QE2 Homework

As a further example of how far "QE2" and "oceanliner" have pervaded our lives in the past 40 years, I offer the math homework example of my 5th grade son Ryan, who accompanied me on our last trip on QE2. 

Not only did he comment to me that they got the length correct at 963 feet, he flagged QE2 in red.  Now you know how many ping pong tables can fit in the length of QE2.

Merry Christmas

Desert Storm

It has been a year now since QE2 arrived in Dubai.  To date, Nakheel has kept her running, rotating her engines for generating ship's power.  They have drydocked her and cleaned her up, painting her bottom and topsides.  It is unknown whether they repaired her leaking seals in the bow thrusters that prevented their use in her final season.  Plans for sending her to Capetown appear to have stalled.  Now we learn that Dubaiworld and it's various development arms are in trouble.  The fate of QE2 is now more uncertain than ever.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2748321/40bn-wiped-from-the-value-of-British-firms-as-Dubai-company-warns-it-cant-pay-its-debts.html

Here's another article which specifically references QE2 and her potential fate.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/6671257/Dubai-may-sell-QE2-to-tackle-debt-crisis.html

I Wish I Was in Glasgow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgPFEYH9y-Q
Scottish comedian Billy Connelly's rendition of this song.  The photos accompanying this song repeat, but John Brown and the Clyde is featured.

On My Way Home

Here is a link to another video compilation of photos of QE2 on the Clyde for the final time.  It has now been one year since she left Southampton for the final time.  Thankfully, the plans to cut her up and radically alter her for her new role as a floating hotel in Dubai have been put on hold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1BhI8WPGdQ

QE2 on the Clyde

I posted my first ever YouTube video of this special day.  The video is a slideshow of my photos of our traversing of the Firth of  Clyde and or arrival at Greenock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuANyk2Ytz8

Regarding the music to the posted video; when we were in Edinburgh before the cruise, I heard this track playing in one of the gift shops as I was spending a significant amount of money for gifts for family at home.  I asked the cashier who was the artist and he pointed out that the CD was the featured CD for sale that day.  It was "Parallel Tracks" by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.  The CD was added to our purchase and remained in our bags until I unpacked at home. 

"Parallel Tracks" is one of my favorite CD's of modern Scottish music.  Not only are the musicians actual military personel, the are quite talented with their modern interpretations of traditional Scots tunes, featuring the bagpipes.  The track that got my attention was "Going Home", which vaguely sounded familiar, as it should have.  This song was originally written and performed by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame and was part of the soundtrack he did for the cult movie "Local Hero".   I had seen the movie many years ago and vaguely remembered that it was a very enjoyable movie about a oil executive from the states who ends up in Scotland sent to buy up the entire town, but has to deal with the locals.  A Google search interestingly revealed that the movie was filmed in Pennan, on the Aberdeenshire coast just above my grandfather's hometown of Peterhead.  In fact, we saw actual oil refineries of Fergus off in the distance.  I had no idea the track I heard in the store was called "Going Home."  What a coincidence.  This song as well as the "Time to Say Goodbye" song that was often heard onboard would become the theme songs for this trip.  Every time I hear them, they take me right back to our epic trip.

The Final Time - October 16, 2008

Despite leaving early and carving up the road, as I turned down the Henry Hudson Parkway, I could see the iconic funnel all lit up in the distance.  My heart dropped since I missed her final early morning arrival to the Manhattan pier.  Captain McNaught got her tied up at the pier a bit early, probably to guarantee a timely departure this afternoon.  With all the security measures in place, I could not park on the upper deck as I had done the past two times I had visited the pier to see the ship.  I ended up in a parking area across the street, which would later prove costly.

