The skipper of one of the world’s finest pasenger sailing ships is preparing to welcome back guests after a 17-month hiatus.
Kathryn Whittaker has returned to Sea Cloud II ahead of two planned voyages around the Western Mediterranean beginning on August 30.
The captain and crew are currently waiting in the Canary Islands for the cruise industry to resume, when their first stop will be Nice.
Kathryn, who is Canada’s first female cruise ship skipper, spoke to Metro.co.uk as the elegant vessel returned to sea yesterday for a test run, the first time it has been out on open water since April 2020.
She had been at the helm of the tall ship in the Caribbean when the pandemic brought an abrupt halt to global cruises the previous month.
Her crew disembarked a group of passengers from the UK before taking a 3,000-mile journey to Las Palmas, where the £31 million, three-masted craft has remained berthed ever since.
The ship is scheduled to leave in mid-August for an initial two passenger cruises, taking in nine French ports over two weeks.
When it finally leaves Santa Catalina port for Nice, Sea Cloud II will do so with a number of Covid protocols in place, including guests being required to present a negative Covid PCR or antigen test no more than 72 hours old and a completed health questionnaire.
They will also find fewer passengers than usual, to enable social distancing, and an intensive cleaning regime.
Self-service is out, although operator Sea Cloud Cruises says the full ‘culinary finesse’ will be available and the ship will staffed at normal levels.
The protocols have been certified by international organisations including the DNV, which operates a classification system for the maritime industry.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk from the Atlantic, Kathryn said: ‘We have an infection prevention and control programme in place that has been approved by our classification society.
‘There’s going to be a lot of the things that you see onshore, such as requests for physical distancing from guests that you’re not travelling with, a requirement for face masks onboard and temperature checks.
‘Passengers returning to Sea Cloud II will find a lot of familiar faces among the crew who are excited at welcoming back our guests onboard.
‘They will find the same quality of service as before and the ability to sit on deck with the fresh air as the wind billows behind the sails.
‘The ship will still have the ability to be powered by wind alone.
‘It’s a fantastic feeling to be back at sea.’
Sailed by hand, the Rolls-Royce of tall ships is powered by two engines and 23 sails and has a lido deck and bar, 98-seat restaurant, boutique, library, sauna, swim platform to jump into the water and hospital.
The close-knit crew has been keeping busy by stripping back parts of the vessel, which is berthed alongside sister ship Sea Cloud, said to be the oldest passenger sailing vessel in the world. They have been performing maintenance tasks that would be difficult under normal operations.
The crew have installed a temporary basketball net on the deck and spend downtime in the onboard gyms and holding barbecues.
A third ship, the Sea Cloud Spirit, is scheduled to take her maiden voyage on September 14 for a 10-night trip, also in the Western Mediterranean, beginning and ending in Rome.
The sea master, 53, who is among a dozen crew members, re-embarked earlier this month after spending three months at home in Canada.
‘It’s going to be fantastic to be back at sea,’ she said.
‘We have had plans over the past six months which have been delayed but we are pretty hopeful with the vaccinations being rolled out that a lot of countries will lift their restrictions and lockdowns.
‘We have been doing some exercises with our rigging in the sails and every once in a while we set the sails while we’re here on the dock just to make sure we are exercising the lines and the rigging.
‘Getting out to sea with our guests and setting all the sails again and letting the wind take us around is the moment we are all looking forward to, this is why we are here, on a sailing ship.
‘Being powered just by the wind is not something every ship can do and we want to share it with the passengers as well, it harkens back to olden days.’
Royal Caribbean International announced at the weekend that it is due to begin test journeys in the US ahead of a full return to the seas.
A trial cruise with volunteer passengers is due to take place with Covid protocols on the Freedom of the Seas liner at the end of next month.
Operators have introduced enhanced precautions with The Cruise Lines International Association advocating a safe, gradual restart.
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from metro.co.uk
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