tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1467316591842443272024-03-13T17:40:20.015+00:00Ship-PhotoShip-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-979768724985076632014-05-19T11:09:00.000+01:002014-05-19T14:16:35.262+01:00ChangesI am going to close this blog - although it won't be deleted, it just won't be updated after today - and perhaps my Twitter account, too, and just post to my Flickr and Facebook pages (links to these are at the top of the page) and website. With Twitter, this blog, the website, Flickr and my Facebook page, it's overkill and has got <strike>a little</strike> completely out of hand. After a few hours out photographing, I spend as much, if not more, time posting to the internet! I've got other hobbies and interests also competing for time and, as well as that, I am going back to work at the beginning of June and won't have as much time to look after all my sites.<br />
If I start another blog (never say never) it will be on the Wordpress platform, same as the website, and fully integrated with that website, rather than hosted separately.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-14801676983206812552014-05-17T20:17:00.003+01:002014-05-17T21:07:21.720+01:00In high placesPhotos from Culver Down last week. Click for largest size.<br />
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I was going to go to Portsmouth for the departure of Voyager at 1500, then to Cowes for the departures of the six cruise ships in Southampton today. In the end, I didn't bother with either and watched the (very entertaining) FA Cup Final instead, because of feeling ill (I strongly suspect a recurrence of a liver problem from just over three years ago so off the booze for a bit).Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-36394836933760752532014-05-11T14:26:00.000+01:002014-05-12T21:41:45.193+01:00Three Queens, Southampton, 9th May 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On 9th May 2014, Cunard's three 'Queen' cruise ships were all in Southampton together with the latest occasion being Queen Mary 2's tenth anniversary celebrations. They arrived in the very early morning, passing Cowes at the uncivilised hour of 0350, before arriving at Southampton. I saw on Southampton VTS that Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth would be facing each other on 38/39 and 40 so I decided to go over because this would be a unique shot...sadly not as it turned out. I didn't realise this was only temporary for the arrival photos and, by the time I got to Southampton, Queen Victoria was at the City terminal (berth 101) and, worse, starboard side to.<br />
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Conditions in the Solent were rough, with gale-force winds and choppy seas, which made for a nice bumpy crossing. Sister ship Red Falcon, complete with her new enhancements, passed us on her way to East Cowes.<br />
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(N.B. The full-size photos are mostly larger than usual, 1500 x 1000, so you need to click on them for the largest. I am also not posting all of them, so please go to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/solentships/" target="_blank">my Flickr page</a> if you want to see them all) <br />
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Cruise ship Rotterdam was in Southampton Water, having sailed at 1100. Her visit was just a fleeting one as Holland America ships never hang around for very long. Because of the gale, it was hard to stand up properly out on deck and even harder to hold the camera steady, so the Rotterdam photos are not among the best I've ever taken.<br />
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On arrival in Southampton, it was evident that the Queen ships were not well placed for photography. Queen Elizabeth was okay, as she was at the QEII terminal facing down Southampton Water - good for travellers to and from the Isle of Wight (one thing in our favour!) but not so good for those on the Southampton side - Queen Mary 2 was bow in at the Ocean Cruise Terminal, which was disappointing because it meant there were no good opportunities for a photo of her at all and she was the reason for all the fuss, and Queen Victoria was starboard side to at the City Cruise Terminal, berth 101, so with her back to everyone.<br />
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I walked down through the car parks towards Dock Gates 4 and 5 and, as I got to the new Dock Gate 5 (open but still under construction) I decided to try it on and slip past the security guard to see if I could get some decent photos without great big fences or cars in the way. I have to give it to him, he was quick even though he was also dealing with some other passers-by attempting the same. As the ensuing conversation went exactly as I expected it would (<i>Him: 'Can I help you'; Me, playing the dumb tourist: 'I want to get a
photo'; Him: 'No chance mate, go to Town Quay. Do you know where it is?'; Me: 'No problem'</i>) , I didn't pursue it further, there was no point and I know better than that, and walked back to Town Quay.<br />
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I headed back towards Town Quay and ran into my friend Slinky-Dave Shepherd and his mum, who were in Southampton for the event. They were doing a boat trip at 1530 from Ocean Village and asked me if I was going along. I said no, assuming the trips were sold out as I'd not previously booked one, hoping I'd be working instead. However, SDS's mum showed me Blue Funnel's phone number so I gave them a ring, they had plenty of spaces and I duly found myself on a boat trip round the docks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something's happened to the colour rendition here. It looks fine elsewhere. Odd.</td></tr>
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The boat trip finished a little late, 1640 instead of 1630, so I hurried for the 1700 Red Funnel back to the island. In fact, I ended up having to run and made it onboard Red Falcon just before her engines started. Two days later, I am paying for running through Southampton as my knees are killing me!<br />
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Last but not least, I got back to East Cowes as Arcadia was rounding Calshot. If ships really do have a soul and can think, as some of the more romantic claim (and I am not completely immune to that way of thinking myself), I wonder what she makes of the three Queens and it being their day, considering she was originally supposed to be Queen Victoria?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[<i>rant ahead</i>]The day didn't get off to a good start, I found
out that a job one of the employment agencies told me they were sending
me to had fallen through so, instead of several weeks of paid
employment, I'm "looking forward" to yet more weekday boredom and no
money - and all my efforts at getting a permanent job have fallen onto
stony ground. Added to which, having decided to take the vehicle ferry
when I got to East Cowes for photography purposes as Holland America's
Rotterdam was sailing at 1100, I found the free car park was mostly
closed off with the remaining spaces all taken. Ten minutes and a tirade
of f-words later I eventually found a space miles away, which was not
ideal and meant I needed to hurry for the ferry. All in all I wasn't a
happy person by the time I got on the ferry and was beginning to wish I
hadn't bothered! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It also meant that I decided not to stay in
Southampton for the fireworks and sailings later in the evening because I
didn't fancy a longish walk through the town at night. This three
Queens event was characterised by rubbish arrival and
departure times. 2130 onwards is not good, especially for us islanders,
and
the arrivals were worse, bearing in mind there are no ferries before
0545 from the island. So that, along with Red Funnel's crappy timetable,
meant island residents were unable to make the best out of the event.
