The new Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth arrived in Southampton for the first time on 8th October 2010 so, as I can't resist a new ship - and a new Cunard one at that - I got up ridiculously early and caught the 0630 car ferry to Southampton to see her come in.The weather was very foggy and I doubt that any spectators on the island would have seen anything. The forecast was for murk and drizzle and, although the stars had been out at 0430 when I got up and let the dog out, it quickly clouded over again and, by the time I'd driven to East Cowes and parked the car it was very murky indeed and rather spooky in Columbine Road.
On arrival in Southampton, I could see that Ventura and Saga Pearl II (formerly Hammonia, Astor, Arkona, Astoria) were already in as was my friend from Tuesday, the woodchip carrier Anemona; indeed I'd seen SPII off Calshot as I was on the ferry still at East Cowes. I went straight round to Town Quay where, despite the still early hour and the poor forecast, people were gathering. The weather turned out not to be as bad as forecast, with the sun beginning to break through the fog and clouds. The people watching the ship arrive certainly didn't number in the 'thousands' as claimed in the media, although there were a few hundred in TQ and Mayflower plus around 100 at Hythe, according to my friend Patricia, of
Liner Lovers. To be honest, I was glad about this as there is nothing I hate more than having to jostle for position among loads of casual onlookers (who Patsy calls 'fairweathers', which is not an entirely unfair term!). I don't know if there were any more watching from the island or Stokes Bay but I doubt it as it was very foggy in the Solent and still dark as she was passing the island.
The BBC were there and I got interviewed but thankfully(!) my mugshot did not appear on their website although my interview did, in a very shortened form.
As I was chatting to a fellow onlooker, an elderly chap who has always visited Southampton to see the passenger ships,
Patsy texted me from Hythe to say the ship was visible from that side, as they have a better view down Southampton Water and at 0750 I could see Queen Elizabeth's funnel above Dock Head. The ship went past Town Quay (which still has that pain-in-the-neck fence at one end) and Mayflower Park to the Upper Swinging Ground where she'd turn and come back past before reversing into the Ocean
Bus Shelter Cruise Terminal and coming alongside around 0930.
Queen Elizabeth (I am not tempted to put QE3, ok, just a little) was escorted by the tugs Svitzer Sussex and Svitzer Surrey both giving a watery salute, plus there was a Blue Funnel cruise vessel which my friend Chris Brooks of
ShipFoto was on, a gin-palace type thing which was carrying members of the 'Sovereign Cruise Club' according to a banner on the side and two helicopters, one of which was filming for the BBC and pulling off some impressive moves.
Click on each photo for a larger size.
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| Sunrise over the Ocean Terminal |
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| Queen Elizabeth appears around Dock Head |
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| Passing Town Quay |
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| Heading to the Upper Swinging Ground |
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| Coming back down towards the Ocean Terminal from the Upper Swinging Ground |
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| Passing Mayflower Park |
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| Nearly back at Town Quay |
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| Close up |
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| About to turn and reverse into the Ocean Terminal |
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| Red Funnel proving they've not lost their aptitude for getting in the way of the photo! Actually the Red Jet adds a dash of colour to a scene washed out by mist and shooting into the light |
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| Backing into the Ocean Terminal |
Patsy came over to the Southampton side and joined me on TQ to watch the ship come back down from the Upper Swinging Ground and go alongside. Once it was all over, we went to Mayflower Park for some shots of Saga Pearl II and, in my case, also the container ship APL Poland, which was leaving. We did notice that, on the side of the Holiday Inn was a huge banner proclaiming the world was awaiting the arrival of Queen Elizabeth. I don't know about that, as I'm sure most of the nearly 7 billion people in the world probably have more pressing concerns, but it was a nice slogan.
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| 'The world awaits...' |
Once we'd done and seen all we wanted to in Southampton, we went over to Hythe because Patsy needed an old broken chest freezer removed and her and her dad couldn't do it for health reasons, so I said I'd come over and give them a hand. I'd never been on the Hythe ferry before, on my couple of visits that side in the past, I'd driven round from Southampton so it was a new experience. We caught the quaint little (and ancient!) electric train down the pier and then the bus to Butts Ash. Once I'd moved the freezer and me, Patsy and Kevin had a natter over a cup of tea, I caught the bus back to Hythe Pier and the ferry back over to Southampton.
Despite the ferry being crowded as it was by then a nice afternoon and people were wanting a look at the new arrival, I managed to get some shots of Queen Elizabeth in her berth.
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| From the Hythe ferry |
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| Queen Elizabeth shares the dock with a general cargo ship |
Because the Hythe ferry was running more than five minutes late I missed the 1300 ferry back to the island, so I killed some time going to the maritime museum. However, now you have to pay to get in. I don't begrudge paying but I've seen it all before, many times, so didn't bother. I did look at their little shop, though, as they used to sell nice bits and pieces featuring famous liners of the past. I say 'used to' as it is unfortunately now all Titanic stuff. 'Tat-anic' I suppose you could say.
Mentioning older ships, I took the photo below last time I was in Southampton. It is a photo of a photo which is hanging in Town Quay and shows the first Queen Elizabeth in Southampton Docks in the 1950s. I have no idea who took the original, or I'd credit it. Needless to say it wasn't me but if it's yours, please don't send me any bills for its use, I'll just remove it!
But here's a bit of 'compare and contrast':
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| A photo of a photo - the original Queen Elizabeth |
And there's the second Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2:
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| QE2 in the Solent, sometime in 1999 |
None of the Queen Elizabeths are any better than the others, just different. Although I will state a bias for the old QE2, but she's gone (although very missed by everyone) and the new ship, I'm sure, will become just as well-loved as the previous Queen Elizabeths in time, despite what some may say.
The 1400 ferry was very busy, just like a summer crossing, and the fact that it was sunny and very warm added to the illusion of summer. We were late leaving, and whether the fact an ambulance left the terminal with its siren and blue flashing lights on was anything to do with that, I don't know. Most probably it was, but it did give me an opportunity to photograph Anemona leaving.
I'll put 'the best of the rest', APL Poland, etc, in a separate post.
