Showing posts with label Castle Line. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Castle Line. Show all posts
29 June 2016
MINERVA 14th May 2016 Part 6 at sea rounding Ushant
Thursday 19th May 2016
Oh my, we're at sea and it is very rough. The sea and sky all looked grey, although the ship seems to be riding it well. I was able to go for a late breakfast although the Veranda Restaurant was not as busy as usual. I decided to miss the first lecture at 9.30 about gardening and plants, helped with the current jigsaw in the Library and went to the 11.30 a.m. lecture about The Language of Icons, given by The Rev'd Canon Ian Ainsworth-Smith.
The ship was very quiet today as I believe many people were seasick, and stayed in their cabins. I had lunch with some friends and then took to my bed to help pass the time and weather conditions. We are travelling around Ushant and of course that can be a very wild part of the coast.
It reminded me of the trip that I made with my late husband in June 1996 when we were invited to commemorative events on the islands of Molene and Ushant, held to remember the DRUMMOND CASTLE. She was a Castle Line ship that foundered off the notorious coast of Ushant, like so many before and since, on 16th June 1896 coming up from Cape Town. The weather on the 16th June 1996 was absolutely calm under a beautiful blue sky, so we all felt very fortunate. Wreaths were put into the sea from various local and national French organisations, including one from Union-Castle Line. My husband worked as Business Travel Manager for Union-Castle Travel in London and had arranged for a big anchor of flowers to be made and available for us to collect in Le Conquet. We were on a local lifeboat, with many larger ships forming a loose circle around us and the marker buoy in the ocean, as the wreaths were tossed into the sea.
Two hundred and forty-three passengers back then did not survive, but three were saved by the people of Molene, when they managed to get ashore. In time the news finally reached the UK, and caused great upset at the terrible news of the disaster. There were public collections in the UK for the island people of Molene and 'numerous tokens of gratitude' given; Queen Victoria was so grateful for their life-saving efforts that she donated a clock which was sent to the island as a gift.
Our visit was quite emotional for the islanders, as well as us, and it was memorable to meet a few relations of the survivors, who had also made the journey to the islands in June 1996. We left gifts at the local museum and with the Mayor, and were pleased to have been invited to be part of the day's events and lunch. We were amongst one hundred and fifty official personalities representing France at the ceremonies, and felt very honoured to have been invited from our country.
Back to today though, and by 6 p.m. it was time to attend a short Choir Rehearsal, ready for our evening appearance (well, all 5 minutes of it) with the Opera del Mare at their 9.30 p.m. Concert. Our MINERVA cruise is 'Glorious Gardens and the Chelsea Flower Show' so of course the songs tonight were a celebration of Flowers and Gardens. We made our short appearance on stage for a chorus in 'We'll Gather Lilacs', standing very firmly on the stage to counteract the movement of the ship in the rough seas, and felt very pleased with the applause given for our tiny part in the proceedings.
At 10.15 many of us went up to the Orpheus Lounge for a Trivia Quiz and that was a fun ending to a strange day. The clocks go back 1 hour tonight ready for our port of call in Guernsey tomorrow, when we will be back on our own British Summer Time. That will be another tender port so we do hope the weather and seas will have improved and allow to anchor there.
No ships seen today.
To be continued...
08 July 2012
HORIZON with the Ocean Liner Society 27th May 2012
HORIZON with the Ocean Liner Society
27th May 2012
I’ve been a member of the London-based Ocean Liner Society for many years, and enjoy the monthly lectures in the little Farringdon hothouse that currently serves as the meeting place. An added bonus is the quarterly magazine ‘Sea Lines’. A few years ago the Committee decided that it would be a good idea to try and arrange a group cruise, on a date and at a cost that would suit members, so I was very pleased to book and join the 2012 cruise on board HORIZON of Croisieres de France.
I first saw the ship on 10th May 2003, berthed at one of New York’s finger piers. I had been out walking with the maritime author and friend Mr Theodore (Ted) Scull, and a mutual friend from New Zealand, and we had all climbed the 243 steps up from the Weehawken ferry terminal; we stood at one end of the Palisades over on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, admiring the ships at the ‘finger’ piers in the Port of New York. We could see QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, HORIZON, ZENITH, NORWEGIAN SEA and ADONIA, and so I took a photograph. I carried a print of it with me for this second sighting of HORIZON, and decided my diary notes just had to be called “Broadening my Horizons….”
in New York, May 2003
Saturday 26th May 2012
I flew from the UK to Marseille in the south of France, and the welcoming warmth was so lovely, after the endless rain at home, despite the constant noise of road works and impatient drivers. I met some of my travelling companions for dinner in the Old Port, and we were all looking forward to joining the ship tomorrow.
