By Nora Vasconcelos
If you happen to cross paths with Captain Johnny Faevelan, probably you’ll see him listening carefully to somebody, either a crew member or a guest enjoying a vacation of a lifetime on the largest cruise ship in the world, the Allure of the Seas.
Attentive to details, he smiles often, and this is how, the Norwich author, Arvid Møller, portraits him in his book The Captain Johnny Faevelen. The fisherman who became captain of one of the World’s largest cruise ships.
Møller has written several biographical, and when he came up with the idea of talking about the life of a captain of a cruise ship, he reached for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Then, the name of Captain Johnny was suggested.
So that, the journey begins in 2002, when, Møller is on board of the Adventure of the Seas, at that time the largest in the world. While traveling in the Caribbean, from St. Martin to St. Thomas, the story goes back up to the time when Captain Johnny was a little boy living in Norway, where he learned from his father the secrets of trawling for shrimp. His love for the Sea has been constant ever since.
As he grew up, it was only natural for him to explore sailing opportunities faraway from home, this gave him not only the chance to see the world, but to make new friends and confirmed, one more time, that he wanted to spend his life traveling the world on a ship.
Several years later, Captain Johnny finished his formal studies and started working for a cruise line, from there, he climbed several positions up to the point when he was made captain of his own ship at the age of 38. However, during all that time, he always valued the lessons and experiences that he gained during his years as a fisherman.
Now, twelve years after the book was published, Captain Johnny remains the same, generous with his time, kind to the people and firm when it’s needed, as the safety of the people onboard is his highest priority.
