Druke I

Thanks for the correction on the name of the sub captain.

Nonetheless, it was a stunning feat, much heralded at the time by the German High Command.

delete - machine hiccuped (duplicate post)

We leave for Surrey (Woking) on Thu 9-6-07, spend a week there, then pop over to Prague for a pre-cruise, embark on the river boat (scow) on the 19th, and float down the Danube.

Thanks for asking.

Yes - I thought it was called the Churchill Barrier. That U-boat Captain (Otto Kretschmer?) was highly decorated for his stunning feat!

Although my father was in the British Army in WWI, I am far more interested in (and fascinated by) WW2 history.

I certainly can't help on that "radiation" issue. I have never heard that before, and I have read some about the scuttling of the Imperial Fleet.

A more fascinating tale is how the German submarine got into Scapa in WW2, and raised so much havoc.

Yes, hooters in the states usually refers to either the restaurant chain or the female breast.

On the other hand, if something is a hoot, it is usually something very funny, and nothing to do with the sound an owl makes.

I repeat, English is a funny language, with very extreme regional differences.

Regarding whistle vs horn, I did have one navigational officer tell me that if it is steam driven, it is a whistle, and if air driven, it is a horn.

Horns or whistles? Most people call them horns, but purists still refer to them as whistles.

Like so many things in the English language, particularly as practiced here in the Colonies, usage has brought change and acceptance.

My dad, good (but transplanted) Brit that he was, and I used to get into many arguments about the language and its usage, and most of them we never did resolve - English and American usage being so different.

Go ahead and call it a horn if you wish - I will continue to refer to it as a whistle.

Hooters, of course, is an entirely different topic.

Great diary, SagaRuby - I have enjoyed reading it, and vicariously doing the trip with you.

Getting back to ships' whistles (horns), when QM2 made her maiden entry into San Francisco Bay, blasting her mighty whistle, the "authorities" on the Golden Gate Bridge returned the salute, giving blasts on the bridge's foghorn.

That certainly made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but that was not as exciting as being on board a ship when she gives three blasts on the whistle before backing away from Pier 35 and into the shipping channel in San Francisco, before turning and proceeding towards that magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. Brings a tear to my eye every single time.

When SagaRuby and I were on Oceania's Nautica this past November, Istanbul to Singapore, I was sorely disappointed that the Captain of that fine ship did not blow the whistle once, and when I asked him if he would, for at least the Noon Navigation Report from the Bridge, he refused, said he would not blow the whistle nor ring the ship's bells at noon. What could I say - it was his ship?!

Cobh pronounced Cove. Interesting, I would have guessed Cobb.

I did know it used to be Queenstown. Ruby, did you find out why or when the name was changed?

I am another who is a big fan of ship's whistles (horns). QM2 has one that it is said can be heard 10 miles. youtube has a wonderful rendition, with a title similar to QM Singing, or somesuch. Actually,there are lots of ship's whistles on youtube, and some hilarious videos of diesel locomotive horns mounted on automobiles, scaring unwary pedestrians.

Yes, the reality of being home, with laundry and grocery shopping, etc., certainly is depressing, and good reason for not reporting immediately on the voyage.

I'm sure SagaRuby will regale us with her tales when she is ready.

Well, we're not going to let a little dampness in England interfere with our trip.

We go out on 9-6 for a short visit with the grandkids before our float down the Danube.

The hull plate problem on Constitution and Independence was more corrosion and thinness than welding. They were just wearing (rusting) out.

They replaced several, but decided it was too expensive to do a wholesale replacement.

I find it amazing that ships have differing thickness of hulls. With the Princess Sun class ships, I have read that Sun has thicker plates, as it was anticipated that she would do more open sea running than her sisters.

I have read that the bracing is different on ships' hulls designed for the North Atlantic crossing, as apparently they do take more of a beating.

Yes, it will be nice to have Ruby back, giving us her insight into what must have been a grand trip.