Plus there's the photography issue. Fireworks are
all very nice and modern DSLRs have excellent low-light performance but
photographers want good light for photos, not the dark. Red
Funnel were doing a special event cruise from Southampton, using the Red
Falcon, but, at £25 plus another £15.20 to get to
Southampton and home for us IoW residents, that was not a happening
thing as far as I was concerned. That, and the work situation, is making
me think even more about 'de-islanding' myself and moving back to the
mainland because I'm increasingly sick of crap timetables, adding at
least an hour onto journeys and, especially, paying through the nose to
get off the bloody place, even for a day out [<i>rant over</i>].</span>Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-53026929325047663012014-05-04T17:11:00.003+01:002014-05-04T17:55:12.516+01:00May the Fourth be with youAn impromptu family gathering in Southampton yielded a few photos from Mayflower Park.<br />
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Adventure of the Seas. This impressed my nephews, who now want to go on a cruise. They'd better ask their mum (my sister) about that...<br />
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Oriana<br />
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Smit Buffalo<br />
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And, back at Town Quay, Red Jet 5<br />
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I used the 70D for the majority of these shots, apart from Oriana and the top Adventure of the Seas pic. The quality from this camera is superb, not quite as good as the full frame 6D (no surprise) but still excellent.<br />
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Happy Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you. Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-53620077143290639702014-04-23T19:48:00.002+01:002014-04-23T19:57:25.466+01:00St George's Day shipsIt's been two weeks since I got home from my trip Down Under (a few more photos from there will be added in due course) and I've been largely holed up at home, suffering the duel afflictions of Being Skint - which is closely allied with the one called Out Of Work - and Post-trip Blues.<br />
In an attempt to banish the latter affliction I decided to nip over to Portsmouth to photograph Cap Finistere, which I had only distant photos of, and Etretat, the former Norman Voyager, which entered service with Brittany Ferries while I was away. The forecast was crap but bugger it, it was high time I left the house. I also arranged to meet my friend Slinky-Dave, which gave me the opportunity to give him back his hoody and tripod bag he left in my car after that ill-fated Tilbury trip last October.<br />
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I know that these ships are probably <i>chapeau ancienne</i> to most locals but, distant views of both (Etretat in her former guise) aside, they aren't to me.<br />
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First up was St. Faith<br />
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Then Cap Finistere<br />
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Etretat was not far behind<br />
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At least Etretat's wavy blue hull (left from her LD Lines days) makes a change from the largely - boring - white that ferry companies, and cruise lines, tend to go in for these days.<br />
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The rain at least had the manners to hold off until we'd got our photos.<br />
<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-39169631783669878112014-04-20T15:47:00.001+01:002014-04-20T15:47:45.569+01:00Australian National Maritime MuseumWhile in Sydney, I visited the Australian National Maritime Museum, located at Darling Harbour. It was a filthy day and, while I was there, there was a colossal thunderstorm which caused flash floods in and around the area. By then, I'd seen all I wanted to but stayed put until the worst of the rain had stopped, lurking in the shop. The shop had a decent selection of books and some pretty good ship models too but I refrained from buying any because of budgetary restraints as well as considering the fact there was a possibility my baggage could end up exceeding the airline's restrictions (Malaysia Airlines only allow 20 kg of checked bags and a measly 7 kg of carry-on luggage if you're in steerage class).<br />
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I paid $27 to go in, which allowed you to visit the ships they had on display, including HMAS Vampire, a Daring-class destroyer, and HMAS Onslow, an Oberon-class submarine (if that sounds familiar, the Royal Navy had Oberon-class subs until the 1990s).<br />
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I visited HMAS Vampire first, because there were some threatening clouds coming in from the Pacific Ocean so visiting the ships first then heading inside looked like the best option.<br />
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Other ships<br />
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A few of the inside exhibits<br />
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A model of SS Orcades <br />
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Surfing - Australia is one of the word's foremost surfing locations.<br />
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A former RAN helicopter <br />
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<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-46722198647937570412014-04-13T13:07:00.000+01:002014-04-13T13:34:28.846+01:00Newcastle, NSWDuring my time in Australia, I went up the coast to the port of Newcastle for a couple of days, which, like its namesake UK counterpart once was (although the Port of Tyne is still a major UK port, handling other types of bulk cargoes among other things), is an export port for coal - in fact it's the world's biggest coal exporting port, exporting coal mined in the Hunter Valley - so there are a lot of bulk carriers in and out.<br />
Newcastle is 101 miles north of Sydney and is an easy train ride (just under three hours and no changes) from Sydney Central Station. From there, you can walk straight to the waterfront and see the berths and anything on the move, which will come straight past you.<br />
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Unfortunately the weather was a bit overcast and grey, although at least it only rained a little, with some drizzle early one afternoon. <br />
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Here's a Google map of the spots I took photos from, which might be useful to anyone visiting the area. You can click on the map and move it around within its window, or you can open a larger version.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=208714529656975794896.0004f6eac377b798fc784&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=-32.919061,151.784599&spn=0.012716,0.013518&output=embed" width="425"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<small>View <a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=208714529656975794896.0004f6eac377b798fc784&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=-32.919061,151.784599&spn=0.012716,0.013518&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Newcastle NSW ship photography spots</a> in a larger map</small></div>
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Photos of some of the ships alongside, which were taken from the Stockton side of the Hunter River<br />
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Hanjin Hinase<br />
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Ikan Belanak
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Kirribilli
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Ocean Clarion
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As I was walking back to the ferry, I noticed three tugs on the move towards the river mouth, which meant something had to be coming in.<br />
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Svitzer Hamilton <br />
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Svitzer Myall<br />
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Wickham<br />
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Bulk carrier Kaiyo was the one coming in, presumably to collect coal for Japan or China.<br />
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Later that afternoon another bulk carrier, Shoyo, departed from the port for Japan. After a bit of a wait (it's annoying not using my mobile to look at Marine Traffic, among other things, in Australia but the data charges outside the EU are extortionate) I photographed this one from the Newcastle side, from the 'Nobby's Beach Reserve', an area of sand dunes near the river entrance as she headed for the South Pacific Ocean.<br />
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One miscellaneous item that I nearly forgot was the local dredger David Allan<br />
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That was it for Newcastle. I wasn't staying long, as I had things to go to elsewhere in Sydney and western NSW, and headed back on the train the following morning. I wasn't expecting to see much but it was more productive than I thought it was going to be. There were further ship movements but they were in the evening or early hours.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-35707200651036866012014-04-10T21:20:00.000+01:002014-04-10T21:20:26.048+01:00Cruise ships at SydneyIn March I went to Australia for a three week trip. It wasn't a ship spotting or photography trip but there were some to photograph and, frankly, it would have been rude not to. As well as the cruise ships and ferries at Sydney, I also went up the NSW coast to the port of Newcastle for a couple of days and photographed the bulk carriers, and tugs, using the port.