HORIZON was built in 1990 for Celebrity Cruises, as was ZENITH in 1992, for the New York to Bermuda run. Celebrity was formed in April 1988 by Chandris Line, but in turn was bought by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. in 1997, and HORIZON at 46,811 tons was soon the smallest ship in their growing fleet. In 2005 HORIZON became ISLAND STAR in Island Cruises which was a joint venture with TUI, but when Royal Caribbean pulled out of Island Cruises, she rejoined ZENITH at Pullmantur Cruises in Spain and was renamed PACIFIC DREAM. Royal Caribbean then decided to place her with Pullmantur Cruises in France (Croisieres de France) this Spring (2012) and she is now back under her original name, with the ‘all inclusive’ cruises that Pullmantur offer.
Ships seen: several local ferries for Chateau D’If and other nearby islands
Ships not seen, but known to be in port: Norwegian Epic, MSC Fantasia, Hamburg, MSC Divina, Costa Serena
Sunday 27th May 2012
Another blue sky warm day, so breakfast was followed by a brisk walk to look inside two local churches, and then a taxi ride to the Cruise Port for embarkation on Croisieres de France’s HORIZON. Nearby was MSC’s newest ship DIVINA, which had been named by the Italian film star Sophia Loren. We were soon on board and I located my cabin 9051; it was said to have a restricted view because of lifeboats but luckily I was between two of them and could enjoy the view.
We had lifeboat drill, then sailed out of the port and started to enjoy our all-inclusive drinks package.
Our group was allocated 4 tables for dinner in the Restaurant Le Splendide, so we enjoyed our first meal on board and then Disco Night.
Ships seen: Napoleon Bonaparte, Paglia Orba, MSC Divina, Piana, Calliste, Scandola, Jean Nicoli, Atlantic Star (yes, still there), M.N. Eclipse, Ark Forwarder (registered in London), Gaschem Werra, Janina, Hansa Catalina, FS Camille
Monday 28th May 2012
I woke soon after 5 a.m. and pulled my heavy curtains and then the voile ones aside slightly to peep out of the window at the early morning sky and sea. Within moments the glass was covered in a gentle shower of water drops, from a Deck Hand on the deck below mine who was washing everything down with a hosepipe. I had to laugh, and waved at him, and he was surprised but waved back quickly as he continued with his work. I went back to sleep, probably with a smile on my face.
At a more civilised hour I met friends for breakfast, and we enjoyed the thought of another hot day – what a treat – and a 9 a.m. arrival in the bay of Santa Margherita, Italy. Excursion passengers took the first tenders ashore, and then it was our turn.
We enjoyed walking and sightseeing around the town, which is where Guglielmo Marconi came in 1931 on his laboratory boat to start working on micro-waves.
Over the next few years he frequently anchored his boat off Santa Margherita, to continue his experiments with radio and telegraphic signals. Land beacons were built in the hills above, and finally in November 1936 he was able to have a telephone conversation between his ship Elettra, the city of New York and two planes flying over New York itself. Santa Margherita is proud of Mr Marconi and his connection with their town, and there is a wall plaque and road named after him, so we were pleased to see those, and other buildings of interest, before returning to the ship and enjoying the facilities on board.
The evening’s dress code and entertainment was Tropical Night so I wore part of my Diamond Jubilee celebration outfit, including some rather unusual shoes.
I also enjoyed talking with another OLS friend who mentioned that his great-grandfather was a Castle Line captain. The Captain’s young daughter often went with him so had tales to tell in later life to her grandson. I don’t often meet someone with pre-1900 Union-Castle Line connections (when Union Line and Castle Line amalgamated) so that was an interesting chat.
Ships seen: Azamara Quest (Azamara Club Cruises), Club Med 2 with her five masts, Mein Schiff 2 at a distance, Grimaldi Euro Cargo.
To be continued....
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