RIP Nigel Triffitt (aka Dogster)

Many of you who have frequented these boards and Azamara cruises will recall dogster's frequent and often snarky postings, including the blogs Death by Azamara and the Azamara Army. I had the pleasure of befriending Nigel on a cruise from Dubai to Singapore in December 2010 (and thankfully his blogs stopped just before we met or I may have been immortalized in one of his chapters), and over the course of the 12 days shared several bottles of wine and many wonderful conversations with him. Sadly, we only kept in touch sporadically, and while searching for his writings to share with a friend, I discovered that he passed away on July 20.

I thought that those of you who have also had the pleasure of sharing a voyage with Nigel would want to know of his passing.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/when-a-fitter-and-turner-met-an-eccentric-theatrical-type-magic-followed/story-e6frg8n6-1226438895126

I wondered when I would see another Dogster posting. Sadly there will be no more.

Thank you for sharing your information.

I met Nigel on Quest last November when he was in the middle of some b2bs. I would often see him as I passed by the smoking area with the other "lepers" as he put it. Had a good chat to him at the bar one evening and he certainly was quite a character and an interesting guy to talk to. Thanks for posting here and letting us know the sad news.

Phil

I just went and had a read of Azamara Army and Death by Azamara as I didn't know about them or indeed his blog and posting history here. Absolutely hilarious. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of them.

Phil

I just went and had a read of Azamara Army and Death by Azamara as I didn't know about them or indeed his blog and posting history here. Absolutely hilarious. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of them.

 

Phil

I remember his priceless posts and always hoped one day he would be aboard with us, sorry to read of this sad news

I saw this on Fodors. Its very sad. :(. My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting him last yr. on the Connie. I could say many things but perhaps the best thing to say is he left such an impression that even after only one face to face I feel like I've lost a friend. It takes a special person to make such an impression and he truly was very special.

I was really interested in reading some of the replies to the blog on the Azamara board that Nigel posted. Wish I'd known about them when I met him in person. Far from being pretentious he was extremely perceptive and not hung up on the politically correct stuff that seems to invade our lives so much now. He was also very generous in the praise of some you'd not necessarily heap praise upon. He could sniff out the stuff a mile off! No interest in telling me about his past life either except that it afforded him the ability to travel on his cruises. And the thought of sitting at the Captain's table filled him with mirth. Refreshing.

Phil

we also met Nigel on the Quest december 2010 and we were on the Quest last July where we met people who also met him

Very very said, he was a very interesesting person

Annelies and Fred

I never met Dogster but I did read some of his musings here. You had to be quick as often they went poof! He wrote with a perceptive eye and a witty tongue which resulted in some hilarious stories. Death by Azamara and The Azamara Army are classics. I googled him just now and learned that his birthday would be tomorrow. He almost made it to 63 years. Too young to say farewell.

Does anyone know if he was on the Quest in November 2011?

I sat at a table with a very interesting chap one morning during that sailing. He told me how he was on the way to Asia somewhere to spend 2 months in a temple with the monks. He was an interesting fellow...

I didn't catch his name, but for some reason, that encounter has remained with me, and I have thought about that guy now and again, wondering how his trip went.

He also said something about working in the "Arts".

Funny in life, how we meet so many but some just stand out.

Blessings to the departed.

Does anyone know if he was on the Quest in November 2011?

I sat at a table with a very interesting chap one morning during that sailing. He told me how he was on the way to Asia somewhere to spend 2 months in a temple with the monks. He was an interesting fellow...

I didn't catch his name, but for some reason, that encounter has remained with me, and I have thought about that guy now and again, wondering how his trip went.

He also said something about working in the "Arts".

Funny in life, how we meet so many but some just stand out.

 

Blessings to the departed.

Yes, that was him I'm pretty sure. I was on Quest in November 2011 and he said something to me about staying in Asia. I usually get a little bored with reading blogs because my attention span is poor, but I continued reading Death by Azamara this morning for my laugh to start the day.

Phil

Farewell and fare thee well you old dog!

We had many interesting conversations both on and off the various boards.

His descriptif of Elvira on the quest really caught us all as DD had a similar run in!

Fodorites will be heartbroken.

We had the pleasure of meeting this incisive, artistic, interesting and generous individual - and we mean 'individual' - man on Quest, December 2010. We're so sad to hear of his passing - but are pleased we can still enjoy his writings. We've just discovered 'Death by Azamara' - classic!!

Gwenn & Ian (fellow Aussies)