First, here are the cruise ships I saw. The bulk carriers, tugs and ferries will be in separate posts.<br />
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Here's Sun Princess departing from Sydney in the late afternoon on 20th March. I'd literally arrived in Australia that afternoon but decided not to give in to jet lag. I photographed her against the light on a very sunny, hot, afternoon, hence the contrast. Not among my better photos but I didn't have much choice, really, as I was using the Opera House as my vantage point. The Opera House, by the way, is a great place to watch the ships in the harbour.<br />
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The following day, I photographed Carnival Spirit alongside Circular Quay...</div>
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...and departing in the early evening<br />
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...but, before Carnival Spirit left the port, Pacific Pearl had sailed<br />
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Rhapsody of the Seas on 28th March<br />
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And Pacific Jewel, photographed from the fast ferry Shane Gould as we sailed into Darling Harbour (I'd done a trip to Cockatoo Island earlier).<br />
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<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-16275995652977082582014-02-23T15:22:00.000+00:002014-04-11T09:07:14.364+01:00Southampton Ship ShowA few weeks ago, I found out the Ocean Liner Society was holding a 'ship show' at the Novotel in Southampton on February 22nd. They'd always held a show in London, I'd last gone to that one in 2003, but stopped doing them because it became economically unviable to do so, at least so I heard. Having not been to one of their shows for years - the recent South Coast Ship Show in November was not one of theirs - I decided to go along, which I duly did yesterday morning.<br />
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The Novotel is a twenty minute walk along West Quay Road from Town Quay, which is no problem on a day like yesterday, which was spring-like and pleasant, unlike the terrible hurricane-force storm - the latest and worst in a series which had battered the southern half of the country in recent weeks - we had a week ago, which destroyed parts of the Isle of Wight (including homes) and dumped even more water on the already saturated south of England.<br />
I didn't take a camera with me simply because I have a recurrence of a shoulder injury sustained after a fall at home late last year and lugging a DSLR and lens(es) to and around the show and back didn't appeal. As it was, there was not much on the move. So, it's going to be a bit wordy but light on pictures I'm afraid.<br />
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As well as the vendors and exhibits, there were two talks, both of which I went to. The first one was by Ron Hancock, the Port of Southampton ambassador, who spoke about 175 years of Southampton Docks with obscure facts and personal reminiscences. For example, after a terrible series of storms which battered southern England - much the same as we've had from Christmas until last week - Brunel's Great Eastern called at Southampton to offload the dead and injured. William Whiting wrote '<i>Eternal Father Strong To Save</i>' in Southampton after watching people being brought ashore from the ship, which had anchored near to what is now the oil terminal at Fawley. One was a friend of his, the ship's captain, who had survived the storm but drowned when the boat carrying him from the ship to the docks capsized and sank in Southampton Water.<br />
The hymn is used the world over, being adopted by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy and also used by NASA and various air forces, with the lyrics adapted to suit.<br />
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During World War One a.k.a. 'The Great War', 850,000 horses passed through Southampton Docks but, tragically, less than 50,000 returned. A truly horrific statistic of a horrific conflict. The war started a hundred years ago but that really got me - and before anyone rolls their eyes, I know the human sacrifice in this completely pointless war was bad but it's been well-documented in the 96 years since the Armistice, while the animal sacrifice has been, largely, forgotten. Being an animal lover, this particularly appalled me...I cannot bring myself to watch <i>War Horse</i>, I know I'd be a blubbering wreck long before the end.<br />
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Ron's talk was excellent and it's good to know that Southampton Docks have a bright future, and it is now one of the most productive ports in Europe. <br />
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The second talk, and the one I was really looking forward to, was by the designer of Queen Mary 2, Dr. Stephen Payne, who gave an entertaining and interesting talk entitled '<i>Genesis of a Queen <span class="style120">
10 years on: would I have done anything differently?</span></i>', about how he designed Queen Mary 2. His interest in liners was fostered at the age of five, by the BBC TV programme Blue Peter in 1965, when Valerie Singleton did a cross-Channel trip from Cherbourg to Southampton aboard Queen Elizabeth. In January 1972, the ship burned and sank, a victim of arsonists, in Hong Kong harbour, which was shown live via satellite on the show. The ship was featured in the Blue Peter annual later that year (I also got the Blue Peter annual every Christmas when I was a small kid in the 70s) and Stephen was put out by the article stating that no ship like that would ever be built again, so he wrote a letter of complaint, which got him a blue Blue Peter badge.<br />
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The story of how he came to design the ship as a liner and not just a cruise ship was interesting. They had to overcome the ship yard's 40% construction premium (a result of the much thicker steel used and higher criteria for) and, because of this, Stephen then had to increase the ship's passenger capacity to help make up for the 40% extra cost. He covered design, construction and sea trials. An amusing snippet to emerge was that one of the publicity shots of the ship, showing her bulbous bow, had to be doctored because, apparently, the Americans considered the bulbous bow to be 'obscene'! I couldn't believe my ears. Seriously?! I know the Americans as a nation are notoriously prudish but this is prudishness taken to new levels. It's bordering on insanity and completely moronic.<br />
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Anyway, it was a very entertaining and informative talk and, afterwards, myself and my friends Andrew, Vitor and Christian had books signed by him and our photo taken with him. I am not a shy person but I suddenly found myself a bit tongue-tied and could only mumble something about how I'd travelled on QM2 once, hoped to go on her again and how superb she is! It was as if I'd met Iron Maiden, Motörhead or Anthrax when I was a kid back in the 80s (I was a metalhead - I still am!).<br />
Commodore Ron Warwick was also there and he also signed my copy of Stephen's QM2 book. I have to admit I was nervous about approaching him because, when I was a ship-obsessed teenager back in the 80s, the Commodore was a bit of a hero to me, and I thought he'd be a bit austere and unapproachable but he was friendly and made a couple of jokes as he signed the book.<br />
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There were plenty of stalls selling loads of ship-related goodies and books to part you from your hard-earned. I knew there'd be model dealers there, so I went with the sole intention of buying one or two for my collection and bought one of Hamburg Express, one of the big new 13,200 TEU monsters (funnily enough I saw her passing the forts in the Solent last Sunday) and one of Queen Victoria. I would have got more but it's easy to go mad and spend too much. There weren't any ferries I wanted, and no more container ships, and some of the other cruise ships and liners were even more expensive. <br />
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It was an excellent show and, as I am a confirmed southerner and therefore completely biased, I think Southampton, with its rich shipping history, is the perfect place for the Ocean Liner Society's Ship Show, I really hope they are back next year.<br />
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Hamburg Express in model form <br />
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And in the Solent last week<br />
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Queen Victoria as a model </div>
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And the real thing, as seen last year in Southampton<br />
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And my entire 1:1250 collection (I have others, but they're all sorts of sizes and quality) lined up on the dining room table. I need a proper home for these, rather then the top of a book case, because they're potential victims of dust and the cats (one furry fiend has already broken the fore mast off the Queen Elizabeth, which I have had to glue back on - I know it was a cat because telltale hairs were left at the scene of the crime!)<br />
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<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-49112627106040350852014-01-18T20:50:00.001+00:002014-01-19T14:28:46.418+00:00Other ships from last weekHere are some of the other ships I saw last week. I didn't photograph many of them simply because it was dark and, occasionally, raining.<br />
