Queen Elizabeth set off on her maiden voyage on Tuesday, 12th October 2010, and I headed to East Cowes to see her go past - I'd watched Queen Mary 2 leave from Southampton on her first voyage in January 2004 although I'd missed Queen Victoria as I was working as a birdwatchers' tour guide in Ecuador at the time. Her departure was scheduled for 1700; I was listening to the Southampton VTS frequency in case of delays but she left on time. I got to East Cowes a bit early, just before 4pm, as I was half-expecting it to be busy down there with spectators and I was right, it was. If I'd got down there half an hour later, I wouldn't have been able to park - even the double yellow lines were taken. It was busier here than Town Quay in Southampton had been for her arrival. But no-one was jostling for position and it was a nice atmosphere.
The ship was escorted by Waverley, which had returned to the Solent for the occasion, Shieldhall, one of the Red Funnel car ferries (Red Eagle? I considered going on this special trip but decided that £30 was too much) and the usual array of small craft flotsam, most of which had thinned out by the time the ship reached the Solent.
The pics are a bit dark because the sun was setting and the light was going, although I managed to keep them from being blurred because I remembered to take a tripod with me. I haven't done too much to them as there's only so much Photoshopping you can do without ruining them! However, the weather co-operated and it was a lovely autumn evening so the pictures were better than they would have been if it'd been cloudy or wet.
Note: these are compressed versions of the originals and, as such, are not of such high quality.
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| Rounding Calshot |
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| The setting sun is reflected in her glass and paintwork |
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| Passing East Cowes |
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| Close up of forward superstructure and bow |
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| Watched by a collie, who appeared more interested in the ship than his owner did. If he is anything like my mum's collie he would probably be wanting to round the ship up and herd her somewhere! |
