ALSCF wishes all the readers and followers of this Blog, Merry Christmas

A.L.S.C.F. wishes all the readers and followers a MERRY CHRISTMAS and all the very best for 2013. Thank you all for your continued support throughout the year now about to end. Photos taken on board BRITTANY FERRIES Cruise Ferry, "PONT-AVEN" built by MEYER WERFT in 2004 and current flagship of a company that will be celebrating 40 years in 2013, the date of the photos above, 20.12.2012

Departing Santander on board "PONT-AVEN"

20.12.2012, I was ready once again to embark "PONT-AVEN" for a trip back to the UK, destination Portsmouth, this is a typical 24 hour crossing to achieve this "PONT-AVEN" cruises between 22 and 24 knots, we sailed 5 minutes earlier to our scheduled 17.30 local time departure, pilots and "Guardia Civil" escorted the ship for about 20 minutes, operations finished "PONT-AVEN" started to pick up speed, after just 40 minutes of slipping our moorings we were doing 24.1 knots and were sailing towards the Bay of Biscay where a force 7 was expecting us, it was a choppy first 10 hours with the ship negotiating 3 meters waves with extreme stability and comfort, the wind reduced a lot when entering the English Channel making the last leg of the trip a wind/wave free one, the ship was back at Portsmouth at 5 pm, the end of the last crossing of the year, reunited with a very special ship for me, as usual she looks immaculate.

shipping at Santander

Photos taken 20.12.2012

Back at Santander for a voyage on PONT-AVEN

Photos taken on 20.12.2012 at Santander, driving home for Christmas, last leg of my trip a crossing on board my special friend "PONT-AVEN", amazing how time flies it seems yesterday that I step on board this ship for her maiden voyage, 23.3.2004.

ARRABIDA NATURAL PARK

Visited recently a place of incomparable beauty, the ARRABIDA NATURAL PARK, just south of Lisbon betweean Setubal and Sesimbra, this protected area is covered by pines and Mediterranean Vegetation, the park also includes many rare species. In 2004 a massive fire destroyed a significant portion of the Park, glad to see the recovery. Below SERRA DA ARRABIDA lies the remarkable beautiful sheltered beach of "Portinho da Arrabida", simply one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, very popular with Lisbon and Setubal inhabitants, "Portinho da Arrabida" is also very famous for scuba diving and underwater fishermen. Photos 1.12.2012

Ship Spotting in Europe

Ship spotting in different European Ports only possible due to my travels on cruise ferries, whenever possible I always keep an watchful eye for all sorts of ships, photos above, Barcelona, Le Havre, Lisbon and Setubal

Lisbon, my place of birth and its ships

this Blog is about my voyages on cruise ferries and share some of the places they take me to. It's always a special occasion to go back to my place of birth, Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in the world, charming with a unique climate throughout the year, renown worldwide for its culture, museums and its association with the Maritime World, capital of former empire, cosmopolitan and with a rich gastronomy. the photos above were taken minutes away from my place of birth, Santa Engracia and Miradouro Santa Luzia where the majority of cruise ships dock these days. For four decades I have been watching and admiring ships of all sorts, and honestly can hardly think of a most suitable city to fulfil this ever growing passion.

M.V. "EXCELLENT" photographed at Barcelona 28.11.2012. For other information on this ship, please visit my "post" dated 16.7.2012

Barcelona, a different perspective

BARCELONA, been countless times, many photos uploaded here but not quite like this time. Different Perspective from a city that everything to offer, some very appropriate for the time of the year. Photos 28.11.2012