Unscheduled photo session

I had an unscheduled photo session yesterday, Monday 1st July, because my friend - who is also a friend-of-other-friends - ship photographer Howard Paulman, was over from the States to see friends and ships in England and he came to Cowes for a quick visit this afternoon to photograph Ventura and Queen Elizabeth pass Cowes. I wouldn't have normally bothered with them, as I've seen and photographed them numerous times, but I wanted to meet up with my friend and I can't resist taking photos, so apols for the repetitive nature of this post!

I met Howard at the Red Jet terminal and we went to my favourite photo spot at Queens Road/Egypt Esplanade. It had been another warm but murky day, as has been so often the case lately (better than raining and cold!) so the photos aren't as good as I'd have liked.

Car carrier Virgo Leader, which I saw at Southampton on Sunday, was on her way out.

Ventura was next. I am not a fan of these ships' looks at all. The front ends are hideous and the back ends worse. Didn't stop me taking more photos than necessary of her though!

Then Queen Elizabeth was next

As Queen Elizabeth was leaving, in came NYK Altair. Of the top two photos, I couldn't decide which one to include because I like them both, so I included both.

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.

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.