Message above was kindly forwarded to me from a coworker, who is from the Belfast area. I wonder what this celebration of Belfast's maritime history and glimpse of the city's future will be? Would it possibly be related to Titanic or Harland and Wolff? The Titanic Quarter redevelopment was in full swing when QE2 visited Belfast for its one and only time in October of 2008.
Interesting, on the Titanic Quarter's website timeline section, they specifically flag the 2008 visit from New York's "Lord" Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the 2012 opening of their signature Titanic project, no doubt in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
We saw glimpses of the new construction and the remnants of the Harland & Wolff yard, including the graving dock and associated pump house, and the drafting room building, all visible from QE2's berth in the harbor.
The massive yellow Harland & Wolff cranes dominated the skyline, along with their equally massive building, which has been leased out in recent times to movie studios.
We did a non-Cunard sanctioned shore excursion, a harbor cruise highlighting the history of the harbor. According to our guide, the boats captain, these cranes were used in the construction of the three Olympic Class ships. They deserve a better location and some measures of preservation.
We caught a glimpse of the historic building, the "drawing room", of the shipyard, where Titanic and countless other ships were designed. (grey building on the right) with additional yellow Harland & Wolff shipyard cranes in the distance.
Newer waterfront construction was evident along the harborfront. Not sure what this non-descript building is, but much more dynamic building plans are in the works for the entire site, aptly named the "Titanic Quarter."
This was our view of the yard as we approached. Here we see the Sampson and Goliath famous twin gantry cranes in the distance. It is not widely known, but Harland & Wolff were initially considered for the construction of Cunard's replacement of QE2, Queen Mary 2. These cranes, with an 840 ton lifting capacity would have been used in her construction. Ultimately, they were not competitive with other yards and lost out to Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint Nazaire, France, making Queen Mary 2 the first Queen not built in the UK. One has to wonder if the British government could have stepped in and offered some sort of assistance, similar to what they did with the previous Queens, to make the deal to build the next Cunarder in the UK more financially attractive. The contract surely would have reinvigorated the entire area and I suspect the ship would be even more endeared in the UK, perhaps reinvigorating some sense of national pride. Sadly this was not to be.
Fortunately, the shipyard has been experiencing a resurgence, with renewed focus on renewable energy technology of wind and wave power as well as their offshore oil platform renewal and rehabilitation programs. For ship enthusiasts, though, this pales in comparison to a much smaller project, but with far more significance. Harland & Wolff have undertaken the restoration of the SS Nomadic, the last surviving White Star ship, who's significance is directly related to Titanic.
This little ship served as a tender to the Olympic and Titanic when the ship anchored in the port of Cherbourg, France. During our trip to Belfast in 2008, we saw the ship out of the water awaiting restoration in a fenced in area not far from where she was originally constructed in 1911. She had been rescued from the River Seine in Paris, where she had sat semi-neglected after her career as a floating restaurant ended with the closing of the restaurant. Read more about SS Nomadic's restoration here.
From the Titanic Quarter website: In an area steeped in history, Titanic Belfast (opening spring 2012) forms a central part of the development of Titanic Quarter. The state-of-the-art building, designed by leading international architects and designers, will include a ‘Titanic Experience' exhibition, an ‘immersive theatre' diving underwater to explore the wreck, a Titanic-themed banqueting suite and a community arts facility for local exhibitions, performances and conferences.
The project will also include the restoration of the Titanic and Olympic slipways, the Thompson Dock and Harland & Wolff's former Headquarters building.
Here is a rendering of the "signature" building scheduled to open in 2012, the Titanic Belfast. As part of the development, the Harland & Wolf headquarters building (the drawing room) will be restored and integrated into the redevelopment of the site. Now the question is what will be unveiled during the event on May 2nd in New York City? Stay tuned.
