BIOGRAPHY: CAPTAIN REIDULF MAALEN

Tustna is near one of the busiest shipping lanes on the Norwegian west coast. My family's farm overlooked this area and the ships sailing up and down the coast of Norway would pass right in front of my house. As a small boy I would sit and watch and wait and wonder ... I was mesmerized by the lights on the ships, when they passed by at night, and I often thought, "What was going on behind them?" "Where were they sailing too?" and what types of people were sailing on them?

Those lights would fuel my imagination, and that imagination ran wild! My thoughts would always turn to the romance of the sea! This childhood curiosity led me to my path in life and to being a Sea Captain.

I went to sea at the age fifteen.

I actually though, made the decision at a much earlier stage. I was 12 years old, my father and I were on a hike, when he asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. When I told him that I wanted to go to sea, he changed the subject. He probably thought (or perhaps hoped) that I would change my mind. We didn't talk about it again until I was fourteen, when my Father and Mother sprung the question on me. I remembered my answer so well, I said, "I have already told you that, why are you asking me again?"

After a few months training at Croftholmen Maritime Training Center, I landed a job as deckhand on a Norwegian freighter with a company called Fred. Olsen.

A few years went by and I wanted to experience parts of the world where Fred. Olsen had no ships and therefore switched to a company called A. F. Klaveness & Co. I paid my dues and went through all the ranks, including Bosun and Carpenter in a relatively short time.

I found that I enjoyed the camaraderie on board, the exotic ports we sailed to, and last, but not least, the wonderful days at sea. It was a discovering time. I was not a boy any longer, but not yet a man. In the exotic ports I learned of new lands and foreign people but during the long sea days I learned about myself. What I learned from the many days at sea was that I would be happiest with a life at sea. It was at this time that a life long decision would be made.

My life was to be at sea. I enrolled in the Nautical College in Kristiansund , Norway.

Graduation came and went and I returned to A. F. Klaveness & Co, (which incidentally was one of the parent companies of Royal Viking Line) as Second Officer on a dry cargo ship, M/S Libreville -- my first assignment as an officer. The next few years had me sailing on a variety of freighters all over the world. When I think back to those years on freighters and compare it to what I am doing today, I have certainly learned that talking with people is far more interesting than having a conversation with cargo!

When the Norwegian oil boom started in the North Sea in the late 60's, my curiosity for this new adventure made me transfer to an offshore oilrig in 1975. Interesting, but life on an oilrig was not as exciting as traveling from port to port. An oilrig was not going anywhere and my wanderlust made me make yet another move. I started to think that like the oilrigs, my life my career was going no where.

During my time on the oil rig I became fascinated with the supply ships that were not only bringing the supplies needed for the daily operation of the oilrig, but they would also play a pivotal role in assisting with the anchors when the oilrig had to be moved to a different drilling location. This took place sometimes under extreme weather conditions. It appeared to be a tremendous challenge and I thought, "This is something for me". I got a job as a Chief Officer and later served as Master on various supply ships and diving support vessels in various areas of the world.

The most vivid memory of my time working in the offshore oil industry was an incident that happened in April 1980. An accommodation platform with 212 persons on board capsized in extremely rough seas on the Ekofisk Oil Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. My ship was very close to the scene and we immediately joined the search and rescue operation. Under extremely difficult conditions we were able to pull 6 men out of the deadly grip of the icy water in the North Sea. The disaster, that took 123 lives, is still considered one of the largest in the offshore oil industry.

My destiny must have required that I be there, as this event shaped my views to the safety and well being of my passengers, officers, staff and crew. It is and will always be paramount, and my utmost responsibility and concern.

After a few years my feet started to itch again! I knew this was the time to fulfill my childhood dream and in July 1981 I landed a job as a First Officer with the most prestigious cruise line in the world at that time, Royal Viking Line. From the moment I walked up the gangway of the Royal Viking Star that sunny day in Copenhagen, I knew I had found my niche. The timing was perfect, because I was soon promoted to Chief Officer and shortly thereafter to Staff Captain.

My first command of a cruise ship came in 1986 when I had to assume the position as Master on the Royal Viking Star on just 2 hours notice.

A couple of years later I was approached by the parent company of Royal Viking line, offering me a position as Port Captain for the line's fleet, headquartered in Miami. I took the challenge. To see the operation from a totally different angle was good experience and the knowledge gained- very helpful later on in my career.

In 1988, rumors started to emerge that a major Japanese shipping company had plans to enter the cruise arena. At the very beginning of 1989 I was approached by the then newly established Crystal Cruises and was offered a position as Captain/Marine Superintendent of this new and exciting line. To me this was a tremendous challenge which I accepted - the chance to be part of the start-up team for a cruise line does not come around very often. I was extremely proud and honored to be member of a team that consisted of the finest professionals in the cruise industry.

The time period that led up to the launch of Crystal Harmony will forever be the most fascinating era of my professional life. Starting, more or less, from scratch to put together the finest cruise product in the world, which includes anything from developing operations manuals to menu tasting is extremely rewarding.

After a few years, alternating between the position on land and Master of Crystal Harmony, the lure of the sea again became too strong and I decided to return back to sea full time. In 2002 the ultimate honor was bestowed on me when Crystal Cruises announced that I was chosen to be the inaugural Master of the new 68,000-ton marvel, the beautiful Crystal Serenity. The christening took place in July of 2003 and I must admit, when I was there on the podium with Julie Andrews, NYK and Crystal's top executives, I asked myself "Is this really you?" It was the proudest moment of my life; I was at the helm of the most luxurious and elegant cruise vessel in the world.

Captain Maalen and Dame Julie Andrews

As we cruise through life, we frequently get to crossroads -- in nautical terms we call it way points- where one decides the proper course to follow.

In 2006, after 25 exciting years in cruising I again felt the urge to pursue another dream that I had had for some time. Namely, commanding a mega yacht in the fast growing yachting industry. Yachting represented a new challenge for me and I was ready to take it on.

In the summer of 2006 I became Captain on one of the most prestigious yachts in the world. A 64 meter wonder and the first yacht designed by the world renowned designer Phillip Stark and built by Feadship. My extensive background from 6 star cruise ships with multinational crew certainly proved to be an advantage in my new assignment. Not having a shore side organization to lean to, I came to terms with what the phrase “The buck stops here” means. It was a great assignment and I really enjoyed the job, but the time away from my family became more and more difficult. In May 2010 I decided to call it quits and enjoy family life at home a little more.

It turned out that my time of running idle would not last that long. A long time friend of mine, President of Cruise West, approached me about an assignment on an expedition cruise ship, Spirit of Oceanus. The cruises I would do would take us through Norway, Baltic, British Isles, across to Iceland, Greenland and ending up in New Foundland. The call of the sea once again appeared, and in early July 2010 I was back cruising again. The experience on this small, intimate, but luxurious vessel was very different from what I was used to from my past years in large vessel cruising. It did not take me long though, to adjust and enjoy this type of intimate, up close cruising.

My assignment on Spirit of Oceanus ended in September 2010. Another chapter of my cruising adventure came to a close.

What is in store for the future? Well, time will tell!