Discovery’s moment of history at Avonmouth delayed by the weather

Bad weather in the Bay of Biscay has put a halt to a little bit of history being made today. Cruise ship Discovery should have been embarking passengers in the port of Avonmouth, but instead the ship has diverted to Portland on the south coast.
Passengers beginning a 15-night cruise in search of the Northern Lights are being taken from Bristol to the Dorset port by coach.
The ship was delayed on its journey to the UK from Genoa, where it has been undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment since transferring from Voyages of Discovery to a new joint venture with Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
A CMV spokesman said: “As a result of the continued adverse weather and sea conditions during Discovery’s Bay of Biscay passage we have reluctantly taken to the decision to divert the vessel to Portland. The delay and tidal restrictions in Bristol Avonmouth would have meant the vessel not being able to berth until tomorrow evening, resulting in considerable disruption to our passengers. This would have also necessitated the need to revise the itinerary.”
The ship will now make its first appearance at Avonmouth at the end of this cruise.
CMV Commercial Director Chris Coates said, “We are naturally disappointed especially for our passengers that we have had to make this necessary change to the start of the cruise. Our celebratory plans in Bristol for Discovery’s inaugural sailing will therefore be put on hold until Friday March 15.”
The 700-passenger Discovery, built in 1972 and one of the original ships from the Love Boat TV series is operating a season of eight sailings from Bristol in 2013 with nearly 85 per cent of the summer programme sold out with increased capacity and choice of sailings in 2014.