All development images courtesy of www.titanic-quarter.com
The former Pacific Princess, made famous as the cruise ship featured in the TV series "Love Boat" has been reported sold to a Turkish company specializing in shipbreaking. The ship has been tied up in Genoa, Italy since 2009, when it was seized by the Italian Coast Guard for non-payment of a shipyard bill. Previous attempts to sell the ship were unsuccessful and now it looks like she's been sold for scrap; a sad end to the ship that without a doubt, was instrumental in the rapid expansion of the cruise industry in the 80's. More information on the ship's history can be found here. She was built in 1971, almost as old as QE2 and she served Princess well for most of her time in service.
While I cannot credit the TV show for sparking my interests in ship, I watched "Love Boat" as a teenager religiously. There was something about seeing the ship in the opening credits, with the bow shots of the Pacific Princess slicing through the water, and then from above, with the ship at speed with smoke from her funnel that always intrigued me. Sure, now that I see some of the clips, the show was a bit cheesy, but I recall they would cast a wide variety of the current stars as passengers so it was always fun to watch, and for that matter, also dream of taking a cruise one day. For instance, the clip above shows that one of the "Brady Bunch" girls was "onboard" for that cruise....err episode. And then there was the Marcia episode.....I'm sure I watched that one. Yeah, I watched the "Brady Bunch" alot, and it had nothing to do with the dad, Mike Brady, being an Architect. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
Check out this website that lists each and every episode and the guest cast.
Admittedly, I also had a thing for Julie, your ever cheerful cruise director. She had that Dorothy Hamill (USA Olympic gold medal figure skater from my childhood) hair style going on for a while that was all the rage. Funny thing, I've never had a cruise director on any of our cruises even remotely resembling her. They've all been men. Well, Max, on the Costa Magica was along with his wife, who was also on the cruise staff played the Julie part well, so that is as close as it gets for me. Cunard's had a fine staff of cruise directors in our experience. I believe we've had Ray Rouse both on QE2 and most recently on QM2, but the "Julie" type remains elusive.
Now the show ran for a long time, ten years, maybe too long. My interest in the show was clearly waning, though, by the time they tried to spice things up by introducing captain's daughter to the plot line. They also had trouble with the real Julie and had to replace her. The show was never the same.
Back to the captain, Captain Merrill Stubing, played by Gavin MacLeod of "Mary Tyler Moore" TV sitcom fame. I have to admit, it was pretty cool to see our last name, by no means a popular name, on the TV screen. Hey, maybe I would be a ship's captain one day....It was only recently that I learned that he isn't really a true MacLeod of Scottish heritage at all, but American Indian! Indians go bald? Oh the humanity! He thought it would make a cool stage name.
Now my interest in ships, Clydebuilt ships actually, goes back farther in time, to that Irwin Allen blockbuster "Poseidon Adventure." I'll never forget seeing the opening credits and recognizing her instantly as the Queen Mary, probably since I had spent many hours at the kitchen table recently painting and gluing up the Revell model of her. That insane childhood obsession with Queen Mary is another blogworthy topic that continues to this day. Recently, we played the "Poseidon Adventure " DVD, on New Year's Eve actually, to coincide with a friend's overnight stay onboard her in Long Beach that very night. Happy to report....she did not sink that night.
I continue with my analysis and admiration of rear ends......of ships.
Costa Magica, as seen from the stern while we docked in Nassau, Bahamas in April 2007, shows off her prop pockets. Honestly, this feature completely escaped me on our first cruise on her. I had noticed what I thought was a weird wavy waterline the previous year when we had been onboard for a Caribbean cruise. From the tender ride heading into port, I thought they had perhaps adjusted the waterline since the majority of the time while steaming, there would be water off the props, perhaps in that pattern. I got a chance to see the stern up close in Nassau and my initial impression was very wrong. These were propeller "pockets" for her conventional shaft propulsion. As compared to a later stretched version of this same hull design in the Costa Concordia, the Italians gave the newer ships a small "spoiler" or stern flap.
