Special visitor

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A special visitor arrived in Mossel Bay on Monday, 10 April. It was the passenger ship, Island Sky, which is small enough to dock in the harbour. Other, larger passenger ships anchor in the bay, because the harbour is not deep enough to accommodate them.

On Tuesday afternoon, 11 April, the ship left Mossel Bay for Port Elizabeth, where it arrived on the morning of Wednesday, 12 April.

PHOTO GALLERY: Special visitors in Mossel Bay

Island Sky is used for Antarctic cruises, among others. It accommodates a maximum of 112 passengers. There is plenty of deck space for viewing wildlife and the boat is spacious inside. It is popular for its wooden panelling and brass fittings, which give it the feel of a private yacht.

Island Sky was purpose built in Italy for expeditionary cruising. It is built strongly to cope with ice.

It is described as one of the most elegant small luxury expeditionary ships.

Antarctic cruises are typically characterised by lectures on board about wildlife and the environment and trips ashore to explore and experience the environment first-hand.

With Island Sky, passengers are ferried ashore on small boats if necessary.

Prior to Island Sky, the cruise liner, Insignia, arrived in the bay on Friday, 7 April. It has the capacity for 656 guests. It left the same day at about 18:00. During the day small boats ferried the passengers to and from Mossel Bay harbour.