Southampton Water, 30th June 2013

Had to go to the mainland today, via Southampton with the car, so I took the opportunity to grab a few photos, too. It was a nice warm sunny day, with clearing fog.

LS Anne, passing Cowes on her way in to Fawley. She was on a parallel course with us as we entered Southampton Water.

Other tankers at Fawley were Aframax River...

...and Baltic Mariner

This moronic yacht got right between us and Red Eagle this morning. We had to slow to a dead stop in order to give him the opportunity to get out the way. This is the type who gives WAFIs their name, he really was a Wind Assisted F**king Idiot.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen's Toreador was looking rather pale, her once bright red paint now faded to a washed-out pink.

The docks were busy with car carriers, as they always seem to be at weekends. Undine and Virgo Leader were at berths 39/40.

While Queen Victoria was in 46, which is the Ocean Cruise Terminal these days, with Höegh Shanghai in the opposite berth.

On the way home, NYK Orion was ahead of us, out in the Solent

And June is finally over. Good riddance to it!

Summer solstice ships

It's the summer solstice today, although the weather wasn't as summery as most (i.e. me) would have liked; a bit rainy, pretty murky and with not enough sun and too much cloud.

Hyundai Smart

Vega Stockholm

Hurst Point

There were plenty of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) about, flying close to the beach. I sometimes wonder if my interests in nature and in ships aren't contradictory but, then, thinking about it, they're not really.

Queen Elizabeth, Arcadia and Royal Princess

Royal Princess was sailing on her maiden voyage this evening, from Southampton to Barcelona and, at the time of writing, is not scheduled to return. Queen Elizabeth and Arcadia also sailed from Southampton this evening, on their respective cruises.

The Attack of the Clones. Or, Send in the Clones for those of a more peaceable nature.

The Deposed Queen

And, finally, the star of the show, the only 'royal baby' which interests me, Royal Princess, which departed on her maiden voyage to Barcelona this evening.

Ships from Hythe

I went to Hythe to take photos yesterday, 15th June, as a change from Cowes or even from Southampton itself. I caught the 1345 Red Jet over to Southampton and had a lively crossing of the Solent as it was very windy, with gusts of up to 31 mph at Calshot.
My friends Patricia, Kevin and Anthony were at Hythe, as was Christian, another member of our maritime Facebook group. Patsy and Kevin were waiting for me at the foot of the pier and we walked into Hythe for food before heading to the marina to meet Anthony and Christian.

Five cruise ships - Crystal Symphony, Independence of the Seas, Ventura, MSC Opera and Queen Victoria - were in and I was also lucky in that two OOCL container ships - OOCL Seoul and OOCL Kaohsiung - and a car carrier - Höegh Trove - were on the move during the afternoon.

The conditions for photography were highly variable with a great deal of dark clouds plus the odd sunny spell. The near-gale also made things difficult, as did the combination of white ships with a dark sky behind which played havoc with the exposures. It was also pretty cold at Hythe Marina.

OOCL Seoul was on her way out of the port...

...while OOCL Kaohsiung was arriving

Of the cruise ships, Independence of the Seas was first to depart, making a racket as she went.

Then it was the turn of MSC Opera

Queen Vicky was next

Then Ventura, which I'd so rudely ignored last week(!), left under increasingly-threatening skies, although it didn't rain.

Between Ventura and Crystal Symphony, Höegh Trove left with the assistance of tugs

And, finally, it was the turn of Crystal Symphony which, with the assistance of tugs, backed into the Itchen to turn.

I returned home on the 1945 Red Jet across an even bumpier Solent which made a fun ride home. I like it when it's bouncy and it's also amusing to see other passengers turn a bit green and utter stifled shrieks when we hit particularly large waves.

I visited Mum on the way home, but her condition hasn't changed. She's still on life support in the ICU.