Friday 25 November 2011

MV Spirit of Adventure at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

A post-sunrise view of the MV Spirit of Adventure in Dover Harbour, her bow pointing through the Western Entrance towards the open waters of the Straits of Dover and the English Channel beyond:

MV Spirit of Adventure cruise ship came from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, going to Bergen, Norway. Owner: Saga Cruises. Ex-Berlin, Princess Mahsuri, and Orange Melody: Callsign 9HA2295, IMO 7904889, MMSI 248277000.
(Click this MV Spirit of Adventure text link to see the largest size)


The Western Entrance is formed by the Admiralty Pier behind the ship and the Southern Breakwater, out-of-shot to the left.

The passenger ship is shown manouevring into position prior to reversing towards CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks.

The photo was taken while on a cycle ride (1) at 5.34 am on Wednesday, 23rd of June 2010, from the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier.

A little earlier, at 5.21 am, the Spirit of Adventure had entered Dover Harbour through the Eastern Entrance at the end of a 14-night round-trip "Britain and Irelands Garden Coast" cruise that had begun on the 9th of June with the following itinerary (schedule):

St Peter Port (Guernsey, Channel Islands), Dartmouth (England), Tresco (Isles of Scilly), Dublin (Eire/Ireland), Holyhead (Anglesey, Wales), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Oban (Scotland), Portree (Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides of Scotland), Stornoway (Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides of Scotland), Scrabster (Thurso Bay, Scotland), Kirkwall (capital of Orkney, Scotland), and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England).

The Spirit of Adventure left Dover later in the day at 4.34 pm on a 7-night "Norway's Choral Symphony" cruise. Itinerary:

Tuesday 22 November 2011

MS Ryndam Cruise Ship before the Southern Breakwater, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

A view of the MS Ryndam heading for the Eastern Entrance of Dover Harbour and English Channel beyond at 5.12 pm on Sunday, 1st of May, 2011 (1):

MS Ryndam heading for Eastern Entrance and English Channel with 2 tugs, DHB Dauntless, DHB Doughty. Call sign: PHFV, IMO 8919269, MMSI 245026000. From Zeebrugge (Belgium) going Rotterdam (Netherlands)
(Click this MS Ryndam Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)


The passenger ship is accompanied by two tugs, DHB Dauntless (left) and DHB Doughty (right), owned by Dover Harbour Board whose offices, located in Harbour House of Waterloo Crescent, overlook the harbour.

Behind the ship is the Southern Breakwater and the Dover Breakwater West End Light (2)

To the right of the lighthouse is the Western Entrance that lies between the breakwater and the Admiralty Pier (out-of-shot to the right: part of the Western Docks).

Cruise ships berth alongside the Admiralty Pier and then usually leave the Port of Dover by the Western Entrance. On this occasion strong winds have caused the Ryndam to opt for the same route a sister-ship, the MS Eurodam, took the previous year.

The photo was taken from the Prince of Wales Pier just as the Ryndam was passing the wreck site of the Spanish Prince (ex-Knight Bachelor), a World War I blockship scuttled/sunk in 1915.

Earlier in April, the Ryndam left the Gulf of Mexico by sailing south of the Florida Keys and then called at Cherbourg (France) and Zeebrugge (Belgium). The passenger ship is now beginning a 21-day Mediterranean Medley cruise and returned to Dover on Saturday, 21st of May, before the voyage finally ended in Rotterdam on the 22nd. Cruise itinerary (schedule):