After watching the ship's passengers disembark through the terminal, many of whom I had seen either on my one and only January 2008 crossing or on the Farewell to the UK trip, Myles finally appeared carrying the extremely heavy bag.  After a brief chat with Matthew (kindlychap), we decided to take the subway down and ditch the bag in my car.  The car, unfortunately by now had been put up in a rack and I had to "tip" the attendant twenty bucks to get the car down and allow me to add the heavy bag that Myles walked off the ship for me. For that I will be eternally grateful since I now have a small assortment of tableware that we use occasionally for special occasions. In addition, Myles brought me my QE2 life ring which would have been very difficult to take on the plane home.

For me, this would be my very first subway adventure, ever, in New York, but I did not tell Myles that at the time.  We headed towards a subway station for a ride downtown to the South Street Seaport for a gathering of QE2 loyalists at the Sequoia Restaurant on the water, with a view of Queen Mary 2 in the distance.  As we emerged from the subway, we were basically at Ground Zero, which was a bit eery.  Both Myles and I had never seen the site and we managed to get a glimpse into the vast hole of the twin towers and saw the new construction beginning.

The Sequoia group meeting was nice, meeting up with Margaret and Frank from our UK trip, seeing Doug Newman and his dad from the January 2008 Crossing, and finally meeting Babette, from Cruisecritic.com fame and the most knowledgeable Cunard travel agent around. (I have since used her to secure cabins on the maiden QE3 tandem January Crossing with Queen Victoria in 2011)  The QE2 Memories book was carried by Myles for others to sign who were not going back on the final crossing.  Ryan and I had already signed it onboard.  I also met Margaret and Frank's daughter Alex and her husband James, who had their son with them.  They were all heading home on Queen Mary 2 for the best view of QE2's final crossing.  On an interestly side note, Alex and james had flown over a few days early and drove to Essex to take the steam train one day and visited Mystic Seaport the next day.  They were amazed home nice the area and the Connecticut River was and were shocked to hear just how close they were to my house in Haddam during the steam train ride.

Time absolutely flew by with spirited chat about various Cunard ships and QE'2 eventual fate in Dubai.  In what appeared to be short order, Myles and I had to head off back to the pier.  For Myles, he was returning home on QE2 and for me, I was going to see the final departure from a World Ship Society sponsored harbor cruise.  On this cruise, I would meet up with QE2 fellow passenger and friend Ed, who also introduced me to a few other passengers who I was familiar with from my postings on Cruisecritic.com.  On this cruise, would be writer and ocean liner enthusiast Ted Scull, who did a bit of narration on this cruise for us QE2 nutters, and also writer and ocean liner enthusiast Bill Miller, who was on our UK trip.  Both held lextures onboard QE2 and I attended them all and bought their books.  HINT...I see me doing the lexture/book thing in my future.  Bill Miller recognized me from our UK trip and we chatted a bit as we all saw QE2 sail off into the distance. 

Simply stunning, with every passenger on deck for the historic sailaway and final farewell to New York.

The sun tried to come out as she backed out of the pier and was swung around with the Moran tugs, which which have assisted her into the Manhattan and Red Hook piers so many times over the years. Magnificant...stunning...memorable...historic...these words were repeated often as we viewed the ship brilliantly all lit up.  I have to wonder if the cabin stewards had orders to open every deadlight and turn on lights in every cabin.  The ship was ablaze in lights.  I will never forget how magnificant she looked.  Theer was also a sense of pride that she was after all the finest exaple of shipbuilding on the Clyde, proudly built in my ancestrial home of Scotland.

Most of us on the ferry were up top in the open air, soaking it all in with all our senses, despite it being downright chilly.  Sitting next to Bill Miller and listening him speak, I could almost here a chapter being written for an upcoming book on QE2. Unfortunately, it was all over so quickly. Surprisingly there were no fireworks, but there was a nice fireboat display.  Finally there was the the gut wrenching horn salute as she passed the Queen Mary 2 to lead the way out of the harbor for the final time.

Goodbye QE2.  She left New York harbor at the top of her game.  Not bad for a 40 year old ship with hard Atlantic service.  As Captain McNaught told us numerous times, the world will never see the likes of her ever again.  She is the last of her breed.  Three cheers for QE2!