Ships in May 2021, Part 3, the final one

Saturday 22nd May 2021

I was up and out for some fresh air before breakfast this morning, as the gales seem to have died down slightly, and life seemed less turbulent. 

 

After checking out of the hotel, we drove to Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays underground parking.  The first piece of good news was that the harbour cruises were running, and we were soon in the short queue to buy tickets to board ALI CAT OF COWES for a real harbour cruise around Portsmouth Harbour. 

 

Ali Cat of Cowes, near Jenny M and Albula

Victoria of Wight

We were soon on board, wearing face masks of course to comply with one of the remaining Covid restrictions in this part of the UK;  the number of passengers allowed on board was reduced too and we were reminded to follow social distancing, but it felt wonderful to be there, and everyone around looked cheerful. 

 

At 11 a.m. we set sail, and the cameras were again in use.  Nearby was the little JENNY M, and the rather larger ALBULA.  In a couple of minutes we arrived at our first stop at the Dockyard, to pick up more passengers, and finally we left that quayside and sailed out into the harbour proper.  We could see so many ships and small vessels, including the mighty HMS WARRIOR built in 1862, and other tugs and Naval vessels. 

 

Haslar Marina

Wight Ryder 1

Wight Ryder II and the Spinnaker Tower

The old floating bridge number 5, Hempel

HMS Warrior

Vessel number 68 from the USA

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH

Ahead we could see the very new Aircraft carrier HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, who is due to sail from here in Portsmouth this very evening.  She looked vast, compared with the other vessels around her, but I was very pleased to see her for real.  There were many other Royal Navy vessels nearby, many of whom are probably going to accompany HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH this evening. 

 

As we approached these ships we had to keep outside a restricted area of course, with several Police vessels showing where we could sail.  I started taking pictures of the Aircraft Carrier and suddenly became aware of something unexpected.  Near a high point on one of the top turrets I could see a sight I thought  I recognised:   I could see the Royal Standard, the flag flown on a building or ship when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is on board!  The more I looked, the more certain I felt.  What an occasion to be here, on my first sailing since September 2019, with a good friend, and it wasn't raining! 

That looks like the Royal Standard

On board the new aircraft carrier

The bow and ramp

 

At the furthest part of the route we could see another new cruise ship, the VIKING VENUS.  I was pleased to see her, knowing that she starts her maiden voyage from here today.  She will head up to Liverpool as her first port of call. 

The brand new Viking Venus

Viking Venus bow

SD Helen

HMS Enterprise

SD Christina and others

Diligence, who went to the Falklands

The bow of Viking Venus

Logo and funnel of Viking Venus

Geest Line Lombok Strait

HMS Victory

On the way back I was happy to see H.M.S. VICTORY, launched in 1765, and of course best known as Lord Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805.  I believe many in the UK consider that 21st October would be the ideal date for an extra Bank Holiday, because of the long gap at present between the Bank Holiday on the last Monday in August and Christmas Day on 25th December.

 

Our little harbour cruise finally came to an end and we had to disembark back at Gunwharf Quays.  It had been a good morning, at sea, and was a very reassuring way to start to get back to what we all hope will be normal life in the coming months. 

 

Back on dry land we headed for the small cafe at the bottom of the Spinnaker Tower and considered all the ships we had seen today, many of them about to leave on big adventures.  We wish them all well. 

 

Ships seen:  Ali Cat of Cowes, Jenny M, Albula, Wight Ryder I, Wight Ryder II, Spirit of Gosport, HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, HMS Queen Elizabeth, St. Faith, VIC56, Diligence - a Royal Navy ship who had been to the Falklands, HMS Enterprise, the floating bridge number 5 called Hempel now at Gosport Marina, HMS Duncan, SD Victoria, SD tugs including SD Helen, HMS Bristol, SD Netley, Norton, Suzanne, Christina, Yorkshireman, Scotsman, Geest's Lombok Strait, Viking Venus, Victoria of Wight, St. Clare, Mont St. Michel

SUMMER 2016 - July ferrying, Part 1

Friday 15th July 2016
I took a 5.45 a.m. flight from Gatwick airport to Athens, flying east after takeoff, and I could see some of the City of London's skyline including the Shard skyscraper as we headed out.