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CMA CGM Marco Polo, in the Solent, just off Cowes. Photographed from Red Osprey.<br />
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Hyundai Speed is on her way in to Southampton as CMA CGM Marco Polo leaves the Solent<br />
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Small container ship Aurora at Rotterdam, seen from Norwegian Getaway<br />
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Dettifoss inward on the New Waterway on Monday evening.<br />
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The following morning, at Southampton:<br />
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Black Watch<br />
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Cornelis Zanen<br />
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Eurocargo Salerno<br />
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Hartland Point<br />
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NYK Virgo departing Southampton<br />
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And that's it for a few weeks, unless something crops up in the meantime. I am back at work now for 8 weeks until I go to Australia on an astronomy/birdwatching trip (with ship-spotting thrown in for good measure!) in mid-March, although there is the <a href="http://www.ocean-liner-society.com/Ship%20Show.htm" target="_blank">Ocean Liner Society's Ship Show</a> in Southampton on 22 February.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-88661705484348670442014-01-17T15:43:00.003+00:002014-01-17T19:42:48.884+00:00Making a GetawayBack in October, me and my friend Patricia booked a trip on Norwegian Cruise Line's new Norwegian Getaway, sister to Norwegian Breakaway. While Breakaway appeared in April, Getaway's debut on the world stage was due to happen in the rather less clement month of January.<br />
To cut a long story short, me and Patsy arranged to meet at Town Quay, Southampton, before heading to the airport to fly to Amsterdam where we travelled on to Rotterdam. We stayed overnight in a hotel near the cruise terminal and joined Getaway the following day, January 13th.<br />
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This post will be just photos of the ship. Subsequent posts will show some of her interiors as well as the other ships I saw (not many, because of the long hours of darkness at this time of year).<br />
On the morning of the 13th, we got up at the hideous hour of 0400 and walked across the Erasmus Bridge to watch the ship dock after a one-night cruise into the North Sea. As PD will no doubt remind me on Facebook later, I whinged about stupid o'clock excursions and the fact that it was cold enough to freeze spherical objects off alloy simians, but it was worth it when I look at my photos which came out pretty well.<br />
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Later that morning, on our way to the terminal, we stopped on Erasmusbrug again for photos of the ship in daylight, where we could see her gaudy hull art in all its glory. Personally, I quite like it on the ship (although it would not be the sort of thing I'd hang on the walls here at home) and it certainly livens up what would be yet another boring white cruise ship. Traditionalists may splutter into their beards about both the art and the ship's looks, but I think she looks great and I love her. <br />
The Butlins-at-sea on the uppermost deck is a bit crap, as is the shite pop music (One Direction, Maroon Five, etc. - and I only know who they are thanks to being subjected to local commercial radio at work! Luckily I had brought my iPod with me.) blasting from the speakers, but this is easily avoided by not going up there and the rest of the ship, inside and out, is superb.<br />
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Obviously, being on the ship at the time, I have no photos of her arrival in Southampton, although plenty of my ship-photographer friends were in Mayflower Park on Tuesday morning and one friend, Gary Davies, was on a RIB. Check out his website 'Maritime Photographic' for the <a href="http://www.maritimephotographic.co.uk/blog/mv-norwegian-getaway/" target="_blank">photos of Getaway in Southampton Water</a>.<br />
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The next opportunity I had for photos was after disembarkation on Thursday (yesterday) morning at the City cruise terminal (Berth 101, next to Mayflower Park), as we were walking back towards our respective ferries at Town Quay.<br />
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It was then that the heavens opened, with (yet another) heavy shower as we exited on foot through Dock Gate 8. Fortunately, this had stopped as we got to Mayflower Park so we could get some photos from there, as well.<br />
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As I waited for the 0915 Red Jet home, I took a couple of long-distance shots from Town Quay, always an activity fraught with cluttered peril because that disgrace of a burned-down and partly-collapsed Royal Pier is in the way.<br />
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The interior shots and pics of other ships will follow sometime over the weekend.<br />
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In some very interesting news, P&O Cruises are changing the appearance of their ships. The funnels will become blue with a golden rayed sun on them and there'll be a Union Flag on their bows. The artists rendering shows the new Britannia, due in spring 2015, in the new colours but, as I understand it, the whole lot are getting the Union flag as well as the new funnel colours. Interesting, and a move which will no doubt cause the traditionalists to have kittens. They already hate the hull colours on the likes of the NCL ships so they'll have a collective meltdown over a traditional company like P&O adopting this approach. Me? I am looking forward to it!Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-51162915497313537182014-01-11T15:29:00.001+00:002014-01-11T15:37:55.964+00:00Other ships at Southampton, 10th January 2014Mostly cruise ships in, not much of anything else.<br />
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Queen Elizabeth<br />
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Cornelis Zanen<br />
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Queen Mary 2<br />
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<span style="color: black;">Saga Pearl II</span></div>
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<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-68701139984017288662014-01-11T13:34:00.003+00:002014-01-18T18:28:51.611+00:00Farewell sweet RubyJust over a month ago, I thought that this would be my last-ever photo I'd take of Saga Ruby...<br />
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...but, having spent the best part of two months complaining about endless gales and rain, the recent storms actually did me a favour. In early December, I went over to Southampton to see Saga Ruby just before she departed on her final cruise, thinking I wouldn't be seeing her again because her final arrival and departure at Southampton was scheduled to be on 7th January, a Tuesday, when I would be stuck at work. <br />
However, the recent series of storms thought otherwise, delaying Ruby and Saga Pearl II which subsequently both arrived in Southampton late on the 9th. Happily for me, that meant Saga Ruby's departure would be delayed until the afternoon of the 10th and, because I don't work Fridays, I could go over and watch her leave for the final time.<br />
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Yesterday morning was pleasant and sunny on the island but, as I approached Southampton on Red Falcon, ominous black clouds could be seen in the direction of the city and, sure enough, as I got to Mayflower Park, the heavens opened. Fortunately for me my friends Patricia Dempsey and Kev Webber were there and Kev - braving the horrendous Southampton traffic (roadworks near Dock Gate 4 are causing serious problems, with traffic backing up as far as Totton) - had his car with him so we could at least shelter from the worst of the elements (thanks Kev...). Ruby's departure time was initially 1500, then it was brought forward to 1400 before being put back to 1500 again. It was just as well, because the worst of the rain was at 1400 and had she gone then, we'd have been a group of drowned rats. As it was, it rained on and off, fortunately much lighter than it had been around 1400. It's annoying the sun couldn't stick around but, that said, I am not going to complain too much because I'm grateful to the storms for delaying her meaning I could see her!<br />
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There was a bit of a delay because the pilot had got stuck in the traffic chaos but another pilot was brought to the ship on one of the Southampton patrol boats. Also, another tug was requested. The traffic caused another delay when one or more gangway operators were also stuck in traffic but she was soon on her way.<br />
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I headed straight back to Red Funnel for the 1630 back to East Cowes but, halfway down Southampton Water, I could see Ruby in the far distance, passing Ryde. I took a highly ambitious photo at ISO stupid-thousand and 2 stops underexposed and hoped to salvage something in DPP, which I did.<br />
Here is the award-winning prize shot, underexposed, noisy, over sharpened and compressed...<br />
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My final view of her was as I drove home along the Downs Road on the Island, heading back to Newchurch, and I could see her passing Sandown Bay. She now heads to Gibraltar before going to Asia - rumoured Burma or Singapore - where she will be used as a hotel.<br />
