Resident chess master for Viking and teaching astronauts

"It was out of this world!"

This is the phrase which leaps to mind when my readers ask me what my experience was like as the resident chess master on the Orion. And on this occasion my well-worn phrase has an even greater significance...

This year I was invited to go on my second shakedown cruise with the wonderful Viking company, who are the number one ocean cruise linear in the world. Fortunately for me, my mother has known the owners of the company for many years so I had already previously been invited on one of these cruises as a guest. This year however, was an even greater opportunity for me, as I was granted the privalage of being their resident chess master at the meagre age of twenty four! (When you consider that my fellow guest lecturers were all much more advanced in both experience and in age, it was a truly humbling experience!)

The Viking Orion has a lot to commend it, as it is very high end luxury ship. For that reason I only left with one complaint which was was that I did not meet any Viking warriors on the ship, as I had been looking forward to teaching them chess! The Orion can hold just over 930 guest although when we were on board it was only half full as it was its maiden voyage.

This incredible cruise lasted eight days and took its lucky passengers from Italy, to France and then onto Spain, during which we managed to take in some breath-taking sights in places such as Genoa, Padua, Pisa and Barcelona. The food was sublime, the ship the epitome of luxury and the staff simply the best I have ever encountered. With all these accolades it normally would be very difficult to identify a solitary, stand-out feature on which to report. However, this year there were forty-six (inter)stellar people who stood out amongst all others.

It was an incredible experience being a chess tutor on a cruise ship to astronauts. They are very kind people and have such noble bearing. They were all exceedingly intelligent, awesome people and I learned a lot from listening to them talk.

One such highlight of the cruise was meeting the remarkable Professor June Scooby Rodgers. She was an inspirational and wonderful new friend. Her husband is a three star general and was also unique in his own experience. We all became great friends during the cruise, as they had many amusing stories to share with us, and I felt compassion for her when I heard about the Challenger exploding and felt sad when she showed me a picture of her lost husband. The Rodgers are inspirational people because even though they are at the top of the pyramid, and have nothing to prove, they are still kind and humble. I think everyone should be like that.

I was fortunate to meet so many wonderful people on the ship. Another highlight for me was meeting Doctor Anne Fisher; she was one of the original six woman accepted into Nasa's space shuttle program, was the first mother into space and is an inspirational and tenacious woman. Both a true leader of men and women, she will certainly spark the next generation of women into learning about space. We both have one unique trait in common as we were both raised in military families.

My first student as chess master, was a professor of physics and a friend of the owner. Then my second was head of marketing of Viking. Third was a family friend of Doctor fisher. It was a privilege to play against and even teach such fascinating people.

The Christening ceremony was another privileged part of the Viking experience, where a very famous gentleman was narrator for the event; the legendary Sir Ranulph Fiennes. What struck me most was his hair that was all over the place and although he was able to tame mount Everest, he could not seem to tame his hair! His voice was captivating, and everyone was under its spell. I have always admired Sir Ranulph Fiennes and would very much like to interview him. One of the main facts I liked about him was that he was voted the 'World's Greatest Explorer" at age 73. Seeing him mingling with astronauts made me think that maybe he'll try space as his next great expedition.

The naming ceremony for Vikings is a ritual that dates back more than 4,000 years. These days it is observed by the breaking of a champagne on the ship's bow. This particular naming ceremony was very much relevant to the astronauts as it was called after one of their spacecrafts; The Orion. The owner even asked if Doctor Anne Fisher would be god mother to the cruise ship, which is even more apt as Doctor Fisher works on the Nasa Orion project, which helps humans navigate more uncharted territories.

It really felt like the stars were aligned and then ship was born, (no pun intended!)

As you may have guessed by now, I have always been interested in history and have especially held the Vikings in high regard. Being on a Viking ship (which was fortunately a luxury linear and not a Viking war ship) was another link towards the past that I thought about a lot of the time. Significantly, Vikings were early adopters of constellations as a means of navigation and the main constellation they used was Orion so the symbolism of this ship and its link to the past really were everywhere.

Overall, it was a true "out of this world" experience. I was truly blessed and humbled by the experience. I would love to be invited back as resident chess master on board with Viking and thank them very much for this once in a lifetime opportunity.