Special homecoming for Magnus

Sailing into Lerwick harbour on board cruise ship Azamara Journey earlier this week was a special moment for staff captain Magnus Davidson.
For 30-year-old Magnus was brought up in the Shetland capital, and it was the first time since he began his career at sea as a cadet that he has been able to sail into his home port.
“This voyage, I’ve been to Monaco during the F1 Grand Prix, sailed through the Kiel Canal into the Baltic, visited the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and stayed overnight in Copenhagen during their Jazz Festival. Next trip, I’ll head up the Amazon River in November, drift off Copacabana Beach at New Year for the fireworks, have a cruise down to Antarctica – and the South Shetland Isles – in mid January, and warm up in Rio de Janeiro for three days during the Carnival in February.
“But the visit to Lerwick is my highlight of the year for the special fact that it’s the first time in nearly 15 years on cruise ships that I’ve had the chance to sail into my home town and have my family on board the ship. To see Shetland through the eyes of our guests makes me proud to be from here.
“It’s a shame we only had a six-hour visit this time before heading off towards Iceland – but it gave me the chance to have family on board for a long lunch and a look around the ship,” added Magnus, who now lives in Leith, near Edinburgh.
Journey’s visit to Lerwick on Sunday was her third, following calls in June 2009 and July last year. The ship – almost identical in design to P&O’s Adonia, on which I am currently visiting Norway – was en route from Geirangerfjord to Iceland.