Discovery in Bristol Avonmouth
I was in Bristol over the 26th-29th September 2014 and found out Discovery would be in Avonmouth on the 27th to sail on her farewell cruise.  I had been aboard in Flåm when it was announced she would be going across to Cruise & Maritime Voyages so, as it would most likely be the last time I'd ever see her, it was a chance to say goodbye to the old girl.  Bristol Avonmouth isn't the greatest port to see ships from when you don't know the area and it was impossible getting anything in the port due to my daytime commitments, so I dragged my friend Paul along after an early dinner where we caught the X2 to Portishead.  Fortunately we'd got chatting to a girl at the bus station going our way so she helped us with the correct stop and told us a good place to watch the ship from.  So we headed to the Lake Grounds, a gorgeous seafront area.  Paul suggested going up Battery Point so we did and found several locals waiting for her too.  Her departure time was 7pm and by the time we got up there she was moving into the lock.  I just about managed to get a photo of her around the trees but the leaves still appeared in it.  After waiting a while in the dark, we decided to return back down since we could beat her at this rate.  Just after 8pm, she emerged and another twenty-five minutes later appeared over Battery Point.  She took me by surprise resulting in getting the restaurant in shot too!  Now underway, she didn't waste any time and was well into the distance a mere ten minutes later so we made our way back to the bus stop in town, getting the X3 back to Bristol city centre.
She returned to Avonmouth on the 6th October, remaining until the morning of the 9th.  From there, she went to Falmouth on the 10th where she was handed over to an Indian crew before heading to the Med.  She last transmitted as Discovery on the 15th October, becoming Amen after that, having been sold at a loss to Liberty Resources Inc., based in Nassau, for $5 million (£3.1 million).  She arrived at Alang in the early hours of the 8th December.  To read about my Discovery cruise and see what the old girl had to offer, click here.

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© Patricia Dempsey 27th September 2014
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  Updated
26th October 2014