September 27, 2024 turned out to be a pretty decent day weather-wise for the greater Garden Paradise Kitakyushu vicinity. In fact, it was an almost perfect day for the cruise ship WESTERDAM of the Holland America Line to sail the Kanmon Straits.
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| MS WESTERDAM sailing the Kanmon Straits of Japan |
With a length of 936 feet, a beam of 105.8 feet and 82,348 tons, the MS Westerdam was quite a sight as it sailed gracefully past Ganryujim in the Kanmon Strait between Shimonoseki City on Honshu and Kitakyushu City on Kyushu.
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| Photo of the starboard bow of Holland America's Westerdam |
Looking at the above photos of the starboard side of the bow, one can't help but notice the passengers checking out the Shimonoseki side of the strait. Many passengers can be seen taking their own photos, perhaps of Ganryujima and the statues of Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro in their famous sword fight duel to the death. Some might have been taking photographs of the Ship Freakazoid who was taking unintentional photographic and video footage of them and intentional footage of the cruise liner.
Check out some of the video footage (above) which can be seen on Ship Freakazoid's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ShipFreakazoid Don't be shy with likes, comments and follows. It would be nice to know if anyone was on this particular cruise or had been on Westerdam for another cruise, and where you are watching from.
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| Cruise ship sailing past Japan - Kanmon Straits 2024.09.27. |
Looks like there a lot of people enjoying the sights of Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki from their stateroom and suite balconies. Several are taking pictures as well. If you are not familiar with the island Ganryujima, read up on it. It's got a pretty cool history, and a wonderful view of ships in the Kanmon Strait---Because IT is IN the strait! Every once in a while, it is nice to set foot on the island and do some ship spotting. This time, as usual, the trusty secondhand Olympus E-520 with Zuiko 150mm lens was used. Ship Freakazoid also used an older JVC Everio video camera with 54x Konica Minolta zoom lens and a Casio Exilim digital camera with video capability to get some video footage. Don't expect any Sergio Corbucci level stuff, but you will get to see an award winning cruise ship sailing past Japan's coastlines.
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| The cruise ship Westerdam coming right at ya |
The above photo shows Westerdam in the strait after having passed under the Kanmon Bridge which connects the main Japanese island of Honshu with the far superior island of Kyushu.
Vessel Name: MS WESTERDAM
Length: 285.3 meters / 936 feet
Width: 32.2 meters / 105.8 feet
IMO: 9226891
Flag: Netherlands (producer of great kickboxers and MMA fighters)
MMSI: 244128000
Type: Passenger Ship / Cruise Ship / Floating Awesomeness
Class: Vista Class
Call Sign: PINX (same name as a friend's band in HS)
Gross Tonnage: 82,348 tons
Builder: Fincantieri
Yard Number: Marghera
Launched: July 16, 2003
Christened: April 25, 2004 by Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk
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| Westerdam sailing under the Kanmon Bridge |
If the vessel looks tall, well, it is! Westerdam boasts eleven decks and a maximum capacity of 3200 people. A plethora of information and details on this ship can be found on Wikipedia, the shipbuilder's (Fincantieri) website, Holland America's HP, and the many excellent ship tracking sites. Check them out if you are so inclined.
Besides especially fine décor and superb construction, it sounds like an excellent time can be had on board. Pickleball at sea! BB King's Blues Club, Billboard Onboard, and Rolling Stone Lounge! Amazing artwork including art focused on Dutch Heritage and even an Andy Warhol. The restaurants shown on the Holland America site look great, as well.
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| Holland America Line's Westerdam in Japan 2024 |
The above photo seems to have people photographing the photographer who was photographing them. Looks like others are having a most relaxing time on the lounge chairs on their balcony lounge chairs.
Hoping to see this ship pass by again sometime. Also hope that the people on this cruise enjoyed passing by the Garden Paradise Kitakyushu.