Source of this photo is unknown, taken from my files collected off the internet, so I cannot credit anyone. Fincantieri, the builders of both Magica and Concordia, have updated the stern design with this appendage. What is not visible is whether this appendage was literally added on or whether more plating modifications were done to fair in the transition. Perhaps the pockets were eliminated. Photos of Concordia on her side now do not offer any further information as this part of the hull is fully submerged. In time, when more of her damage is documented, I hope to add additional information to this post.
Costa Magica stern is shown above with the highly angular surface planes typical of this often used Carnival hull design. I have to admit, the more I viewed the ship, the more I came to more than tolerate the appearance. From someone accustomed to the more graceful sterns of Queen Elizabeth 2 and her predecessors, this was a big step.
Looking at this profile now again, seveal years later, the design does strike me as very Italian, in the Alfa Romeo Milano or 154 style. One could even say that it is done in the latest Cadillac style of folded planes used in their popular car designs. Some like it, others hate the look.
For Costa Concordia, it looks like the designers just tacked on a small spoiler to gain a little speed and efficency, like automotive designers do. Maybe Captain Schettino liked to view it as such, since we all keep hearing that he drove the ship like she was a Ferrari!
Luck would have it that the retro Disney Wonder was berthed adjacent to the Magica and offered a sharp contrast in stern designs. What a beautiful ship she was, and that opinion has nothing to do with my bias for dark hull colored ships!
Disney Wonder in Nassau, Bahamas, April 2007
I absolutely love the lines of the Disney ships, including the new Disney Dream that has recently joined the fleet. Here we see a modern interpretation of classic Art Deco/Streamline Moderne design, flawlessly executed in typical Disney style. Now this ship, and her near identical twin, the Disney Magic, were built by Fincantieri, so the yard does know how to do curved plating opposed to all the flat plane surfaces on the Costa ships. Interesting, the new Disney Dream was not built by Fincantieri, but by the the German yard of Meyer Werft, the builders of the Celebrity Solstice class ships; the ships with the exaggerated duckbill stern appendages previously referenced in Part 2 of this subject post. Both the new Disney ships and the Solstice class ships are high on my wish list to cruise on. In the meantime, I'll continue with my arse end admiring....of ships.
Stephen Payne recently spoke to students at the Webb Institute, a noted Naval Architecture school I had once considered attending, about the design of the Queen Mary 2. Below is a link to the video published by the school on YouTube. It is a facinating recollection of the design process and Stephen's passion for ocean liners from an early age.
Blue Peter is a name with little meaning to those on this side of the Atlantic or at least to me anyway. What is it? Sounds like it could be a bird. Maybe it’s some sort of exotic drink? I’ll take a Blue Peter….Or perhaps it’s some sort of medical condition afflicting only men. None of the above. It’s actually a children’s TV show from the UK and quite a famous one at that. It has the distinction of being longest running children's TV show in the world, having debuted way back in 1958! Despite this, I had absolutely no clue what it was, even as Captain Ian McNaught mentioned it to my son Ryan during an impromptu conversation we had with him on the pier head in Newcastle back in October of 2008.
In probably my most memorable conversation we had with QE2's final Master, Captain McNaught rather skillfully wove into the conversation he was having with my son on the fate of QE2, a story about QM2's designer, Stephen Payne and Blue Peter as mentioned in the above video. Without mincing words, my son had told Captain McNaught that he was a bit mad at Cunard while at the same time very sad to see the ship being retired, especially since she was the last great liner of the UK. He had only got to sail on her once and like his father, could not get his head around the fact that this piece of maritime history and cultural icon was being lost to the UK. History was indeed repeating itself again as all this was sounding eerily similar to the retirement of Queen Mary back in the 1960’s.
