More signs of spring

The 2013 UK cruise ship season is now under way, with returnees from world voyages and long cruises arriving back at Southampton before setting off on their summer programme of cruises.
Today, Saga Sapphire, Oriana, Arcadia and Ventura were all in Southampton and were scheduled to sail between 1600 and 1630, so I went to Cowes to see them go past. Unfortunately the sunshine of the morning and early afternoon didn't last and it clouded over again. There was, despite the fact that it was neither warm or particularly sunny, a shimmer, which played havoc with photos taken at the longer end of the zoom range of my 100-400mm lens.
One reason for making trips to see cruise ships, is that other things often fall into place and there are other ships to photograph as well, such as the car carrier Asian Breeze (UECC's latest colour scheme does their ships no favours)...

...and container ship NYK Altair

Iberian Reefer was on her way in, via the Needles Channel but the shimmer meant her photos didn't come out well.

Of the cruise ships, Saga Sapphire was first, she went via the Needles...

...followed by Oriana...

...Ventura...

...and, finally, Arcadia, by which time the light had all but gone...

...so we headed home again.

The return of the cruise ships is always a welcome sign of spring, as was the near constant passage of Swallows and Sand Martins on migration, who were flying along the Solent past Cowes. It's sad to see the departure of both our ships and our migrant birds in autumn but they always return and it's a happy time when they do.

Spring cancelled

What the bloody hell has happened to spring?? This grey, cold, damp gloom is more reminiscent of January than late March. It's soul destroying, depressing and downright unpleasant. Early spring can be variable but this is just horrific; the sky is grey, it's cold, the trees look dead, birds aren't singing, flowers aren't out, apart from snowdrops and a few sad-looking daffodils, and the light levels are atrocious. The only bright spot is that we haven't got any more snow down here (yet) just biblical amounts of rain and sleet, leaden skies and temperatures in single digits Celsius. I sincerely hope we get a decent summer after this...we certainly deserve one, particularly after last year's dismal effort.

I decided, despite the atrocious weather, to go over to Southampton to see the new AIDAstella which was making her first call at the port. I got the 1030 car ferry across, that decision influenced by the fact that AIDAstella was starboard side to in berth 46, therefore facing outwards, and would make a good photo from the ferry. I also wanted to avoid Newport traffic and the chaos brought by the ongoing gas main work.

CMA CGM Musca was on her way in, passing Cowes as I boarded the ferry but, in the murk, it wasn't worth getting the camera out. One that got away. But at least the sodding rain had finally stopped.

Braving the elements I went on deck as we approached Fawley. A few more hardy souls, most with shivering dogs in tow, were on deck, as was another ship photographer.
I am not overly happy with the processing on these, but it was challenging because of the dark conditions.

There was a dead bee on deck, probably a victim of the vile weather. I wonder how many more tiny tragedies there are, thanks to the cold and wet early spring?

The laid up container ship Qingdao Tower was still at berth 40 and she's expected to be there another few weeks to months.

And here is the 'star' of today's show, AIDAstella, which is on her maiden voyage. It's a shame the weather wasn't better for her (and me!) but, despite that, she still added a splash of colour (and a dodgy paint job - those eyes and lips) to the docks, brightening up the scene somewhat.

I went round to Mayflower Park to photograph general cargo ship Sudkap which was at berth 101.

Back to the ferry and home, via the city centre for food and to look at the new 'Oceans' shop which has opened. They sell a range of nautical (liner-related) items and also have some nice models on display.

Car carrier Grand Phoenix was also in port today.

Jaynee-W was the only ship on the move as we got back to the Solent, apart from Energy Champion but she was too far away.

Rare birds

Two rare visitors came to Southampton today, 2nd August 2012. Mein Schiff 2 arrived first, followed by Holland-America's Maasdam. A couple of months ago I put my name down for a tour of Maasdam and duly received a confirmation email, so I went over to Southampton on the (appallingly early) 0715 Red Jet. Maasdam was a little late arriving, her time being changed from 0800 to 0900 which, from our point of view, was good as we could watch and photograph her arrival.
I'll post the pictures of my visit to Maasdam in a separate post but, for now, here are the exterior photos of both cruise ships, plus other ships that were in today.

As usual, click for largest.

I also took a quick trip to Hythe and back. Red Funnel seems - is! - expensive at nearly £20 for a day return but the Hythe crossing is also pretty pricey, this much shorter trip is £5.30 return.

Here's a video of Maasdam reversing into the Ocean Terminal