11:32am Tuesday 7th September 2010
By Stephen Ivall
More than 2,000 mainly American passengers from the large cruise ship Crown Princess came into Falmouth with 900 passengers opting to go on a number of excursions around Cornwall in 22 luxury coaches.
So big was the vessel she was anchored in the middle of the Carrick Roads.
With south easterly winds and moderate swell conditions forecast for the bay, at the eleventh hour Captain Nick Nash, master of the 113,000 ton vessel, who lives near Penzance, asked if his ship could anchor in the Cross Channel anchorage. Following talks with the pilots, harbour master Captain Mark Sansom gave the final permission for the leviathan to enter port.
Falmouth’s youngest pilot Alex Head piloted the 290 metre long Crown Princess into port. The ship’s half- sister Grand Princess had carried out the same manoeuvre in 2004.
Aided by two harbour tugs Crown Princess came up into the Carrick Roads where she turned in the Cross Channel using her azipod propulsion system and powerful bow thrusters.
Alex said: “The job went extremely well. It was a team effort.”
Four pilots were involved in the operation. Nick Martin assisted Alex whilst Jason Willis-Richards acted as second pilot with Dave Pickston who sailed the vessel.
Crown Princess has 1,557 cabins, 1,105 with an exterior view. She boasts four large outdoor swimming pools, 14 lifts, numerous restaurants, and a large casino.
Crown Princess later sailed for Dublin and Iceland to continue her cruise from Europe to the eastern seaboard of the USA and Canada.
Full report in this week’s Packet, out Wednesday.
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