We flew south of the River Thames and River Medway and I remembered visiting Chatham Historical Dockyard only three weeks ago. I spent a fascinating day there, seeing and hearing so many different things. My father had been apprenticed as a fitter to a nearby local ship builder and I took with me on my visit his Indentures of Apprenticeship dated April 1924. These ended in 1929 and several months later he went to sea as a very junior Engineer with Blue Star Line. Father's father had been an engine fitter in the Chatham Dockyard and in turn his father had been a blacksmith in the Dockyard. I just love knowing that they lived in Trafalgar Street! Nelson's ship VICTORY was of course built in Chatham Dockyard and launched in May 1765, took part in various sea battles, and became Nelson's flagship in 1803 until his death on board at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805. The ship can now be visited in Portsmouth, still afloat after all these years. Several members of staff at Chatham would love to have her back in the Dockyard where she was built...

Back to the real world of today, and we arrived in Athens at 11.15 local time into hot sunshine under a cloudless blue sky. What a wonderful contrast with home in the UK. An airport bus took me and one of my travelling companions into the port of Piraeus where we met our other travelling companion.

We bought water, food for lunch at a local bakery, and then walked round the inner harbour to look at the tragic sight of PANAGIA TINOU, better known more recently as AGIOS GEORGIOS and then originally as the famous HENGIST of Sealink days. She had been in winter layup in Piraeus's inner harbour but suddenly leaned over in May and now rests on the bottom, with a red boom around her. I have had many happy sailings on her from here but we all wondered if we might ever do so in the future.

Rather than dwell on that, we took the little ELENA boat out to Salamis island and enjoyed our picnic lunch on the way. It felt wonderful to be at sea again, passing so many big ferries and cruise ships in the Great Harbour as we headed out. We have many days of ferrying ahead of us and this was a wonderful start to the trip.

In lay-up we could see LOUIS AURA, looking unchanged, THEOFILOS, AQUA JEWEL, ALKYON, and of course RASA SAYANG (the sunken remains of the cruise ship BERGENSFJORD), and many other familiar names on the way to Salamis.

Panagia Tinou, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Prevelis



Panagia Tinou, ex Agios Georgios, ex Hengist

Ionis

Blue Horizon

Knossos Palace

Kriti 1

Superfast XII

Celebrity Reflection

Theofilos at Perama

Aqua Jewel far in the distance

Caribbean Galaxy

Rasa Sayang

Louis Aura

Corse

Spongebob Squarepants

Elena, our little ferry here at Salamis before we returned to the Great Harbour at Piraeus

Seajets Superjet

The show at the end of the Pier...

A new cruise terminal in the harbour

Phivos


Back in the harbour we checked in for our first big ship of the trip: BLUE STAR PATMOS, which we are taking to Naxos via Paros. She was built in 2012 at 18,498 gross tons.

Our itinerary ports, shown with a red spot

Anek's Kydon, seen from Blue Star Patmos

Vitsentzos Kornaros

A Seajets vessel, with a view behind

Welcome on board Blue Star Patmos


We left at 5.30 p.m., had a delicious fish dinner, enjoyed the warm sea airs, called briefly at Paros just before 10 p.m. and arrived at the island of Naxos at 10.50 p.m. We were met on the busy quayside by the man from our overnight Panorama Hotel, and we all walked up the steep hillside streets almost to the castle walls. It was hot and picturesque, and the air-conditioning, cool showers and comfy beds were very welcome.

Ships seen: Elena ferry to Salamis, Knossos Palace, Blue Horizon, Panagia Tinou, Prevelis, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Adamantes Korais, Flying Dolphins 18 and 29, Blue Star Patmos, Louis Aura, Theofilos at Perama, Corinthian small cruise ship, Agios Meklarios Aeginas, European Express, Pelagatis, Kriti I, Nearchos, Highspeed 4, Highspeed 6, Champion Jet 2, Spongebob Squarepants, Corse, Sunny (ex Trelleborg), Ionian Sky, Nissos Samos, Rasa Sayang (the remains of Bergensfjord), Kali P, Caribbean Galaxy (Atlantic Blue Seaways), Aqua Jewel, Alkyon, Flying Dolphin XVII and XVIII, Celebrity Reflection.


To be continued...

HOVERCRAFT & OTHER VESSELS Part 3 (the concluding one) - Brittany Ferries

22nd October 2016
MONT ST. MICHEL
Back at the Wightlink terminal we could disembark and return to the parked car, ready for another little journey - this time to the Brittany Ferry Terminal which is part of the Portsmouth International Port. On 20th October 2016 Brittany Ferries announced that they have just renegotiated a deal to continue sailings from Portsmouth International Port for the next eleven years. Two of us checked in here whilst the car was being parked safely, and then all three of us joined the queue to get the little bus to take us alongside our next ship of the trip.

