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Post by comet on Aug 2, 2008 14:56:48 GMT
Hi Folks.
I worked on a ferry during the late 70s and early 80s ,
Running from Roslare in Ireland to Le Harve and Cherbourg in France and occasionally to Rotterdam during the French STRIKES at the ports.
During one particular storm several container trucks broke loose from their tie down chains and spent several hours sliding around the car decks crushing passengers cars and anything else that got in the way, Some of the cars were crushed to the height of their engines about 15 inches (380mm) or so and were just dragged of with a fork lift when we finally came ashore .The noise was incredible, also when the stern of the ship leaves the water completely the propellers speed up and the whole ship trembles as the propellers re enter the water. That night was so rough the waves were hitting the windows of the bridge which is normally about seventy feet above sea level.
For some time afterward there was HALF of a tanker docked at Le Harve that had just snapped in two like a beer can. It was incredible to see such thick steel torn apart as if it were wet tissue paper.
It was all quite a learning experience and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
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Post by stevemacdonald on Oct 19, 2008 0:57:17 GMT
Here's something I'll bet you didn't know: It takes 45 minutes for the QM2 to coast to a full stop from its top speed.
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Post by Richard on Oct 19, 2008 7:44:25 GMT
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Oct 19, 2008 14:02:13 GMT
Hello folks!  The Queen Victoria is due to set sail on a world cruise from Southampton on 2nd January 2009...If anybody has 107 nights to spare Hi Richard and thanks... but... Not so much of the  please! Didn't you see this bit? A snip at £11,459 to £38,479. Someone should mention this to Hayley, she might want to take the cruise home from England - arriving home on Valentines day!  I'd post a photo of the QV that I took earlier this year from a range of 3 miles, near Southampton... but I can only post this link to the photo of Queen Victoria, because *someone*  has banned photos from the Off Topic board!  Cheers, Dave who won't have 107 nights and £11,459 to spare, or even half that! |
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Post by martindn on Oct 22, 2008 20:11:32 GMT
Well, you live and learn. I was in Christchurch Dorset two weeks ago, and that too has a River Avon, (there are at least two others with than name in England of course, the "Stratford" (and Rugby, where I work) Avon and the "Bristol" Avon. "Avon" is of course an anglicisation of the Welsh word "Arfon" which means river.
Our Christchurch also has a river Stour, and there are other Stours in England too (at least two I can think of).
Martin
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Post by Richard on Oct 23, 2008 8:19:37 GMT
Our Christchurch also has a river Stour, and there are other Stours in England too (at least two I can think of). Hello Martin! One of them is in Canterbury, Kent, and Christchurch NZ is also in Canterbury! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifRichard |
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Post by Dave on Nov 11, 2008 19:42:07 GMT
Hello everyone, This is the closest thread that I could find and I didn't want to start another one, so please excuse me for being slightly off topic! The Queen Elizabeth 2 transatlantic ocean liner has just slipped its moorings in its home port for the last 40 years, Southampton. This is the prelude to its final voyage, in a few hours time, from Southampton to Dubai, wjhere it will become a floating luxury hotel. Over the next few hours, there will be tremendous celebrations as Southampton waves it goodbye and you can watch it live on the BBC website here news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7723073.stmI am at home, 7 miles away over land... and as she slipped her moorings, she sounded her horn, while I watched live TV coverage. I then went outside and heard the sounds again, 10 seconds later, direct from 7 miles away. Oh, it's just done it again and I heard it again!!! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif Now the fireworks have started... I'm off to see if i can see them too! Cheers, Dave |
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Post by graemek on Nov 11, 2008 20:55:37 GMT
Hi Dave & All, This is not the Queen Victoria either but it is the QE2 off Sydney Heads last year some time. A very sleek ship, QE2, she's how ships should look. Shame she's disappearing from the oceans of the world.  farm1.static.flickr.com/162/385327987_cbb63bcadc_b.jpgGraeme  |
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Post by Joe on Nov 12, 2008 0:02:17 GMT
Hi Dave,
I heard something that the QE2 became lodged in a sandbar when it left port. I'll bet it needed a jolly good nudge with a couple of heft tugboats. I'll have to see if there is any news on this!
