Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines says former jockey and Grand National winner, Bob Champion MBE, will be joining its cruise enrichment programme, Vistas, as one of its ‘Sporting Personalities.’ Bob will be speaking about his amazing life, onboard Boudicca cruise D1202, a 35-night ex-UK voyage to the Caribbean and Cuba, departing from Southampton on 19 January 2012.
Born in Yorkshire in 1948, Bob became a leading jump jockey, whose most memorable victory was wining the Grand National in 1981. His triumph was all the more impressive because he had previously battled testicular cancer, and fought his way back to health. His victory, riding ‘Aldaniti’, has become the stuff of legend, and a film, ‘Champions,’ was made of his life, with John Hurt in the title role.
Following his own experience with cancer, Bob Champion set up ‘The Bob Champion Cancer Trust’ in 1981, and has since raised millions for cancer research; in 1982, he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
On this ‘Caribbean and Cuba’ cruise, the Atlantic crossing is broken by a call into the Canary Island of Tenerife, before Boudicca begins her odyssey of the Caribbean islands. Her ports of call are a roll call of idyllic destinations – the islands of Barbados and Curaçao, then Cartagena in Colombia, and Colon in Panama, before reaching Montego Bay on the colourful ‘reggae island’ of Jamaica. The next port is a highlight of the cruise – an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba, a port steeped in history and romance. Two more Caribbean islands complete this part of the itinerary – Turks and Caicos, and the tiny island of St. Maarten – before Boudicca begins her return voyage to Southampton, broken by a last call into Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
This cruise has a host of added attractions, in addition to its superb itinerary. Joining Bob Champion are three other renowned ‘Sporting Personalities’, ex-footballer and former Manager of both Spurs and Arsenal, Terry Neill, and the former darts champions, Keith Deller and Cliff Lazarenko, who will be entertaining guests throughout this cruise, the company said.