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Here is a short video of her departure.<br />
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Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-75286836032445570612014-01-02T20:48:00.000+00:002014-01-02T21:08:51.372+00:00First photos of 2014Yet more storms meant New Year's Day was a write-off as far as doing anything constructive was concerned - it didn't stop raining and blowing a gale all day, meaning I stayed in watching disaster movies on DVD and listening to a disaster on the radio (Saints' second-half collapse against Russian oligarch's play-thing Chelski), but today was a rare break in the endless series of storms which have been crossing the country, so today was the first time I could get out in 2014.<br />
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I headed to Cowes, along partly-flooded roads, to photograph CMA CGM Strauss on her way past from Southampton.<br />
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Some heavy-looking showers over on the mainland meant rainbows appeared from time-to-time<br />
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Also in the Solent was Ice Runner, which approached out of the west.<br />
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She took her time but CMA CGM Strauss - looking very much in need of a new coat of paint - eventually appeared in Southampton Water. Yes, that chimney is a nuisance at times - now the power station has been closed, I guess it will be demolished at some point. I'll be a bit sad if it is, but won't miss it interfering with photos!<br />
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One of the locals<br />
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And another local <br />
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Ugh, back to work on Monday... :-(Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-20447736032562479292014-01-01T14:19:00.003+00:002014-01-01T14:51:01.225+00:00Stormy New yearAs we go into 2014, the storms which have plagued the country throughout December show no signs of abating. As I type, it's yet again raining cats and dogs with a gale blowing while, last night, after the artificial fireworks of New Year celebrations had stopped, natural fireworks in the shape of thunder and lightning began.<br />
Yesterday I went to Ryde and Sandown to see what the sea was doing and, although the winds had died down (at least for a while) and the tide was receding, the waves were pretty rough.<br />
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Ryde<br />
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Sandown<br />
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Flooded fields near home<br />
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New Year usually means a new start so I have made a nice new logo and a new, more professional-looking watermark for the photos. You can - just! - see the watermark on the above photos in the bottom left corner. <br />
<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-78786374329831355672013-12-31T20:42:00.003+00:002013-12-31T20:42:50.189+00:00Happy New YearHappy New Year! Have a fabulous and ship-filled 2014!Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-7875948262898354362013-12-26T16:12:00.001+00:002013-12-26T16:13:55.711+00:0010 years ago todayThis joined us for the first time. Queen Mary 2's first arrival home was on a wet and cold Boxing Day in 2003. Where have the past 10 years gone?<br />
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At the time, I never thought I'd get the opportunity to travel on such a fabulous ship but, in 2012, I did just that, a <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/big-mary.html" target="_blank">four-night cruise in the Channel and North Sea</a>.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-32807365806117032372013-12-25T00:30:00.000+00:002013-12-25T12:35:16.568+00:002013 Part 2<b><a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_07_01_archive.html" target="_blank">July</a></b><br />
July's highlight <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/seeing-old-friends-and-making-new.html" target="_blank">was a trip to Dover</a>, a place I'd not visited in about eight years, with my friend <a href="http://www.linerlovers.com/" target="_blank">Patricia</a>. I was planning to go to Dover anyway and Patsy wanted to see Saga Ruby and Saga Sapphire together on July 4th - something that wasn't going to happen at Southampton - so we pooled our resources and went together. I collected her in Southampton and we drove down, arriving in the late afternoon on the 3rd.<br />
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Also in July was an opportunity to catch up with <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/artania.html" target="_blank">Artania</a>, the first Royal Princess - which I recall skipping school to see in 1984, when she was new - and, later, Artemis. She called at Portsmouth during 2013; Portsmouth is an excellent location for photographing ships and it makes a change seeing cruise ships there instead of Southampton - as much as I like Southampton, Portsmouth has waterfront pubs, which Southampton lacks since the ones on Town Quay closed, and is easier to get to by using the hovercraft service to Southsea (not least that you can park close to the terminal).<br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_08_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>August</b></a><br />
August began with some unhappy rumours about the ultimate fate of <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/another-going-before-her-time-ostend.html" target="_blank">Ostend Spirit, ex. Pride of Calais</a>. These were later confirmed with the ship eventually meeting an untimely demise at the hands of Turkish breakers (see October and November, below).<br />
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Relatives visited in early August, and we booked ourselves on the <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/cowes-fireworks.html" target="_blank">Red Funnel Cowes Fireworks Cruise on Red Osprey</a>. The Red Arrows performed a display over the Solent and the two Cowes towns before the cruise began.<br />
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August's highlight was a <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/a-day-on-solent.html" target="_blank">Thames Ship Society Solent cruise</a>. I'd been supposed to join the June one but circumstances dictated otherwise. However, I was able to transfer my booking to the August trip and it turned out to be a gloriously warm sunny day; summer 2013 was the best in a long time with high temperatures and a lot of sunshine.<br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/down-by-solent-august-bank-holiday.html" target="_blank">More cruise ships</a> on August Bank Holiday finished a half-decent month.<br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_09_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>September</b></a><br />
The definite highlight in September was a quick weekend trip to the port of Almeria in southern Spain to catch up with a <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/a-long-lost-friend-sherbatskiy.html" target="_blank">long-lost friend, a ferry called Sherbatskiy</a>, better known in the UK and northern Europe as Pride of Free Enterprise and, latterly, Oleander. We also did a ferry trip on Isabella 1, also formerly of UK-Continental routes, over to Nador, Morocco, and back, which was <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/african-adventure.html" target="_blank">an 'interesting' trip</a>.<br />
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The week before that, though, I'd gone to Gosport to see <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/wind-surf-and-other-ships-at-portsmouth.html" target="_blank">Wind Surf</a>, a five-masted cruise ship, depart from Portsmouth, and she was also worth the effort of seeing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_10_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>October</b></a><br />
In mid-October I did a <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/bretagne-to-st-malo-11th12th-october.html" target="_blank">return trip to St. Malo on Brittany Ferries' Bretagne</a>, a lovely ship I'd not been on for some years.<br />
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At the end of October came the news that fans of Dover Strait ferries - and, in particular, fans of a certain two Dover Strait ferries - were dreading, that Ostend Spirit had indeed been definitely sold to breakers and would leave Tilbury for Aliaga on 30th October.<br />
Myself and my friend Slinky-Dave made a last-minute decision to <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/farewell-pride-of-calaiswell-almost.html" target="_blank">go up there and photograph her departure</a>. Now, nearly 2 months on, I still think 'ugh, shit' whenever I think of that day, primarily because of what was happening with that ship going prematurely to breakers, but also because in the end it turned out to be a bit of a waste of time and - considering I'd brought my car over the Solent - money, because, after an abortive attempt to enter the locks, her departure was put back until the evening, because of apparent mechanical trouble - although we think she knew there were onlookers with cameras and just didn't want to be photographed! That said, we'd have not forgiven ourselves if we hadn't gone there and she had left as intended. We at least gave it a go. One of the joys of maritime photography! <br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_11_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>November</b></a><br />