Joe
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Post by grant on Nov 12, 2008 0:20:39 GMT
I heard something that the QE2 became lodged in a sandbar when it left port. I'll bet it needed a jolly good nudge with a couple of heft tugboats. I'll have to see if there is any news on this! Yes Joe! I don't know any details but it was a headline in the midday edition of the London Evening Standard as I headed home. Dave will no doubt tell us all about it in due course!  Best wishes Grant |
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Post by Joe on Nov 12, 2008 0:52:55 GMT
Hello Grant, Apparently the QE2 shuddered and rocked when it got lodged in the sandbar. The ship was later inspected and surveyors found no damage to the underside. I learned that the vessel will do a bit of a tour, visiting Lisbon, Rome, and the Suez Canal before reaching Dubai on 27 November. Some facts: The liner has sailed nearly six million nautical miles, been round the world 25 times, crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and carried more than 2.5 million passengers.  |
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Post by Dave on Nov 12, 2008 3:04:59 GMT
Hello Joe, Grant, Graeme and everyone! Well following my last post in this thread, I grabbed my camera bag (which hopefully contained my camera!), torch and wellies to head off to the shoreline of Southampton Water, in the middle of nowhere (SE of Warsash/Hamble) with cars massed everywhere so nowhere to park and only 20 minutes before the great ship was expected to sail by. Desperate measures were called for! Knowing the area well, I headed off down what ended up as a country lane, cars even there, found a place to park and trudged through half a mile of muddy woodland to get to the beach. Which was lined with QE2 wellwishers, even in the middle of nowhere in the cold and dark (but under a beautiful and fitting full moon!) The ship and its huge flotilla of accompanying boats arrived after 15 minutes and as usual, a magnificent sight it was - lit up in the dark, 3/4 of a mile across the water. Foghorns and flares abounded, it was quite exciting! Photos were very difficult, at distances from 3/4 of a mile to 5 miles in the dark, wind and with a telephoto lens handheld. I'll do a link to one or two of them later today. Yes Joe, for the first and only time in it's almost 800 visits to Southampton, it ran aground on the way into port around 7 am. This was at Brambles Bank, a large sand bank halfway between the Isle of Wight and the mainland and round which all large vessels must execute a perfect zig-zag (turns of 135 and then 90 degrees!) to get by. The channel is narrow and in the near-gale force SW wind in the early morning, it was blown off course and ran onto the sand bank. They sent five of the biggest tug boats from Southampton to help pull it off and after inspection later, it was found to be undamaged. Apparently, everyone on board immediately jumped to the conclusion that the "Old Queen" just did not want to leave Southampton for ever, so she did her best to stay there! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifIt was quite a day but now, she's gone for good... news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7723073.stmCheers, Dave |
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Post by stevemacdonald on Dec 10, 2008 16:24:28 GMT
Before you all rush out to book a cruise on QV, please read this review. Pay particular attention to the reviewers remarks about how rocky the ship felt in gale force 4 seas. I won't be boarding it anytime soon. |
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Post by graemek on Dec 10, 2008 22:20:48 GMT
Before you all rush out to book a cruise on QV, please read this review. Pay particular attention to the reviewers remarks about how rocky the ship felt in gale force 4 seas. I won't be boarding it anytime soon. quote from that review Steve: That tells me enough....my sympathy goes to the waitress. Graeme  |
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Post by graemek on Feb 21, 2009 0:33:52 GMT
Hi Any Shiplovers out there, I'd forgotten that this thread existed, but since yesterday I deliberately drove to Sydney Heads to watch Queen Victoria depart these shores, I needed somewhere to display some of my shots. What more appropriate than this??? She's turning into the "Heads" here. Notice the swivelling propulsion unit symbol just above the waterline. The Pacific/Tasman was more peaceful than usual. Very warm too. Graeme |
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has banned photos from the Off Topic board! 
