TAKE A BOW CAPT KILTIE
Cruise chief’s wave of success after winning right to wear national dress
A ship’s captain is pushing the boat out for Scotland all over the world – after winning the right to wear the country’s national dress during receptions at sea.
Captain Derek Gray has been entertaining cruise passengers by hosting black tie receptions on the cruise ship Ventura in his Granite City kilt.
He’s the only one of 34 masters in the P&O line to sport tartan on formal nights.
Bosses at P&O floated a draft policy on staff dress code, which would have a llowed only non-uniformed crew to wear the kilt at formal occasions.
Derek, named after Scotland and Rangers str iker Derek Johnstone, told his superiors that this would be unfair.
The 40-year- old, of Chirnside in the Borders, said: “Fortunately, they agreed.
“And now that I’ve helped change the pol ic y, I am determined to wear my kilt whenever I can.”
His life on the ocean waves is shared with his wife Claire, 35, and the couple’s two-year- old son Dylan.
Their f loating mobile home is as long as 35 London buses end-to-end. Its 90,000bhp engines are as powerful as 190 Ferraris.
And it takes more than 3000 tons of paint to cover the ship – five times more than was used to paint the Eiffel Tower.
Derek’s career began as a teenage marine cadet in 1994. He wrote to every shipping line to get a start in the industry and oil giants Shell were happy to take him on.
Ventura is reg istered in Hamilton, Bermuda, and Derek has the power to per form weddings at sea. He said: “I carried out nine weddings in one two-week cruise.
“I always have a wee joke with the groom as we wait for the bride to arrive.
“I say to them: ‘Last chance mate, there’s a side door there if you want.’”
And that humour extends to his formal nights, shaking off the fuddy- duddy image of the grim chief in charge of the boat.
He said: “I’ve deliberately been responsible for a wee injection of fun at our departure parties.
“Everyone is on holiday, getting away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
“I write down a few gags but then I start to ad-lib – which is when everything starts to go wrong.
“Had we beaten England last week, I would have been up there, microphone in hand, belting out Doh a Deer and We’ll be Coming Down the Road. We were actually in Iceland the night they beat England in the European Championships.
“I had taken so much stick about Scotland not qualifying for the tournament, it was simply too good an opportunity to miss.
“At a reception on board, I started cracking all the jokes – how Joe Hart initially had his head in his hands, then he dropped it.
“I said I thought I heard an explosion and asked the audience if they thought it was an Icelandic volcano… or had another goal been scored in Nice?”
He admits he has a secret behind his tartan as his family colours are Royal Stewart.
Derek added: “My wife said it clashes with her outfits. All I am is an accessory, like shoes and a handbag.”
P& O Cruises senior v ice-president Paul Ludlow said: “We are delighted for Capt Gray to wear his kilt on formal night.”
I’ve deliberately been responsible for an injection of fun at our parties