Arrivals

Departures


This afternoon we are to sail on a much bigger vessel: Brittany Ferries MONT ST. MICHEL from Portsmouth to the port of Caen, the city in the Lower Normandy area of northern France. We were soon on board and enjoying the prospect of sailing from here in sunshine at 2.45 p.m. We were last on here in May 2013 and up on deck we could see an immediate difference around the funnel area. She was built and delivered in 2002, at 35,586 gross tons, but now we could see where the exhaust gas scrubbers have been fitted, to remove sulphur from their exhaust emissions.

New exhaust gas scrubbers have been fitted


The ship can carry 830 cars/lorries at full capacity, on decks 3,4,5 and 6; and 2,120 passengers in deck 7 aft cabins and deck 9 forward cabins as well as reserved seat lounges and other public rooms.

We were soon sailing and enjoying the views of HMS VICTORY, the Emirates Spinnaker Tower as it is now known (170 metres high and open to the public) and Spitbank Fort out in the Solent. The Fort was started in 1859 as one of four of Lord Palmerston's Forts to defend approaches to Portsmouth Harbour, completed in 1878 and fitted with guns. These were replaced with newer armaments over the years until the Spitbank Fort was sold by the Ministry of Defence in 1982. It is now a most unusually-situated private luxury hotel, although still a Scheduled Monument.

HMS Victory

A hopper dredger named Reynaert, built in 2007, with a home port of Flushing in the Netherlands

Making her way past us

South Parade Pier, Southsea

Spitbank Fort

Our ship and route


On board MONT ST. MICHEL tea and cake was enjoyed in La Galerie Self-Service Restaurant with its forward views, and then we had the chance to 'show and tell' about our various ship-related purchases or events since we last met and travelled together. It was only last month (September) but we all seem to lead busy and interesting lives...

A hour or two later we had missed the Quiz in the main lounge, had missed the Wizard (!) entertaining the children in another public area, didn't want to see a film in the cinema, and realised it was time to enjoy evening dinner in the A La Carte Restaurant on board.

After that it was soon time to watch for the 9.30 p.m. arrival in Caen (Ouistreham) and disembarkation some time after that. We are booked to travel home again on the MONT ST. MICHEL overnight but still had to leave the ship, exit the terminal and could then enjoy a short walk in the dark fresh air outside.

When the call came to check in and board the MONT ST. MICHEL, we joined the inevitable queue and I admired the poster pictures I could see nearby.

Poster picture of Phare de Ouistreham (lighthouse)


Sailing time of 23.00 was fast approaching but the Security people had only just turned up so there were lots of delays at the first part of the queue as foot passengers were scanned and/or patted down, as well as putting luggage through the scanner. With luggage collected, Passports then had to be shown further along and this took up more time. We then had to get outside the building and onto a bus, to be taken to the ship. We noticed that some people had been so delayed that the bus left without them, but it was sailing time by the time we were on board, and presumably the bus went back to collect the remainder of the footies. That all seemed a little disorganised and time-consuming to many of us, but that was the way it was.

Back on board MONT ST. MICHEL it was good to leave weekend rucksacks in the cabin and enjoy the surroundings. I really like the flow of the design of this ship, and the various public rooms and staircases. They all seem very passenger-friendly to me.

Guide to Onboard Services

Deck 10

Deck 9

Deck 8

Deck 7


We are to sail overnight back to Portsmouth so there was time for a short sleep before arrival at 06.45 a.m.

Mont St. Michel


Sunday 23rd October 2016
That was indeed a short night on board MONT ST. MICHEL but breakfast up on the Deck 9 Le Cafe du Festival meant a good start as we headed into Portsmouth Harbour and disembarkation. It was barely daylight by the time we were on the quayside and saw the ubiquitous bus to take us to the terminal. We collected the car from the car park and I was then given a lift to the nearest train station, which certainly helped me.

I live in an area with frequent planned and unplanned strikes and cancellations by the Southern Rail company, plus staff shortages, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover a train leaving in ten minutes to a destination that would help me. I think I was the only passenger on board for a few miles, and there was no heating whatsoever - the train guard and I had a friendly moan together as he passed through my carriage - but at least I was on my way home.

Yesterday had been a FIVE SHIP DAY and what a contrast in vessels they had been, as well as an enjoyable day out.