During November, on the 13th, <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/nirvana.html" target="_blank">Ostend Spirit got beached at Aliaga</a>, which I followed at work via texts from Slinky-Dave (there's no data signal in Newport for some reason, certainly not a Vodafone signal - you're lucky if you can even get a phone signal sometimes). <span style="font-size: xx-small;">We're not supposed to have mobiles on us at work but I've not been officially told that...and rules are made to be broken.</span><br />
As of mid December, she is half gone, cut up as far back as the funnel. A disgraceful waste of a good ship in full working order.<br />
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On the 16th I went to the South Coast Ship Show in Portsmouth and nearly broke my arm in the process, tripping over a crappily-maintained paving slab while on my way there, fortunately with no lasting damage to myself and - more importantly - with none whatsoever to my camera and lenses snuggled in a well-padded bag. I did console myself with some new ship models for my collection and a new book about the Dover-Calais ferry crossing, as well as seeing some people I hadn't seen for a while.<br />
Before measuring my length on a borderline-lethal paving slab I <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/commodore-clipper.html" target="_blank">photographed Commodore Clipper</a> on her way to the Channel Islands, as she departed Portsmouth on a cold but sunny morning.<br />
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Towards the end of November came the news the old cruise ship Formosa Queen, the former Song of Norway and <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/sundream.html" target="_blank">Sundream</a> (among many ex names), had been sold to Chinese breakers. At 43 years old, she's had a very good innings indeed, unlike a couple of other ships I know. She was a semi-regular visitor to these parts a few years ago and I photographed her in Southampton Water in 2003, back when I was still using film. The photo below was taken on 31st August 2003.<br />
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<a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_12_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>December</b></a><br />
On 7th December, I popped over to Southampton <a href="http://www.solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/southampton-7th-december-2013.html" target="_blank">to see Saga Ruby</a> for which, as far as I am concerned, was likely to be the final time. She sailed on her last Saga cruise that evening and, although she's due to return to the city on 7th January (a Tuesday), I am likely to miss her because I will be back at work after the Christmas break. As she's already been sold, she is probably not going to hang around for more than a day or two at the most. <br />
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I got another new camera, a Canon 70D, which joins the 6D. I am one of these people who likes to have more than one camera body, in case something goes wrong with one, and it also cuts down on lens changing.<br />
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And here we are at the end of 2013, a year with ups and downs - mostly downs, it has to be said, with a run of bad luck which seemed never ending. I am happy to see the back of 2013 and I sincerely hope 2014 is a much better year.<br />
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So, what do I have planned for 2014? Firstly, a trip over to Rotterdam and sailing back on the new Norwegian Getaway in early January, followed by an overnight cruise from Southampton and back. In March, I am going to Australia for three weeks the highlight of which will be - hopefully, weather permitting - a week far from artificial lights, up in the Warrumbungles, looking at the southern skies (which are spectacular, because the centre of the Milky Way is overhead and southern hemisphere stars completely outshine the stars north of the Equator. This is my third trip to Australia and my fifth south of the Equator). That is not maritime-related of course, but I am planning some ship photography in and around Sydney, as well as up the coast at Newcastle. I am hoping to get back to Dover and Calais at some point, plus I am thinking of visiting the Irish Sea and maybe the Baltic, too. Finally, finances allowing, I am hoping to do another cruise on Queen Mary 2 at the end of next year. However, plans change and, the Norwegian Getaway and Australia trips aside, nothing's graven in stone.<br />
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Here's to a great 2014! <br />
<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-43777715366954136772013-12-23T22:00:00.000+00:002013-12-23T21:52:31.523+00:00Merry Christmas and Happy New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have a fabulous Christmas everyone and a great 2014.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-11014135758858120692013-12-23T21:37:00.001+00:002013-12-23T22:01:12.029+00:00Photo Highlights of 2013, Part 2 (video)Here's part 2 of my photo highlights (and the odd lowlight) of 2013. Again, no audio, sorry (there's nothing I'd call listenable at the right length!). This, and the video in the previous post, are best watched in HD if your connection will allow.<br />
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Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-6134464142624110542013-12-22T18:09:00.003+00:002013-12-23T22:00:57.069+00:00Photo Highlights of 2013 Part One (video)Here's the first part of a video of my photographic highlights of 2013. There's no sound, simply because I couldn't find an audio track I liked at the right length.<br />
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Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-30867942151138357242013-12-14T19:01:00.000+00:002013-12-14T19:01:14.439+00:0070DI bought a 70D as a back up to my 6D last week, replacing a 600D I'd originally got as a back up in May but didn't like. It arrived at the shop while I was at work last Tuesday so my aunt, who was going into town anyway, collected it for me. However, as I don't see daylight from Monday to Thursday and yesterday was wet, I hadn't had a chance to try it out properly until today.<br />
I went to East Cowes with my aunt and Monty the puppy this morning, mostly for a shopping trip to Waitrose but also to give Monty a walk and for me to point the new camera at anything nautical that might pass in front of the lens. Unfortunately ships were thin on the ground but the Red Funnel car ferry Red Falcon obliged.<br />
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Monty<br />
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Molly, at home before we left<br />
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The 70D is very much like my old 7D in a lot of ways, especially the AF system. It doesn't feel as robust as the 7D did and the controls are a little different but, otherwise, it's very similar. The image quality is much better than the 600D but - as to be expected - not as good as the 6D, because the 6D has a full-frame sensor while the 70D has an APS-C sensor. I don't have to do much to 6D images and never have to add sharpening but the 70D files need a little sharpening as the 600D, 7D, 40D and 20D (and my past Nikons) did before them.<br />I'm off to Southampton tomorrow - that's the plan at the moment - for Christmas shopping so hopefully I'll have more photos to post, although the weather forecast is utterly dismal.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-46039856775139879002013-12-11T19:55:00.003+00:002013-12-20T20:09:18.959+00:002013 Part 1It's that time of year again, Christmas is almost upon us - and I am sure I'm not the only one who thinks the years are increasingly going past as blurs punctuated by Christmases - so here's a look back at the highlights (and the odd lowlight) of the past year. I'll split this into two parts, because the year's not quite finished yet, and the post's going to be huge otherwise. 2013 was a great year for shipspotting and photography but a bad year for other reasons, that I won't bother going into here but, suffice to say, I can't wait to see the back of 2013!<br />
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There's a link for each month, click on those for the entire archive if you can be bothered.<br />
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<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_01_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>January</b></a><br />
On January 10th, there were no less than <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/southampton-10th-january-2013.html" target="_blank">six cruise ships in Southampton</a>, five which should have been there and one - Saga Ruby - which shouldn't. She'd broken down and the time taken for repairs meant her world cruise was cut short.<br />
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Winter 2012/13 was bitterly cold, with significant snowfalls in January and March and regular flurries through the entire season.<br />
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<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_02_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>February</b></a><br />
Visited Portsmouth (<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/sunny-southsea.html" target="_blank">Southsea</a>) for the first time in a long time to catch up with a friend I'd not seen in years and took a few pics of the usual ferries, including Commodore Clipper.<br />