Constitution and Independence were originally with American Export Lines. Lot of info on "google".

When we sailed on Constitution (86), she was with American Hawaii Lines.

She had a lot of hull plate problems, and was subsequently retired. She sunk SW of the Hawaiin Islands while under tow to the breakers, in 1997.

Her sister Independence was subsequently bought by NCL (after American Hawaii and successor company Delta Queen went belly-up post 9-11), and for several years was tied up with the reserve fleet in Suisun Bay, CA, then moved to Hunter's Point, San Francisco, where she sits rusting.

http://www.ssmaritime.com has reported that she has been sold to an Indian consortium, and will probably be scrapped.

Even without a Titanic exhibition, the Provincial Museum in Victoria is worth a visit. I've enjoyed it several times - I think it a world class museum, and the Victoria area is charming.

According to http://www.ssmaritime.com, another classic ship will be going to the breakers.

They are reporting that Independence, currently tied up at Hunter's Point, San Francisco, has been bought by an Indian consortium and that the purchase is a cover to get the ship to the scrappers.

I never sailed on Independence, but did sail on her sister, Constitution, which sunk several years ago while under tow to the breakers.

Constitution won some fame as the ship that Grace Kelly took when she went to Monaco to marry Rainier. She might have been the ship featured in An Affair to Remember, with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, but I'm not sure on that point.

Welcome back SagaRuby.

We have missed your postings.

Stay safe.

I agree that Vancouver ranks very high among "pretty ports/harbors", and that the ferry crossing over to Vancouver Island is great.

My dad, when he first immigrated from England way back when, settled on either Main or Pender Island (I never can remember which). Good thing he later immigrated to the states and met my mother, otherwise I wouldn't be!

The tale of claustrophobia reminds me of being on a convict ship at a museum in Sydney Australia. I had a panic attack, and had to get out quickly. Same thing happened in a coal mine up in either Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia, Canada.

I did go aboard a WW2 Russian submarine in Vladivostok - and did not find it as claustrophobic as the WW2 German submarine at the Field Museum in Chicago. That German sub is the only one the US Navy captured on the high seas during WW2 with a boarding party ("Away all boarders!")

Remember, Midway is a WW2 carrier, and much smaller than today's nuke aircraft carriers. They are huge and impressive!

You had an amazing time of it, with the choppers. I doubt that I could have been in that particular line of work - I have a thing about heights and dangling on wires!

Odd perhaps, because many moons ago I was passed the examination process for the US Army Helicopter Pilots Course, but turned it down while the papers were in process, due to an unfavorable (to me) change in regulations regarding extending enlistments vs. re-enlisting. Perhaps just as well, as it would have put me into the start of our admitted involvement in the Vietnam War, and chopper pilots did not have a long life expectancy there.

We did seen one other helicopter evacuation, off the coast of Nova Scotia. HAL's Westerdam, 9-97, conducted by Canadian equivalent of Coast Guard (can't recall the service's name at moment).

Helicopter evacuations are always fascinating to watch.

I have a good friend, northern Italian, who has blonde curly hair and blue eyes.

Apparently there has been a lot of fraternization with the Swiss, just across the border.

Reference Titanic's chamber pots - they are very visible in Ballard's videos of the debris field from Titanic's sinking.

Later two class ships (interwar and post WW2) had "facilities" dotted about in the 2nd class areas, and Oriana had convertible cabins, to which facilities could be added at extra cost. I believe her running mate, Canberra, also had convertible cabins in 2nd class.

I think you are referring to Bill Miller, of the World Ocean and Cruise Liner Society. He often lectures on ships, and is author of many books on liners, etc. He is interesting and quite knowledgeable, although I prefer Maxtone-Graham's presentation.

Your tale of the grand piano breaking loose on Queen Mary reminds me of our San Francisco/Los Angeles/Honolulu trip on the late great Constitution, 12-84.

