News / Home coming for local captain
From the high seas to home port – that’s the special voyage made over the weekend by Shetland-raised staff captain, Magnus Davidson, when the cruise ship Azamara Journey sailed into Lerwick Harbour on Sunday.
Brought up in Lerwick, Capt Davidson is second-in-command and head of the deck department on the vessel which carries almost 700 passengers and over 400 crew members.
The 30-year old now lives in Leith and visits Shetland annually – the last time in May this year.
The visit of the 181 metre long, 30,277 gross tonnes Azamara Journey on Sunday was her third to Lerwick, following previous calls in June 2009 and July 2010.
She was on route from Geiranger, Norway, to Akureyri, Iceland, as part of a 12-day cruise.
Mr Davidson said: “The visit to Lerwick is my highlight of the year for the special fact that it’s the first time in nearly 15 years on cruise ships that I’ve had the chance to sail into my home town and have my family on board the ship. To see Shetland through the eyes of our guests makes me proud to be from here.
“It’s a shame we only had a six-hour visit this time before heading off towards Iceland – but it gave me the chance to have family on board for a long lunch and a look around the ship.”
He added: “During this voyage on the Azamara Journey, I’ve been to Monaco during the F1 Grand Prix, sailed through the Kiel Canal into the Baltic, visited the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and stayed overnight in Copenhagen during their Jazz Festival.
“Next trip, I’ll head up the Amazon River in November, drift off Copacabana Beach at New Year for the fireworks, have a cruise down to Antarctica – and the South Shetland Isles – in mid January, and warm up in Rio de Janeiro for three days during the Carnival in February.”
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