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Showing posts from February, 2017

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The Royal Yacht as Trade Ambassador

The former hmy BRITANNIA was an excellent trade ambassador for UK´s industry and trade. The yacht was once designed by Prince Philip and has not only been the royal yacht and sea home since 1953 for the British Royal Family . The hmy BRITANNIA was an asset to the permanent world wide marketing campaign for the United Kindgom. And a new Royal Yacht definitely would be needed for the uncertain future. by Earl of Cruise The Royal Yacht Britannia, pictured, could be turned into a 'floating embassy' under new plans by Boris Johnson hmy BRITANNIA entering Venice - Source: dpa Commencing service in 1954, the original Royal Yacht Britannia sailed a million nautical miles and saw 968 state voyages during its 44 years of service. In June 1994 it was announced that the vessel would be taken out of service, and its final voyage took place in 1997. Now docked in Leith, every clock on board has been stopped at 3.01pm, marking the time the Queen disembarked the yacht follow...

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Ocean Liners in Movies or Films at Sea (updated Nov 2017)

For liners and the shipping companies movies and films had been a top marketing tool Movies or Films and liners at sea, had been intriguing me since I have read about in my youth in LUXUSLINER - BILDER EINER GROSSEN ZEIT by Lee Server ( THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS ). But earlier, mot only since my first crossing, I was keen watching movies with liners in it, and disapointed, which was an understatement, when I realized the films have been made in a set ashore in some movie "factory". That was after my first crossing.   by Earl of Cruise an essay in progress `Sabrina´, Humphrey Bogart in the office, while LIBERTÉ is sailing out of New York harbor - screenshot Ocean liners, especially those of the luxury category, had been the location of dramas, love stories, thrillers, suspense and catastrophies sinde film was born, or nearly. In this list, the most descriptions are taken from Wikipedia, as I guess no one can expect having seen all these films ... otherwise I w...

Liners - Can classic ocean liners make a comeback

Classic ocean liners, crossing the oceans, had been for long time the only way to cross the seas. A comeback of ocean liners for real? When in 2010 the Islandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull did errupt, and all flights that would come near his ash-clouds had to be cancelled, people had been trapped on each side of the pond ... And immidiately all available cabins on containerships had been booked, cruise vessels sailing either to the Americas or Europe had been flodded by desperate travellers to get to their destination ... Going by ship was in those days the only way to cross. It did show a certain, but temporary neccessity of liner traffic. But unfortunately we did not have any longer a frequent crossing possibility by ship - Transatlantic liners, liners per se had gone, gone with the wind of history and technical progress in air flight. Is an ocean liner comeback possible? by Earl of Cruise rms QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 © Beken - own collection, copy from a postcard CUNARD held the ...

ss NORMANDIE 1935 - 1942 IX

s s / te NORMANDIE starting from cold Owners: COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE BUILDERS: PENH Ö ET, St. Nazaire, France   by Stephen Carey © , editing by Earl of Cruise   This document is almost exclusively about the engineering aspects of NORMANDIE , mainly on how to start her up from cold. If you are looking for photos of the passenger spaces, there is a plethora of them on the web, in Facebook groups - Admirers of the ss Normandie , ss Normandie photographic file , The French Ocean Liners / Les Paquebots Fran ç ais , ss Normandie , GREAT LINERS OF THE PAST & PRESENT , and others, Pinterest and in articles about NORMANDIE here in the blog, please see at the end of the article. Using "ss" for NORMANDIE is quite incorrect, as NORMANDIE was a Turbo Electric vessel and not a steamship, therefore NORMANDIE should be adressed as "te".   by Earl of Cruise te / ss NORMANDIE berthed in Le Havre, Gare Maritime May 29th, 1935 - colouring courtesy ...

HISTORY - HAMBURG the Space Ship

HAMBURG , HANSEATIC, stared as Britannic in ` Juggernaught ´, MAXIM GORKIY nicknamed Space Ship ts HAMBURG in DEUTSCHE ATLANTIK LINE colours - own collection, copy from a promotion broschure When HAMBURG was introduced a TV show aired with adventures in the space, their ship was the Enterprise which had a saucer shaped main section and three main arm like pillars holding the saucer as well the two engin sections. by Earl of Cruise The funnel of HAMBURG had quite a resemblance to that particular TV airship, created for STAR TREK by Gene Roddenberry . Axel Bitsch Christensen in front of the ts HAMBURG funnel - own collection, photo originaly owned by Anders Bitsch Christensen This funnel, as controversial it is and was, was only one reason why HAMBURG was nicknamed the Space Ship, but there was another reason, a real one, HAMBURG was the most spacious passenger shipp of her days. Constructing ts HAMBURG from 1966 till 1969 - own collection, copy from my bo...