Ryan, unwittingly in the process of letting the captain know how he truly felt, gave me a sense of pride in that he was finally regurgitating all the things I had previously been telling him. But, I was also cringing as he was letting it all hang out, so to speak, and I did not know where this was all going. Was he going to spout off some of my thoughts about the crazy plans we were hearing at the time about removing the funnel or the fact that I really had no desire to go see her in Dubai, of all places? Please stay clear of how I felt about a piece of UK maritime heritage lost to an Arab country. This conversation could have gotten a bit ugly and embarrassing.
Our trip around the UK was QE2’s final farewell lap and everywhere we went, her significance to the people and culture of the UK was readily apparent. People came out in droves to see the ship in every port. We had already been to Greenock, then on to Clydebank, and we had just sadly seen all that was left of her once proud her birthplace at the Titan Crane. Ryan had heard it all from me before and for the past week, had been bombarded with all these facts and the grim reality that the end was near was setting in. He even saw his dad getting a bit choked up at the “funeral service” at Liverpool Cathedral. Now, it was apparent that all of this had been absorbed. I don’t even need to call it brainwashing since he saw it all for himself. Ryan really did get the significance of the ship now. Especially now that the cruise was about to end, he was letting the Captain know his true feelings as only a nine year old could. Captain McNaught, though, handled this situation masterfully, and would turn things around and leave him with words of inspiration.
As any good company man would do, McNaught convincingly offered up the Cunard marketing spin that QE2’s time had come and she was going to be off to a much needed retirement. You know, that “do not fret, she was going off to a nice warm climate for her retirement, to be well cared for by her new owners” mantra that was also given out when they retired the previous Queens. He went on to point out that there’s her replacement, the Queen Mary 2, the world’s only remaining liner, for us to continue enjoying along with the newer ships, including the newly announced Queen Elizabeth. “So while it is sad, enjoy her while you can as there will never be another like her.” Those last words are particularly true. While Queen Mary 2 is a true liner, she was NOT proudly built in the UK on the Clyde.
In retrospect, I’m guessing that McNaught probably has said this response so many times before that it had become second nature and that he might even actually have convinced himself it was true. Now, I was listening intently since Ryan knew all about these two other ships from me and the company I had kept onboard. I think he also knew what ship McNaught would be captaining next, but Ryan asked him anyway, perhaps hoping to hear that he would eventually command Queen Mary 2, a fitting assignment both of us thought to command the current Cunard Flagship. We were also biased since our next cruise with Cunard was most likely going to be on Queen Mary 2. With a somewhat subdued voice, we were informed he would be sharing command of the Queen Victoria as his next assignment, but he went on to tell us a bit about his take on newest Cunarder in typical McNaught fashion.
Comparisons, McNaught style followed. In his discussion, pointing out just how special QE2 was, he dropped this gem. He was moving on, from the oldest to the newest of the Cunard fleet, going from the fastest to the slowest and then the piece de resistance, from the most beautiful to……and then he stopped. You fill in the blank. Clearly, his love for the ship was shining through. These last few cruises and all the retirement events were getting the best of him and it was obvious that this was going to be a difficult transition to his new assignment. (Since he’s not with Cunard or even at sea anymore, I don’t think I’ll be getting him in any trouble now mentioning this.)
After expressing to Ryan how lucky he had been to have experienced the ship, he went to commend him on his interest in ships and to inquire what career he was interested in possibly pursuing, pointing out that he obviously was interested in the sea and ships. Ryan mentioned he wanted to design another liner, as beautiful as QE2. I think it was then that he mentioned that his son was following in his footsteps and inquired what I did. I mentioned that I was an Architect, but had also studied Naval Architecture and that was one reason why the ship was so dear to my heart as well. Now, I knew who Stephen Payne was, but Ryan was not quite up to speed on Queen Mary 2 facts (yet). McNaught then mentions to Ryan that a young boy had written in to a TV show and told them that he was going to design the next great liner to succeed QE2, which at the time, everyone said was going to be the LAST liner built. The boy was Stephen Payne and he followed his dream as he went on, remarkably, to design Queen Mary 2, to replace QE2, inferring to Ryan that he should pursue his dreams and never put any limitations on them.
