Her original time of arrival back at Southampton was supposed to have been 0900 this morning but, because of the delays, was put back to 1215. Excellent, that meant I could get to Cowes and see her at a decent time without sacrificing a nice Sunday lie in!
It was a beautiful day and my friends Andrew and Donna Cooke were also at Cowes waiting for the ship, we all commented on how nice it was to be able to photograph a ship in the sunshine. With the birds singing and it feeling pleasant out of the slight breeze (the car thermometer read 13°C), you get the feeling that spring is not too far off and, as a hater of winter, I am very glad about that!
While we were waiting for Ruby to show up, I photographed Carisbrooke Shipping's Lisa-C which was on her way into Southampton.
Ruby was on time, unlike yesterday, and it was not long before she appeared from the east. Unfortunately, so did the WAFIs, doing their usual sorcerous appearing from seemingly nowhere. Honestly, it's like witchcraft. No or few yachts until a ship appears, then they suddenly materialise, their numbers quickly assuming plague-like proportions.
I took 400(!!) photos this morning but I can only use a few of them, so I took 27 which are all shown here. Even 27 seems extravagant but when you think that this ship won't be around this time next year it probably isn't.
That bloody yacht again...
It's quite a sharp turn into and out of Southampton Water and ships often take on a pronounced list
One can only hope that Saga Ruby's future is happier than that of the sister ship, Saga Rose, which ended up at Chinese breakers in 2010. Looking at this extremely pretty ship, it seems criminal to send her to the same fate.
