITY, later STENA FELICITY.

Rederi AB Gotland got their operation back in 1998 and reclaimed their ship from charter to operate to Gotland once more under her original name; by all accounts they were not enamoured with what eight years of Irish Sea passengers had thrown at her, so she was pretty comprehensively refitted into the style you still see on board today.

Replaced by new tonnage in 2003 she passed to Polferries for operation between Nynashamn and Gdansk (as SCANDINAVIA) and thence to Ventouris Ferries in 2015 becoming the RIGEL II for whom she has operated the Bari-Durres route ever since.

Her unwanted sister enjoyed a varied early career, initially as the WASA STAR. In 1983 she was improbably chartered to Karageorgis who sailed her to the Adriatic and put her into service between Ancona and Patras. This did not end well with rumours of unpaid charter fees and after a couple of months a Swedish crew was despatched to commandeer the ship and sail her back to Scandinavia in a rather dramatic rescue mission. She was sold to Larvik Line, becoming the fourth PETER WESSEL (replacing the ship which is today Jadrolinija’s MARKO POLO). Lengthened in 1988 she remained on her Larvik-Frederikshavn (later Larvik-Hirtshals) route for almost 24 years through the takeover by Color Line in 1996.

In 2008 she was replaced and sent back to southern Europe as the SNAV TOSCANA; when SNAV and Grandi Navi Veloci merged she eventually became the GNV AZZURRA and has finally settled down on the same Bari-Durres route as her sister. On board she is still dolled up in an occasionally regrettable Norwegian folksy style and externally is less well proportioned than her unstretched sister, not helped by the unfortunate livery application of her Italian owners.

Both ships, though, retain either in full or in part their superb external deck arrangements and the outstandingly massive funnels and main masts which were bestowed upon them by the design office of Knud E Hansen."

We were all looking forward to seeing what the RIGEL II is currently like on board.

Along the corridor

Original cabin upholstery over bunks, desk, bathroom door

Original upholstery

Original toilet pan


The excitement started when the cabin door was opened and original upholstery could be seen above each of the bunk beds. It's worn very well by the look of it. The cabin is in one of the corridors set port to starboard across the ship, but rather far forward. The bathroom, forward and opposite the cabin door, seems to be original too.

Artwork on the stairs

Lovely


We went for a look around this interesting ship, admiring the artwork and design, the Panorama Bar etc. and then it was time for a welcome gin and tonic in the Pub/Bar before going for a snack in the Self-Service area.

The Pub

The Pub from the other end

The brochure (and remains of a gin and tonic)

The back of the brochure

The 4 ships shown inside the brochure

Life ring and funnel

Deck view

Another deck view

Deck plan

Above the stairs


We sailed late at 12.30 (half an hour past midnight) and noticed there were few passengers to be seen. The ship can hold 2,300 passengers but I think she must be quite light tonight.

We stayed on deck to watch us sail out of Durres, here in Albania, and saw the lights of the Fly Bar gradually disappear in the distance.

Goodbye to the Fly Bar

Funnel

Comfortable seats under the name (I tried one)

A favourite view from earlier in the day


It was time to enjoy the original cabin and hope to be lulled to sleep as we crossed the Adriatic sea overnight. We are sailing back to Italy, this time to the familiar port of Bari.

Ships seen: St. Damian, Rigell II and GNV Azzurra

To be continued...