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The Saga Ruby saga continued, with the ship going on sea trials after her repairs. I photographed her <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-ruby-saga.html" target="_blank">passing Cowes</a> on her way back into Southampton.<br />
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<b><a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_03_01_archive.html" target="_blank">March</a></b><br />
More snow and <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/cma-cgm-titan-and-suzuka-express.html" target="_blank">a new camera</a> - a Canon 6D which I'd bought because it was the first full-frame DSLR I'd been able to afford and I'd wanted to get a full-frame for ages. Needing a wide-angle lens that worked with a full-frame camera also meant I had to trade all my other lenses except my 100-400mm, my 7D and some surplus astronomy equipment (eyepieces, etc) to cover the cost of the new one! It was also a present to myself for putting up with one of the worst temporary jobs I have ever had, which lasted from January to March, in the local council's filing store - it was the most boring and coldest job I'd ever had and I was glad to see the back of it when I'd had enough, lied to the agency about getting another job and quit!<br />
I took the new toy to Cowes and tried it out on a couple of passing ships, including container ship CMA CGM Titan.<br />
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Also in March, I caught up with the brand-new AIDA cruise ship <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/spring-cancelled.html" target="_blank">AIDAstella</a>, which was visiting Southampton on her maiden voyage. It was another horrible bitterly cold day and I found a tiny casualty, a dead bee, on the ferry's outside deck, presumably a victim of the atrocious early spring weather. I would think this tiny creature's demise was only one of many small tragedies resulting from the dreadful weather.<br />
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<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_04_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>April</b></a><br />
The weather finally improved and the highlights of this month were catching up with two of the new generation container ships, <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/new-generation-container-ships.html" target="_blank">APL Temasek and Hong Kong Express</a>, the latter's name sounding like a Chinese takeaway in Newport.<br />
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I did a <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/barfleur-to-cherbourg.html" target="_blank">day trip with a mate to Cherbourg</a>, from Poole, on Brittany Ferries' Barfleur, my first trip on this vessel, and later the same week, I joined my friend Patricia on P&O's Aurora for a short cruise to <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/aurora-part-2-amsterdam-back-to.html" target="_blank">Amsterdam</a> and <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/aurora-part-1-southampton-to-zeebrugge.html" target="_blank">Zeebrugge</a>. While in Amsterdam, we got the train to Rotterdam to see the new <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/a-tale-of-two-ships.html" target="_blank">Norwegian Breakaway</a> which was visiting the city prior to her maiden voyage to New York, via Southampton, a few days later.<br />
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As we were in Rotterdam, and she was close by, we went to visit the old liner SS Rotterdam, now preserved in the docks at the end of her long career as a liner and latterly a cruise ship. The two ships, one old the other brand new, provided an interesting contrast in styles and a gap in ship design of 55 years.<br />
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Back home, I photographed <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/crown-princess-and-norwegian-breakaway.html" target="_blank">Norwegian Breakaway as she passed East Cowes</a> on her way to New York, presumably never to return. She'll be based in NY City year round.<br />
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A lowlight in April was the news that ferry company TransEuropa Ferries had gone bust. Their newly-acquired chartered ship Ostend Spirit, the former Pride of Calais, was sent back to Tilbury to await her fate after being handed back to P&O, while their other two ships, Larkspur and Gardenia were laid up in Ostend also facing an uncertain future. It was also a bit galling from the point of view I was planning a trip with them in the summer.<br />
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<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_05_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>May</b></a><br />
I finally caught up with <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/finally.html" target="_blank">CMA CGM Marco Polo</a>, who'd eluded me up until now. I caught her on her way past East Cowes on her way up to the docks at Southampton.<br />
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I also managed to see the small Hurtigruten cruise ship <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/flying-visit-to-see-fram.html" target="_blank">Fram</a>, which had called at Portsmouth. Hurtigruten ships are rare visitors so it was nice to see this ship.<br />
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On a sad note, it was goodbye to <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/goodbye-ark-royal.html" target="_blank">HMS Ark Royal, which left the Solent under tow</a> bound for the breakers at Aliaga, Turkey. Unfortunately the weather was horrible, very grey and murky but the photos came out as well as could be expected, given the conditions.<br />
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<a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013_06_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><b>June</b></a><br />
June was generally a month to forget for various (non-maritime) reasons but I did manage a lot of photography trips to Cowes and <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/ships-from-hythe.html" target="_blank">one over to Hythe</a> (near Southampton). One such was to see the new <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/royal-princess.html" target="_blank">Royal Princess arriving for the first time</a>, as the heavens opened when she reached the Solent, with thunder, lightning and torrential rain.<br />
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Ten days later, <a href="http://solentships.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/queen-elizabeth-arcadia-and-royal.html" target="_blank">she sailed on her maiden voyage</a>, in much improved weather.<br />
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<i>To be continued</i>...<br />
<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-34231534105027725322013-12-07T21:24:00.000+00:002013-12-08T13:11:27.401+00:00Southampton, 7th December 2013On a chilly but bright day it was off to Southampton to see Saga Ruby for what - for me - may be the last time. She was due to depart on her final cruise (at least with Saga) this evening, returning to Southampton for the final time on 7th January which, unfortunately for me, is a Tuesday when I'll be at work (I currently work from 0700-1730 Mondays to Thursdays). As her final departure isn't yet known but will probably be that same week, I decided to go over and get some last photos.<br />
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There was a nice little haul of ships to be had. Firstly, the outward-bound container ship APL Yangshan:<br />
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I was very pleased to see the back of Red Falcon once we'd arrived in Southampton, for reasons outlined at the bottom of this post. I went straight round to Mayflower Park to photograph Saga Ruby in the sunshine, which had made an appearance.<br />
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From the ferry just before we left.<br />
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And what I think will be my last ever shot of her. :(<br />
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The laid-up container ship Qingdao Tower is back on berth 40.<br />
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In the background Morning Camilla arrives, complete with an extra funnel looking very much like the top of Fawley Power Station chimney...<br />
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Car carriers Trinidad and Morning Camilla.<br />
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Red Falcon on her way back up Southampton Water, with the 1330 from East Cowes<br />
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Turkish tanker Yasa Seyhan just arriving at Hamble oil terminal:<br />
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Apex, which was assisting Lumen N:<br />
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Other ships in were bulk carriers King Wheat and Indra II, small general cargo ships Bramau and Huelin Dispatch, ro-ros Eurocargo Salerno, Bess and my old friend Grande Napoli, container ship APL Temasek, plus tankers Opal Express and Sten Aurora.<br />
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<i>Disgusting footnote</i>: I had decided to take the car ferry across instead of the Red Jet (to avoid
Newport traffic and for free parking at East Cowes) and ended up wishing
I hadn't. I'd had two cups of coffee before leaving home and on
boarding Red Falcon's 1030 sailing I headed for the toilets. On opening
the door, I quickly closed it again, as it was swimming in water and
heaven-knows-what-else...so I tried the disabled toilet - exactly the
same result but with a crew member attempting to unblock the toilet.
