It was a special late August afternoon for the Grandkids and myself who wandered down to the Beach at Netley Abbey to watch four Ocean Liners making their way out of Southampton Docks.

First out was the Ventura, followed by the Queen Mary 2 which you have to say looks majestic in it’s well recognized Cunard Livery.
As they made their way slowly towards the Solent. After that it was The Independence of the Seas and the Oceana.

For the Kids to see four of these giant sea going Hotels leaving almost in procession was an event, hundreds of people lining the decks to the backdrop of almost clear blue skies and a rapidly falling Sun.

For me, it brought back memories of when I was their age. Back in the 1950’s and early 1960’s we had a Great Aunt who lived at Selsey Bill where from the headland you could see the eastern most part of the Isle of Wight and a clear view of many a Liner making it’s way in and out.

The difference between then and now is that back then, the huge Liners such as The United States of America, The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were being used as a form of transport rather than a holiday cruise.
It was an age when they fought for the Blue Riband, the fastest crossing of the Atlantic to New York.

I recall going to Southampton Docks where you still got the atmosphere of earlier years. The large loading areas inside grandeur Victorian buildings were then accessed by the Boat Trains who brought the Passengers down from London.
In amongst the wonderful smell of steam trains was the hussle bussle of Porters with Sack Barrows marching their respective customers through the various points of departure and customs etc.
If you watched the movie Titanic, although it was some 50 years on, the feel was the same.

The Romance and Mystery is till there

Gone are the days of the long distance sea travels as in ‘A’ to ‘B’. We still have the Ferries to transport us accross the Channel and much the same is found around the world, but you don’t have the Atlantic crossings and the famous £10 Pommy journeys to Australia where ships were full of people seeking out a better life on the other side of the World.

So now, the Ocean going Ships are designed for the Cruise, a floating Hotel where you can enjoy visiting cities and landmarks at a leisurely pace with a few nights of sea faring thrown in.

The romance of the sea is still there and on the increase, Boat Yards around the World are healthy in orders and demand for this kind of holiday is tremendous.

What is it that brings people to this kind of holiday? maybe it is a bit of the Titanic (minus the sinking of course), perhaps the escapism of it, after all, land is where most of our problems are and being on a Boat far from it has that air of freedom.

Whatever it is, it’s good to see these Liners still full and doing business.
Although it’s not as I remember it, the standing on the beach waiting for the wash to follow on from the passing ship, the wait for the Captain to blow his loud deep and penetrating Siron is still there.

It’s the romance and the mystery of the sea which still captures people and it was an afternoon well spent full of admiration for the sheer technology of it all and memories it unfolded.
Memories after all are important, they give you things to talk about, pass on and can help you go to sleep at night!

LINK

If you’re down Southampton, Portsmouth or the Isle of Wight way and wish to watch any of the Liners going out, look at the Associated British Ports / Southampton Website.

Half the fun of course is watching other people watching – a diverse range of age and gender – but all I’m sure with their own memories