Marco Polo & Prinsendam

Two today with the Prinsendam and the Marco Polo enjoying a September Saturday in Guernsey. An ideal day for tender operations although a long ride for the guests on the Marco Polo. The fast RIB which takes sightseers around Herm and the the rocky outcrops of Guernsey gives their passengers a close up view of the liners.

The Casquets Lighthouse to the west of Alderney was clear today although I'm not so sure it would have been visible to the guests on the Prinsendam from deck level. The Casquets have been the scene of many tragic ship wrecks over the years including the SS Stella, (marked by a plaque at St Peter Port Harbour) and HMS Victory, a predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship. Next port of call for the Prinsendam. is Tresco in the Scilly Isles as part of a Celtic and Gaelic cruise.

Marco Polo looks pristine in readiness for its next cruise.  After this British Isles Cruise, she will sail to Canada as part of her 50th Anniversary Voyage, not returning to Tilbury until early October. She is going back to her roots as in the 1960s she operated a trans-Atlantic service, as the Alexander Pushkin, between Leningrad and Montreal, being one of the fastest ships in the Soviet merchant fleet. A regular visitor to Guernsey, long may she be seen in these waters. The sun shone on the Marco Polo and the north of Sark, but Jethou lies in shadow.