It was a fairly rough (and very interesting) trip. Several nights they had to put the lips up on the tables in the dining room, and wet down the tablecloths, in a futile attempt to keep the dinner plates on the table.

One night the grand piano snapped the guy wires, rolled off the stage, across the room, and through the Casino doors, shattering them and scattering slot machines.

One night there was a "man overboard" call, they turned the ship and commenced searching while conducting a headcount. All were accounted for; official reason (as reported to passengers) was that a well meaning person, identity not disclosed, had made the "man overboard" report when he observed debris in the water. They had been dumping garbage and old mattresses just prior to the report (at sea dumping was still fairly common then).

While still 24hrs steaming time from Honolulu, there was a medical evacuation in the early AM. Two helicopters (one USAF and one USMC) and an Air Force C-123 tanker were circling the ship. First chopper was unable to get down on deck, as the ship was bouncing too much. 2nd chopper lowered paramedic and a stokes litter to deck, sick passenger was secured in the litter and hoisted to chopper. While hoisting paramedic, ship took bad bounce, he hit railings, and stunned him. They got him aboard chopper. They all left, ship's band playing martial music the whole time! We were later notified that patient arrived in Honolulu and had emergency surgery and was doing well.

Oh - and first night they caught a stowaway, and took him off in handcuffs in Los Angeles. Truth be known, he probably was a drunk who did not get off the ship in San Francisco after a bon voyage party, which was still common in those days before the Achille Lauro affair and 9-11 put an end to such events.

Reference air conditioning throughout the ship - it didn't become standard until about 1948. Prior to that, some public areas (lounges/dining rooms/etc) had air, but not throughout the ship.

I do remember P&O and Orient Lines both making "big deals" about their post WW2 newbuilds having air conditioning throughout the ships, when they actively started selling cruises (line voyages primarily) to the North American market.

Air conditioning did for the most part come before one class ships with en suite facilities for all. The 1st time I sailed on Oriana (1964), she was still very much a two class ship, and had those unique "convertible cabins".

Canberra also was a two class ship, and I think she also had convertible cabins.

Yes, it is a shame you missed Kungsholm. She was a beauty.

As I noted earlier, we sailed on her as Sea Princess, Kobe Japan to Vancouver BC via Honolulu, 5-89. Princess gave us a nine (yes NINE) category upgrade gratis, from an inside to an outside Stateroom, which was really the equivalent of a mini-suite on many ships. It had beautiful wood paneling and shoji like screens over the deadlights.

We lucked out, not only on the upgrade, but between Kobe and Honolulu, the ship was half-full (half-empty?). They went to single seat dining, splitting the time, and the service was superior, reminiscent of Sitmar.

From Honolulu to Vancouver, the ship was full, and they went back to 2 sitting meals, and of course the service was reduced somewhat.

Prior to our boarding, Sea Princess had "tipped" a propeller somewhere, and we reduced speed a bit, and eliminated a scheduled port call in Maui. The ocean between Kobe and Honolulu was empty, we saw not a single ship nor airplane; we did see two frigate birds presumably out of Midway. It was easy to see how the Japanese Battle Fleet was able to sail the same route, undetected, before the Raid on Peal Harbor. (In those days before radar, if it was over the horizon and not making smoke, it was unseen.)

You mentioned some wonderful P&O ships, most of which I recall from their stops in San Francisco, while on line voyages to/from Australia.

My parents sailed on Arcadia to Alaska, and I always wanted to go on Himalaya.

Reference Orient Lines, which is no relation to today's NCL subsidiary line: the first time I sailed on Oriana (64), she was still in Orient Line colors, although Orient line had merged with P&O.

You also mentioned Sea Princess - truly a lovely ship. We sailed her from Osaka to Vancouver via Honolulu 5-89, while under the Princess flag.

Reference Stratheden: there were several ships refered to as "The Straths", Stratheden, Strathnaver, Strathaird, Strathmore, Strathallan.

P&O has a very rich history.