Dear team at Frachtschiffreisen Pfeiffer,
Thank you very much for your excellent support during my voyage on the multi-purpose cargo ship Bright Sky from Hamburg to Cape Town. It was a varied and inspiring journey, for which you quite rightly require a high degree of flexibility. In addition to the route and duration of stay in the various ports being adjusted to suit the cargo, there are always unforeseeable events that require the timetable to be readjusted. For instance, in the port of Antwerp, oil had leaked from a cargo ship, which meant that all other ships had to lie at anchor whilst the port was being cleaned. In Porto/Leixões there was a pilots’ strike, and in Walvis Bay, Namibia, a shortage of skilled labour during the public holidays. The fact that our dream of sailing round the Cape ultimately came to nothing was down to the unexpected news that we would have to wait two weeks in Durban for access to the port.
Our crew were Polish, with a few Eastern European seafarers. What made this voyage so special – apart from the appeal of seafaring itself – was the extensive range of entertainment and sporting activities, including selected films, music evenings, sports competitions, guided tours, talks and birdwatching. Who would have thought that my British fellow traveller and I, with the captain’s enthusiastic support, would be able to go on a full-day excursion to Swakopmund and a four-wheel-drive desert tour to Sandwich Harbour Bay in Namibia? Besides, who has a fully equipped gym at home where they can work out every day to burn off the calories consumed from the delicious food? We spent a wonderful Polish Christmas at sea. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks, above all to Captain M.S., but also to the entire crew, for these unforgettable experiences and lessons learnt!
Angelika S.