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.
