Sailing the Timor Sea aboard Silver Discoverer

Silversea’s Silver Discoverer, at anchor earlier this week off Australia’s Kimberley Coast. Photo © 2014 Aaron Saunders

Silversea’s Silver Discovereris making a steady 12 knots today, setting out with an entire day of purposeful cruising as we make our way some 400 nautical miles from Wyndham, Australia to the Indonesian island of Savu.

With only a few scattered clouds, guests had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the warm weather out on deck today. It’s 35°C out today, with a low of just 24°C, and the humidity seems to be increasing as we head further north and leave Australia’s Kimberley region in our wake.

Of course, a day at sea gives me the opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do since we boarded in Broome last Monday: focus entirely on the Silver Discoverer!

As Clipper Odyssey. Aaron Saunders’ collection.

Silver Discoverer was built as Oceanic Grace in 1989 at the NKK Tsu shipyard in Tsu, Japan. If you look closely, a few things onboard still betray her Japanese heritage, such as the traditional Japanese character sets underneath the “Exit” plaque on the Deck 5 promenade doors, and the long-painted over registration port of “Tokyo” can still be seen cut into her stern on Deck 4.

Her stint with the Japanese market didn’t last, and in the early 1990’s she was pressed into service in Indonesia as Oceanic Odyssey. In 1999, now-defunct Clipper Cruise Line purchased Oceanic Odyssey and renamed her Clipper Odyssey. She was sold to International Shipping Partners in 2007, but still retained her name.

Last year, Silversea purchased Clipper Odyssey to act as the line’s third luxury expedition vessel. She was christened just this past March in a ceremony in Singapore and has officially – as of today – just completed her inaugural season in Australia’s Kimberley region. She’ll be back next March, but in the meantime, Silver Discoverer will sail to Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia & Polynesia, Eastern Asia & Russia’s Far East, and New Zealand and the Sub-Antarctic.

Silver Discoverer, head-on. Photo © 2014 Aaron Saunders

Some Silver Discoverer Fast Facts:

• Officers: International
• Crew: 96
• Guests: 120
• Tonnage: 5,218
• Length: 338 feet / 102.9 metres
• Width: 51 feet / 15.4 metres
• Speed: 14 knots
• Passenger Decks: 5
• Refurbished: 2014
• Registry: Nassau, Bahamas

Wikipedia even says that, as built, this ship used to have an onboard decompression chamber for divers, but I haven’t been able to verify that.

Before entering service, Silversea made a number of changes and enhancements to the Silver Discoverer. Some are easy to spot, like the brand-new bathrooms in each and every suite that mimic the design and décor of those found aboard the line’s flagship, the 540-guest Silver Spirit.

But to really get a sense of the work Silversea did requires some before-and-after photographs:

The Restaurant, Deck 3

The Restaraunt, as Clipper Odyssey. Aaron Saunders’ collection.

The Restaurant, as Silver Discoverer. Photo © 2014 Aaron Saunders

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Our Live Voyage Report from Silversea’s adventurous Silver Discoverer continues tomorrow with our very first expeditions ashore in Indonesia! Be sure to follow along on twitter by following @deckchairblog or the hashtag #LiveVoyageReport.