Heritage - Voyage of the Damned on St.LOUIS

St.LOUIS sailed in May 1939 with Jewish refugees to Cuba, a voyage known today as the VOAYAGE of the DAMNED. On May 13, 1939, the German liner St.LOUIS sailed from Hamburg, Germany, for Havana, Cuba. On the voyage were 937 passengers. Almost all were Jews fleeing from the Third Reich. Most were German citizens, some were from eastern Europe, and a few were officially "stateless". Basicly the journey was a fraud, set up by sinister Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels and his staff, to showcase nobody is interested in wanting Jews among them ... and till a seeming bitter end the free countries played in the Nazis directed game as they wished ... by Earl of Cruise based on Holocaust Ecyclopedia´s article St.LOUIS, sister ship of MILWAUKEE, were motorships of HAMBURG AMERIKA LINIE which served on different lines for HAPAG, as well on cruises - collection Earl of Cruise The majority of the Jewish passengers had applied for Cuba tourist visas and US immigration vi...

The modern Black Gang

Stewardesses and Stewards are the modern " BlackGang " by Earl of Cruise  Stokers on board USS MASSACHUSETS - source Wikipedia The men working in the bowels of the steamers had been named Black Gang. these where those men with the hardest labour - bringing the coal form the bunkers to the furnasses and filling them. This ardous labour became obsolete, when the steamer and turbine furnasses became oil fired - cleaner, fewer men and no longer heat and coal dust drenched air. The living conditions, when free from their shifts, had been similar ardous - cramped sleeping rooms, no light and less air, and few washing rooms and toilets. The loan was less than acceptable. Despite some some first class travellers made their way in these aereas, as into third class, to "slum a bit", for whatever their reasons may have been, or tipping the men of the Black Gang for harder work making a fast voyage. DAS TOTENSCHIFF , B. Traven, bying , In 1959 it was adapted int...

HISTORY - ss LA BOURGOGNE - Women and Children last

What had happend on sinking LA BOURGOGNE? Why had been so few women and children been rescued ? by João Martins , editing by Earl of Cruise ss LA BOURGOGNE - editors collection From our viewpoint of today we see this disaster of ss LA BOURGOGNE as one of egoism and the right of the stronger, with no "heroism", or stepping back for the weak to be saved. And we blame the crew for not doing their duty ... Are we allowed to judge? Are we allowed to chide? Are we alowed to claime it as typical ... for the seamanship of France - I have heard and read so! - ?  No, we have not been on board.  This tragedy is not the place to be chauvinistic! And looking in todays world we see a lot of chauvinism again and egoism! The ss LA BOURGOGNE was a 7,395 GRT French ocean liner built by the FCM in Toulon for the Transatlatic mail and passenger service of Cie. Gle. TRANSATLANTIQUE and completed in 1886. She was an iron and steel construction, 150 metres long, had two funnels an...

Starting rms TITANIC from cold

rms TITANIC, 1911, Cold Starting WHITES STAR LINE Ltd., Builders: HALAND & WOLFF, Belfast by Stephen Carey, engineer, editing by Earl of Cruise rms TITANIC, 1911 © Stephen Carey   Table of Contents 1     Overview of machinery spaces 1.1        Boiler rooms 1.2        Coal bunkers 1.3        Propulsion engines 1.4        Electrical power generation 1.4.1            Main generating sets 1.4.2            Emergency generating sets 2     Lighting up the boilers 2.1        Steam line redundancy 3     Starting the generators 3.1        Auxiliary seawater pump and condenser 3.2        Starting an emergency gener...

HISTORY - The Royal Mail Ship TAHITI

While researching for some Tahiti and French Polynesia related articles, I came across this Wikipedia article about a small, lesser known steamship, which served as a "mail boat" in the South Pacific - rms TAHITI . editing by Earl of Cruise Beside the big liners on the main routes, especially the North Atlantic, on "side routes", which had been and are important for the international trade, we find countless numbers of ships. These smaller, unimpressive ones are the back-bones of each shipping entity. Most of these vessels had been combined passenger and freight liners - so PORT KINGSTON, later TAHITI. For its last owner the vessel sailed across the Pacific from Sydney to California and back. rms TAHITI sailing the Pacific - Source: Wikipedia TAHITI was a 7,585 ton ocean liner operated by the UNION STEAMSHIP COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND . Built in 1904 on Clydebank by the shipbuilders ALEXANDER STEPHEN & Sons , she was named rms Port Kingston until 1911....

Heritage - ORIENT EXPRESS living history

The living legend ORIENT EXPRESS ORIENT EXPRESS, its name alone is evoking dreams and longings. Immediately one is remembered  about Agathe Christie and her brilliant crime novel - ` Murder on the ORIENT EXPRESS ´ - and we see Hercule Poirot and the suspects. by Earl of Cruise Click here for luxury rail travel 2018 With the ORIENT EXPRESS to Venezia (Mit dem Orient Express nach Venedig) - still from a German TV documentation, PHOENIX When in 1883 the first Express train of a new formed luxury train company, founded by its brainchild Georges Nagelmakers, Paris left for, at first Giugiu in Romania, left, Mr. Nagelmakers may have dreamed, that his luxury express train should become the synonym for luxury, comfort and speed. And indeed the ORIENT EXPRESS turned into the Queen of Trains - often copied, but never outdone in its fame. Alone the destination, the Orient, was a place of longing and dreams. And that very train fulfilled those dreams within a short time. No ...