Some friends of ours are currently 'experiencing' their first cruise onboard Ambassador's 'MV Ambiance' and tomorrow are in Invergordon, 0700-1400, but sadly the weather for those times doesn't look too good, drizzle forecast!
But i digress, I can't remember which year it was but i was on QE2 when we went to Invergordon as part of a UK Cruise, onboard also were the BBC TV Ground Force Team, including Charlie Dimmock- yes 'she' of the thin T shirts! They were going to do a garden makeover there but i can't remember anything about this garden and the internet doesn't help revive my memory. Was anybody else on this cruise and can remember what the garden was called?
However a more interesting story concerns the first time i visited Invergordon. I was on RVS [Royal Viking Sun] when in 1997, as part of a UK cruise we visited Invergordon. I had, as was part of my responsibilities as SSO, supervised the boarding of the Harbour Pilot prior to arrival, then escorted him to the bridge and, as was tradition, introduced him to the Captain, before returning to the gangway to communicate with the Bridge the gangway positioning for coming alongside. Our stay was uneventful, well apart from the passengers being involved in the opening of the garden.
Come sailing time i was at the gangway preparing for a swift departure when the Harbour Pilot arrived, as i was busy sorting something else out at the time, although i saw him i didn't directly 'see' him and therefore didn't notice that it was a different Harbour Pilot. The QM checked his ID and escorted him to the Bridge. Anyway after sailing i went to the Bridge to collect the Pilot and escort him down to the pilot door, so he could board his pilot boat to take him back ashore.
On the Bridge he was talking to the Captain about maritime second hand store in Plymouth, an upcoming port on that particular cruise, but couldn't remember it's name. The Norwegian Captain was part of a group restoring an old tug boat back in his native Bergen. This Maritime Store was a place i knew so told him it's name, he then turned, looked at me and said 'Andy Holloway!' As soon as i saw his face properly i recognised him as a good friend from my school days. In fact we sat next too each other and played rugby together for a few years. He had left school a year after me and gone to Plymouth Maritime College, qualified as a Deck Officer with Shell tankers. Gradually he'd worked his way up through the ranks to be a Captain[Master Mariner]. Previous to being a Pilot at Invergordon he had worked for Maersk as an Oil Rig 'Positioning Captain', a VERY responsible job. When he told the Captain that we hadn't met for over 25 years but still recognised each other, the Captain was absolutely astonished. He often referred to it in the weeks left on both our contracts. I still keep in touch with 'my friend' via Christmas cards, he's retired now and lives down in Cornwall.
