In May 2015 Lynn and I took
a round-trip transatlantic voyage from New York on the Queen Mary 2 that
included a cruise of the British Isles, with visits to Southampton, Cork,
Dublin, Glasgow, Oban, Liverpool, Guernsey, and Southampton again.
The
cruise was a centerpiece of this year’s 175th anniversary of Cunard
Lines, highlighted by the first ever rendezvous of all three Queen ships (Mary,
Elizabeth, and Victoria) in Liverpool, with fireworks, laser light show,
synchronized ship maneuvers in the River Mersey, etc.
It
was mostly cold, but exhilarating
The
spare propeller blades on the fordeck are huge!
The
ship’s interior is elegant
Buckler’s
Hard, a former ship yard near Southampton, was the site where most of the
British square-rigger warships were built in the late 1700s and early
1800s. The small museum has nice ship models, dioramas, and many
artifacts including some of Admiral Nelson’s clothing and a lock of his hair.
We
had delicious tea and scones at an old inn on Loch Linnhe near Oban, Scotland.
Liverpool
has a variety of interesting sites, including of course many Beatles venues,
but best for me is the maritime museum on the waterfront which has major units
on the sinking of the Lusitania, the Titanic, and much else including incredible
ship models. My Swedish maternal grandfather Anton Carlson almost certainly
sailed out of Liverpool when he emigrated to America in 1890.
Queens
Elizabeth and Victoria, viewed from our vantage on the Mary 2, during the
rendezvous on the Mersey at Liverpool. There were millions of spectators lining
both sides of the river in the towns and beaches, waving British flags and
cheering. Helicopters with BBC live TV cameras were overhead, and it felt like
the QM2 was the best place in the world to be during those hours.
A tender transfer to St. Peter Port, Guernsey island.
Guernsey
island, in the British Channel Islands near the coast of France (the only
British soil occupied by Germany during WW2), is stunningly beautiful with
spectacular coastlines full of German bunkers.
The
Pilgrims’ monument in Southampton, at the site from where the Mayflower sailed
in 1620, is a couple of blocks from the 800-yr-old Duke of Wellington pub,
where Lynn and I met with my old friend James Sinclair whom I had not seen
since 60 years ago when we became friends as boys in India. My English ancestor
William Hough, who sailed to America in 1641, probably sailed out of
Southampton and perhaps had a pint there in the Duke before boarding his ship!