There was obviously a problem, confirmed by a PA announcement to the
effect that the toilet system had packed up, which in itself had a
knock-on effect - no catering because, apparently, the law stipulates
that, with no toilet facilities there can't be any catering either. I
suppose that makes sense because what goes in has to, er, come out. <br />
One
deeply unpleasant side effect of the lavatorial drama was witnessing a
bloke taking a leak on the outside deck, which I could have done without
seeing; it was disgusting and uncivilised and I am sure that
arrangements could have been made for anyone that desperate! I reported
it to an officer, telling her she might want to get someone to hose off
the outer deck at the aft, 'Cowes', end, her first response was 'You're
joking' and when I assured her I was not, her second response was an
entirely justified 'Bloody hell'. The problem was fixed later in the day and the drainage will be permanently repaired overnight on Sunday.<br />
Red Falcon, incidentally, is due to have completely new interiors, improved seating (not before time), an improved pet area (again not before time - why should pets and their owners be confined to a crummy, draughty area on deck?) and, if this is a success, the other vehicle ferries will get the same treatment.<br />
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Something else that disgusted me was finding a length of fishing line, complete with hooks, strung across the walkway on the western side of Town Quay. Fishing is supposed to be banned on Town Quay but I have seen worm-drowners deliberately flouting the laws and continuing to fish with seeming impunity. Breaking the by-laws is one thing but, whether through ignorance, laziness or malice, deliberately leaving fishing line and hooks lying round where wildlife, pets or people could injure themselves on them is fuckwittery of the highest order. If an animal - wild or a pet - or a small child had got hold of those hooks they'd have caused quite nasty injuries, and wildlife suffers greatly, and needlessly, from discarded fishing lines and hooks. I removed this stuff and binned it and I'll be emailing ABP, who Town Quay belongs to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkfMNlVAez3bGWgsAePGWGNuGEJx1F0pC2GoGW0TGtxQKl9yYzGYs6zZnPrvbkxJRtY15RY3-X2CI_Alsr5WjkpDxXcMvMBOmXEEwplQvOLDLYPJBRPyi-FTKzIi_3OvqnRyvE_ZZKgpY/s1600/lineandhooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkfMNlVAez3bGWgsAePGWGNuGEJx1F0pC2GoGW0TGtxQKl9yYzGYs6zZnPrvbkxJRtY15RY3-X2CI_Alsr5WjkpDxXcMvMBOmXEEwplQvOLDLYPJBRPyi-FTKzIi_3OvqnRyvE_ZZKgpY/s400/lineandhooks.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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On a happier note, Town Quay is FINALLY being repaired. I hope it means the end of that infernal fence!<br />
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I'm getting a 70D to go with my 6D sometime next week. I did have a 600D which I'd bought to use as a back up but I ended up not using it, simply because I couldn't get on with it. The 70D's controls are more akin to the 6D's, unlike those on the 600D.<br />
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Something I hadn't mentioned on previous posts - barring any airline, air traffic, weather-related or other trouble, I am going to Rotterdam next month and sailing back on the new Norwegian Getaway, sister of Norwegian Breakaway, then I am doing a one-night cruise from Southampton and back. I am being joined by my friend Patricia and there's also be other friends on the cruise as well. Only a very short trip but should be fun.Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146731659184244327.post-83605655559172631332013-11-23T15:58:00.001+00:002013-11-25T20:00:11.094+00:00SundreamThe former Song of Norway has been sold for scrap in China, ending a long career which began in 1970 when she was built in Helsinki as Royal Caribbean International's first ship. Since then she has had quite a few names: Sundream, Dream Princess, Dream, Clipper Pearl, Clipper Pacific, Festival, Ocean Pearl and, her final name, Formosa Queen. I saw her, as Sundream, during the summers of 2003 and 2004, when she visited Southampton.<br />
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Here are some photos from then, which are all scanned prints. She's seen passing Calshot on 31st August 2003<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNgiynJkReak133hVaB-tWXpP6skvf2ywrrmn9OZ6dpjaqeigzfEGWLbhhQK5YY2V-Zsi9TWTLgrIJ1WRSk5QBpINZv_pa4A0irTrMLfyfpYryVx32V11LsUe0sOxFfXb0jkgHNTKCFZF/s1600/sundream31aug03a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNgiynJkReak133hVaB-tWXpP6skvf2ywrrmn9OZ6dpjaqeigzfEGWLbhhQK5YY2V-Zsi9TWTLgrIJ1WRSk5QBpINZv_pa4A0irTrMLfyfpYryVx32V11LsUe0sOxFfXb0jkgHNTKCFZF/s1600/sundream31aug03a.jpg" /></a></div>
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At Southampton on 8th May 2004<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpShb4efNmnB2kZ1q4U4zjLoS-mwyw7DzL6dlcK79D97bZlrJQZkJ-WyH9k-n_f-jupZxYrDGtd3D_6Qu8bBTGL46KUEy7L4CPNgpwmFdM905996jG383IS_yuIFsLvG1rnXFzHo30i6wM/s1600/sundream8may04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpShb4efNmnB2kZ1q4U4zjLoS-mwyw7DzL6dlcK79D97bZlrJQZkJ-WyH9k-n_f-jupZxYrDGtd3D_6Qu8bBTGL46KUEy7L4CPNgpwmFdM905996jG383IS_yuIFsLvG1rnXFzHo30i6wM/s1600/sundream8may04.jpg" /></a></div>
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And again on 22nd May 2004, with The World and Pride of Bilbao in the background<br />
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<br />Ship-Photohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09083128261939365764noreply@blogger.com