After seeing Stephen Payne’s detailed explanation of the Blue Peter letter coming full circle, so nicely explained in the video, I am only further in awe of this remarkable achievement in fulfillment of his dream. This remarkable tale also further reinforces just how special QM2 is; taking me back to another special moment I had onboard QM2 last January. It was a sea day and I was standing in the photo gallery looking at a video playing on one of the monitors showing the ship’s christening by QEII.
I was half paying attention to the video, while my main focus was the impressive wave action going on right outside the windows. Moving along at a leisurely 22-23 knots through seas, with the ships bow pushing aside massive quantities of ocean, with the ever so slight ship movement was truly impressive. There was the familiar creaking, yet subdued from what we had come accustomed to on QE2, and the rush of water as the windows displayed the blue green sea. With camera in hand, I was shooting out of the windows between the racks of photos for sail, despite the sign saying photography was prohibited. I was shooting the sea, not the overpriced photos, and others were doing the same. I was hoping to catch a big wave and the washer machine effect, but the seas were just not cooperating. I could have stayed parked in this window seat for the remainder of the day. It was then when it truly hit home that I was onboard a ship worthy of the title of Flagship and replacement for QE2.
It's been over three years now since my last QE2 cruise and over a year has past since our first Queen Mary 2 cruise, yet watching the Stephen Payne video brought back such vivid memories instantly. Thank you Stephen Payne for fulfilling your dream and creating a worthy successor to QE2. I hope to be around to see her replacement in thirty two odd years, or even more dreamily, when another true sistership built someday. Will Ryan go further in pursuit of a career in Naval Architecture? That remains to be seen. If only I can get him away from his Xbox 360 and other distractions a 13 year old faces.
"Tourist Navigation," a phrase used to explain what the Captain of the ill fated Costa Concordia was attempting to do the night of the tragedy was a phrase I had never heard before until I heard the translation of the initial interview with Captain Francesco Schettino after he had fled the scene. People are quick to point fingers at Costa, since they apparently authorized a similar stunt back in August of 2011, concluding then that Costa must share blame in the incident or even worse, that Costa directed him to perform this stunt. In the end, it really doesn't matter. After all, it was their Captain on their ship. Costa is paying the price for this, period. I do find it bordering on insanity, though, that some actually believe Costa would have approved that exact course and that speed that this captain took. Ultimately, it is the Captain's responsibility to plot a safe course and it appears that there was a severe lapse in judgement that led to this accident. Plain and simple human error. Not failures of equipment, or stupid orders from management, but in failure of judgement by the Captain.
It was dark. Passengers were either at the show or eating dinner. No one knew of the "tourist navigation" except a select few crew and those people onshore who were alerted of the event. No one should buy the Captain's flimsy attempt to justify this maneuver after the fact. This was one foolish stunt done by a captain who will pay for the consequences for the remainder of his life. I frankly don't care if Costa knew the captain was going to deviate from course and do this. It really is irrelevant. It was his course and speed that was reckless and irresponsible. He's in command of the ship, whether on bridge or not, and not from Costa management back on land.
Contemplate this; turn ten seconds late and the ship would have ended up on the rocks. Turn ten seconds sooner and Concordia arguably would have escaped this move unscathed and we wouldn't be writing and dwelling on this tragedy. Approaching the island at 15 knots in a ship of that size should never have been contemplated. This course and speed left no room for error and was done for absolutely no reason other than to show off. The ship could easily have stayed a safe distance offshore and still performed this "bow."
The picture above illustrates "tourist navigation" done the right way by Captain Ian McNaught on QE2.
While on board QE2's final lap of honor around the UK back in 2008, a trip which in retrospect, essentially was totally "tourist navigation," Captain McNaught announced the night of October 2nd that the ship would be making an early morning close pass of the port of Douglas on the Isle of Man. This would be a special treat for those on board and onshore; QE2 had never made a port call to the Isle of Man. This would be her first and only, even if it was only a "flyby."
