First video of 2017

[henryf]

Please forgive my slight diversion from the norm but there is some crossover.

We recently sailed Seabourn Encore's maiden voyage from Athens to Singapore. An interesting route that took us through the Suez Canal for the first time, required a dusk rendezvous to take armed security on board for the passage past Somalia contrasted the cleanliness of Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the squalor of India and had me re-trace my steps from April as we sailed down from Langkawi to Singapore.

Stepping on board it was more like walking round the boat show, the designer has created a large motor yacht rather than a cruise ship.




Henry

 

[AllanG]

Very nice video, Henry......looks like you had the ship to yourselves!

The photos of the Suez Canal bought back memories of my first trip through there in 1977 as a 4th Engineer Officer in the Merchant Navy, and it looks like it hasn't changed much since then!!

 

[mjf]

nice one H.

interesting route, where did the armed guards disembark

 

[MapisM]

Stepping on board it was more like walking round the boat show, the designer has created a large motor yacht rather than a cruise ship.

Glad to hear that my fellow citizens at Fincantieri did a good job.
Allegedly, the ship should also be very quiet and comfortable, on top of having a particularly efficient propulsion - though I'm not aware of the details.

Oh, and also the video is very well put together - could be mistaken for an official cruise promotion...! :encouragement:

 

[tico]

Great itinerary H, not so sure about the ship size tho.
Been on (Seaborne) Spirit a couple of times, but prefer the smaller ships.

 

[Richard10002]

Very nice video, Henry......looks like you had the ship to yourselves!

The photos of the Suez Canal bought back memories of my first trip through there in 1977 as a 4th Engineer Officer in the Merchant Navy, and it looks like it hasn't changed much since then!!

Ditto, same year I think, Avelona Star, a refrigerated cargo ship, (Deck Cadet on my first trip )

 

[AllanG]

Ditto, same year I think, Avelona Star, a refrigerated cargo ship, (Deck Cadet on my first trip )

I worked for W.A. Souter, Gosforth at the time, and my ship was Dunstanburgh Castle, a large bulk cargo ship, so nothing as glamorous as your nice Blue Star reefer, Richard!!

 

[henryf]

For Seabourn its a monster, within the industry its a minnow.

You still get a sense of being on a ship rather than a floating city. I stood above the bridge as we aproached Singapore at night looking at all the lights trying to keep track of what was going on.

It was indeed a quiet ship without any cavitation. They knocked the top speed back a little on the design to improve efficiency.

What's incredible is seeing her a few weeks out from our cruise as a construction site then stepping aboard the (largely) finished article. The boys in the yard done good.

I like the size and if you've sailed Seabourn before nothing's lost in translation when it comes to service. We were still addressed by name wherever we went.

Henry

 

[no28]

Thanks for a great video, what camera?

 

[scubaman]

Proper quality vid again Henry, nice cinematic look and very nicely framed shots. Pro level stuff. Iirc, you use final cut pro. Do you add any filters, etc. in post to achieve the look?

 

[henryf]

Camera is a canon D70 with mostly an 18-135mm lens and polarising filter.

I sometimes cheat with the food and use a 50mm f1.4 prime lens to take still shots so I don't need a flash. It has a very small depth of field that wide open and I use something called Ken Burns to add my movement in the edit.

Yes I use final cut pro to edit but don't colourise or filter. I just do that on the camera as I shoot. Occasionally I will straighten up a wonky shot. Particularly in bright sunlight it can be hard to see exactly what you're shooting. I find editing quite hard. Seeing shots is easy, editing is not.

The hardest thing on the ship was dealing with different light temperatures and the lights flickered when they were dimmed down, something they are trying to sort out. If you need a few thousand lightly used bulbs I know where there will be some in a few weeks

I wanted to use the drone but it was going to be a battle against the ship and many of the countries we visited. If I was staying for a while it was worth having a go but not when you're in and out in a day. Some places get a bit twitchy when I turn up with a slider on a tripod sensing commercial filming. Mostly they're pretty cool when they know I have a sympathetic eye.

The ship was new so I was just another bloke with a camera. There were loads of people coming and going. I just blend in and pretend I'm not really there

Henry

 

[NGM]

looks a great trip Henry

awesome video, they should use it !!

 

[petem]

Thanks Henry, ship and your filming of it look great. Mumbai is an odd city, it has a vast population but geographically is quite small. Still takes a few hours to drive from top to bottom. There's not loads to see but it's a cool place when you get used to it. If you can hack the contrast between rich and poor, I can thoroughly recommend the Slum Tours. Absolutely brilliant and not at all what you might think. Dinner at the Taj would be a great post tour treat!

