: A september afternoon

[Doc Vernon]

LookingBack392.jpg






Time passes so quickly: Forty-nine years ago today, on September 22nd 1967, the majestic Queen Mary, certainly one of the most successful & beloved liners of all time, left New York for the very last time. And what a record: 1,000 crossings & 2 1/2 million passengers carried. 31 years of service -- including heroics in the War.


On that splendid day, I was there -- watching from the decks, along with several hundred others from the World Ship Society, Port of New York Branch, of a specially chartered Circle Line vessel. We followed the Queen Mary -- distinctively the last three-stacker -- from Pier 92 and then along the Hudson to the Lower Bay and finally under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.


Our good friend Des Kirkpatrick took this wonderful photo from the American Express Bldg along lower Broadway.

[John Pruden]

anyone tell me?? was it true an old rich American lady lived on the queen mary for many years traveling the world.if true what a life being waited on for years now I think years ago the story was on the radio... jp

[Ivan Cloherty]

God Bless America for saving her!

[Captain Kong]

Hi John
On QE2 an American Lady, Beatrice Mueller, lived on the QE2 until it was sold now she is on QM2,
I have met her several times and sailed with her round the world. She became quite a celebrity, and always invited to the best Cocktail Parties.

She was on a cruise with her husband and he died, so she investigated Retirement Homes and found they were too expensive. The Cheapest option was on a Cruise Liner, and what better than QE2, She had an inside cabin, the cheapest, [ they are only for sleeping in and showering in] and has a fun day every day with many friends, Her sons and daughters fly out for their vacations and stay with her on the ship for a couple of weeks at a time. so she still sees them. She has the best meals every day, the best entertainment every day, her Laundry is done for her. And when the ship goes into Dry Dock, Cunard put her into the Dorchester Hotel in London for the duration.
She has a good life.
Now compare that with a retirement home. The price of one in UK is dearer than what Cunard charge, and you are stuck in a miserable home, no change of scenery, just staring at a bulkhead, or of people except the ones who die. If you do the Long Term booking as she has done in an inside cabin it is very cheap and affordable with the average Pension.
I am planning on something like that, sure beats the hell out of a Home. and Cheaper. You do not have to be rich.
Brian

[Doc Vernon]

I recall somewhere else on the site this was brought as well JP but cannot find the Thread now!
Cheers

[joseph connor]

And in the bottom right hand corner tantalizing images of proper ships .

[j.sabourn]

When I look back on all the ships I was on, I can remember cursing some of them and praising others for their sustainability. Whatever they looked like to a shore person meant nothing to me, they never knew the feeling between seaman and ship. In all truth they felt as though they had a heart beat of their own ( apart from the engine noise) When that engine stopped and were just drifting to the whim of wind and tide was like someone dying, but when restarted was like new life had restarted. It was not the ships fault if she appeared scruffy and unkempt to outsiders it was due to human factors. I cursed a ship I was on whose capabilities were beyond what was called for in one bad incident in my life, but that same undernourished ship like any human being kept us all afloat and safely back to shore. She did her part of the bargain. I still curse some of the ships I sailed on, but realize was not their fault. By the same token seeing glamourace passenger vessels don't mean very much to me, they are just pretty ships painted up and pretending to passengers they are really going to sea as real seafarers. I cant imagine being part of a team sailing on such, as part of a team as would appear to be a false existence to myself. Anyhow would not probably get past the Bull.... that seemed to go on. I sailed with ex Bridge passenger personell both deep sea and offshore, most of those offshore didn't last too long, and those deepsea were obviously missing their past experiences of passenger liners, and must have been a drop in height and living conditions to many. However everyone to his/her liking. Apart from God blessing America he should also bless all ships of whatever origin. When sailing on the Sunprincess which was as near as I was ever likely to get to a passenger ship, I had more knowledge of that vessel than anyone else apart from those who assisted me in putting wooden plugs through underwater shell plating and cement boxes round the same. If passengers had known and disclosed to press there would of been obscene headlines made. However this was the ordinary practice of seamen, and gave one a feeling of accomplishment, which in todays shipping would of been unheard of, I was one of a very small team who knew the weaknesses and strength of the vessel I was sailing on. It used to be the first of may things one learned on going to sea was to know your ship, I have always tried to whenever possible to live by those rules, one wasn't just paid to stand on the bridge dressed up, that was secondary to the job. End of Genesis part 1. Cheers JWS

[j.sabourn]

PS A big exception to this rule was one of the masters off one of the Queens, who after retirement returned to sea and was quite happy to sail as 2nd.mate on one of the Temple Ships, was going to say boats then, then remembered Ivans aversion to such. Like the big tanker companies of years gone past think the masters and Chiefs retired about 55. Cheers JWS

[j.sabourn]

When I was up for masters in 1963, there had been a fire on a passenger ship off the Canarys just prior to this, believe she was Spanish or Italian, when I was ashore I was ashore and didn't take ships home with me, if I had I would of realized that it would be a topic at the MOT orals. Sure enough it cropped up and think the examiner was taken what had happened in the passenger ship incident, he was talking about sprinkler systems which at the time 1963 were very rare and I had not really sailed with them to the scale of passenger ships design. Anyhow for the first half hour he let me ramble on about fire parties and doing this and doing that, after half an hour he said stop. You as master do not leave the bridge, you delegate. He let me off for half an hour with a list of questions which I should know all about fire fighting apparatus, that half an hour I spent on the Newcastle quayside with the L and G fire fighting apparatus makers. Going back he asked me only a couple of the questions and then went on to ship handling something totally different. However as regards the delegating I often wondered in latter years with the reduction in ships crews if he would still be of the same mind. I was in that examine room till 1630 after going in at 0900 hrs. In the ship handling he had me shifting a single screw steamer from one of the London docks round Knuckle ends and through locks. Coming up to 1630 he said I was a pilot for 30 years and never seen a ship come off a berth like that, but in theory you are correct, and threw the pink slip at me. I knew then what they meant when they said watch the knuckle Harry. They talk these days about doing away with exams as it may traumatise the students, they don't know what trauma is. If he had stayed in the room whilst I was on the deviascope think I would have surrendered and walked out. Cheers JWS End of Genesis part 2

[Ivan Cloherty]

7,8,and 9 very interesting John, nearest I got to a passenger ship (apart from the 12 passenger ships of PSNC) was the Reina Del Pacifico, just standing by her in Liverpool, it did not appeal to me at all and glad I never sailed on her, they wouldn't have had me anyway with my then strong Yorkshire Pudding Accent, diluted a bit now with having lived in various countries and four years sailing with scousers, now nobody knows where I'm from except 'oop norf'; anyway I loved the uncertainty of tramping, you could sail on the same ship but with a change of Master you could have well sailed with two different companies without giving up your cabin, the quiet ones, but strict and fair, always seemed to generate more respect and taught us young-uns valuable lessons in diplomacy and fairness

My only aversion to 'boats' is by shorewallahs of which 99.9% have no idea what a cargo ship looks like or how important they are to their very survival, I only say God Bless America for saving the Queen because otherwise she would be razor blades by now, in fact our cousins across the water are saving another British built steamship from late1800's as it forms part of their history. Our Govt (of all hues) seems quite happy to consign our heritage to the dustbin.

It would have been nice to save an Empire and an SD14 somewhere around our shores so that people knew what was the backbone of our country, but no, like Torquay, they have no interest, instead telling the owner of an fully restored MTB (okay I know it's RN) who fell behind with very expensive harbour dues to take his wreck and sling it, instead of offering him concessions