QE2 and Cunard have one strong Isle of Man connection. The Isle of Man is famous for their commemorative stamp issues, many of which feature Cunard ships. There would be a commemorative issue for this occurrence, of which I purchased one on board, signed by the Captain himself. Clearly, while this event wasn't officially listed on the voyage itinerary, it was a completely pre-planned event.
I managed to make it up on deck for the arrival in the early morning. Daybreak was imminent and while the ship had slowed, the wind was bone chilling.
With the decks freshly washed down, the ship still lit up, and the sun on the horizon, the lighting could not have been better.
As we approached Douglas Harbor, the ship slowed to a crawl, but not the wind, which was blowing offshore. This is as close as we were going to get. In this photo, the wide angle lens makes it appear a bit farther, but still, we were a very safe distance offshore.
Off to our starboard, several smaller vessels arrived to take a closer look at us (lights off on the horizon).
The rugged shoreline of the Isle of Man reminded me of the coastline of Scotland. Someday, I must return to the home of Thomas the Tank Engine!
Actually, I really wasn't the only crazy one up here. Those passengers who got up and made it up to forward observation deck were all on the other side. Damn it was cold!
You could actually make out cars lined up along the service road lining the cliffs. I highly doubt Captain McNaught had alerted the island via Facebook we were arriving!
At absolutely no point did anyone view this as a dangerous, showboating maneuver. That thought has never entered my mind on any cruise. Captain McNaught had developed a bit of a reputation over the years for not putting QE2 in harms way, playing it safe to not head into port if the weather conditions were precarious, thus earning the nickname "no ports McNaught" from many. QE2 is old school, without the maneuverability of the current crop of cruise ships, and thus required tugs in all ports. Good captains know the limitations and handling characteristics of their ship and McNaught respected this. Plus, no captain in his right mind would want to put the Most Famous Ship in the World back in the headlines as was done previously with the Martha's Vinyard grounding incident of the 90's.
In retrospect, McNaught actually lived up to his nickname on this trip as well! Our first port of call was to be Cherbourg, France on this trip, but this was changed due to high winds. QE2 would never call on that port again. As McNaught would say, his ultimate responsibility is the safety of the ship and passengers. No arguments with me there. Not a shred of doubt ever entered my mind that this was not his highest priority. With the Concordia disaster, that unwavering faith is still very much present in my mind in regards to Cunard and their captains, but has been shaken somewhat with Costa, a line we have cruised on three times in the past. Is their a culture amongst the management and crew of Costa that would allow this to happen? Questions in this line of thinking will need to be addressed in the various investigations and trials that no doubt will follow.
With our speed still at a crawl, Douglas Harbor was now at our stern. Definitely not making 15 knots here! I'd guess more in the neighborhood of 6-8 knots.
The ship then began to speed up and make a turn to starboard.
As seen here, as the ship is turning, the stern naturally swung wide, similar to what Concordia would have done with a last minute course correction, which ultimately resulted in the large gash and remaining boulder in her hull as her hull swung around and hit the reef.
Early morning sun on the horizon, a photographers delight for early morning light.
QE2's iconic open bridge wings in the dramatic early morning sun. I could have stayed here longer, but the wind and temperature forced me back indoors.
This was one of the few times I was able to be on the forward observation deck to enjoy the morning sun over the bow. It was still cold, but worth it all.
With the Isle of Man to our stern, we were then off to Liverpool for QE2's final call which would include a memorable concert in the Liverpool Cathedral, and then glorious fireworks display at sailaway.
Now that is how "tourist navigation" is done! Captain McNaught, and all Cunard Captains past and present, thank you all for a safe passage and the peace of mind we were aboard the safest ships in the world commanded by expert captains.
All development images courtesy of www.titanic-quarter.com
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