 

[henryf]

It was one of the places I was most looking forward to visiting. A few years ago we were planning on taking a cruise which started in Mumbai largely because we could get Virgin Upper flights easily on air miles but they pulled the route.

Having seen television documentaries on the Taj Hotel I wanted to pop in. Ended up with a window seat overlooking India Gate.

I've decided that I need to monetise vehicle horns in Mumbai. A penny for every time someone beeps their horn & you'd be the richest man on the planet They do love a quick honk.

Mumbai is a bit like New York in that you've seen it so often in films and on the telly you almost feel you've been there. The Suez Canal was the same. As others have said it probably hasn't changed. Even though they've dug out additional waterways the main channel remains.

Someone asked about our hired guards. They remained onboard whilst we visited Muscat in Oman and got dropped off en route to Dubai in the middle of the Persian Gulf. Whilst in port their toys were locked up and under control of the captain. I don't think there was any issue with security in Oman, more a logistical excercise as to when they could meet up with another one of their mother ships. Air travel is difficult for them as they tend to set off the buzzer going through security

Henry

 

[scubaman]

Camera is a canon D70 with mostly an 18-135mm lens and polarising filter.

I sometimes cheat with the food and use a 50mm f1.4 prime lens to take still shots so I don't need a flash. It has a very small depth of field that wide open and I use something called Ken Burns to add my movement in the edit.

Yes I use final cut pro to edit but don't colourise or filter. I just do that on the camera as I shoot. Occasionally I will straighten up a wonky shot. Particularly in bright sunlight it can be hard to see exactly what you're shooting. I find editing quite hard. Seeing shots is easy, editing is not.

Henry

That's a neat trick re Ken Burns, and well executed, I never noticed.

I recently moved away from a camcorder (for casual holiday shooting) to an iPhone 7 plus and a DJI Osmo mobile. At the same time I moved to shooting 60 fps. It makes such a difference, especially if there is more movement in the shot. I'm going to do the same when shooting with the drone.

Yep, focusing the shot in bright daylight is hard on the back of the camera. Just noticed that a local camera shop is selling these for 229€ -> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zacuto-Z-F...0357&sr=8-3&keywords=zacuto+z-finder+pro+2.5x

I feel tempted as currently my eyes just don't cope well enough with the camera display.

 

[z1ppy]

Someone asked about our hired guards. They remained onboard whilst we visited Muscat in Oman and got dropped off en route to Dubai in the middle of the Persian Gulf. Whilst in port their toys were locked up and under control of the captain. I don't think there was any issue with security in Oman, more a logistical excercise as to when they could meet up with another one of their mother ships. Air travel is difficult for them as they tend to set off the buzzer going through security

Henry

Great Video Henry, looks like a fantastic trip. Singapore at night must have been light overload!!

You might be surprised how those guards travel around, i have employed more than my share over the last few months and also moved a fair few of them around the globe with their kit...

 

[alt]

Excellent video!

Some familiar sights. Interesting to see the Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi) at night, we were only there during the day.

Never realised you started your Singapore trip last year in Langkawi ... we returned to Koh Lipe before Christmas for a few nights which was just off the coast of Langkawi a bit... wonderful part of the world

 

[henryf]

Great Video Henry, looks like a fantastic trip. Singapore at night must have been light overload!!

You might be surprised how those guards travel around, i have employed more than my share over the last few months and also moved a fair few of them around the globe with their kit...

Our lot were picked up from a scruffy looking patrol type boat as we transited the Red Sea, transferred using a black rib. I can imagine Seabourn cruise ships are seen as a bit of a dream posting. Decent accommodation and a very well stocked larder.

H.

 

[henryf]

Excellent video!

Some familiar sights. Interesting to see the Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi) at night, we were only there during the day.

Never realised you started your Singapore trip last year in Langkawi ... we returned to Koh Lipe before Christmas for a few nights which was just off the coast of Langkawi a bit... wonderful part of the world

Langkawi was actually our first overnight stop / refuel. We started off from Phuket.

Henry

 

[Richard10002]

I worked for W.A. Souter, Gosforth at the time, and my ship was Dunstanburgh Castle, a large bulk cargo ship, so nothing as glamorous as your nice Blue Star reefer, Richard!!

Yes... quite an eye opener for a naive 17 year old - I'm not sure if that was in a good way, or a bad way .

I certainly saw the world and got paid for doing it, even though much was on container ships with stops of 12 to 24 hours, rather than the weeks in port of a few of the ships I was on.