QUEEN MARY2 IN SOUTHAMPTON

Last friday the QM2 was at her home port once again, I had a close encounter with the ship at the Ocean Terminal and late in the evening I went to Calshot to take a few photos of the QM2 on her way out, it was a great day for me, I am the greatest admirer of this ship, I believe there´s never been a passenger ship like the QUEEN MARY 2, for further pics and posts please visit my QM2 blog.

OCEAN VILLAGE IN SOUTHAMPTON

24th June 2011 I was at Southampton to photograph the QM2, one of the places I always head to is the Ocean Village, a beautiful marina with restaurants, cafes and a cinema, next time you are planning to visit Southampton take your camera and spend a couple of hours there, it´s worth it

LD LINES "BALTIC AMBER" RENAMED

The LD LINES ferry BALTIC AMBER as been renamed "NORMAN ASTURIAS" a more appropriate name considering the names of the other ships operating for the company, she is doing the Saint-Nazaire/Gijon service, photo above is from May this year

THE WIGHT LINK FERRIES FROM PORTSMOUTH

For over 160 years the WIGHT LINK ferries have provided services to and from the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth, they operate this route with conventional ferries and since 2009 with two new catamaran like ferries the Wight Ryder I and Wight Ryder II, they take only about 25 minutes to do the crossing against 40 from the conventional ferries, the ST CLARE seen on the top picture is the company´s flagship

PORTSMOUTH TO GOSPORT FERRY

the company that operates the Portsmouth/Gosport service, GOSPORT FERRY LTD was created in 1883, in its heyday the ferry carried almost 10 million passenger per year across Portsmouth Harbour, today remains the busiest short ferry service in the country with a figure of about 4 million passengers, photos of the Spirit of Gosport on the 23rd June

PORTSMOUTH WATERFRONT CITY AND THE SPINNAKER TOWER

The city of Portsmouth is one of my favourite placesin Europe, the city is becoming Britain´s favourite waterfront destination, there is so much to see and do, showing here are the Gunwharf Quays and the Spinnaker Tower, click on the image to find out about the tower´s history, photos taken on the 24th June 2011

"MONT ST MICHEL" OUT OF PORTSMOUTH

The BRITTANY FERRIES "MONT ST MICHEL" is seen here leaving Portsmouth early in the morning on the 24th June, bathed in warm sunshine, for more pics of the vessel please visit my BF blog by clicking below

BEAUTIFUL PORTSMOUTH MARITIME CITY

7am on the 24th June, I was at old Portsmouth awaiting for the NORMANDIE EXPRESS and the MONT ST MICHEL both BRITTANY FERRIES vessels, the weather was warm with glorious sunshine few places can match the beauty of Old Portsmouth, I just love the place, it´s of course a ships photographer`s paradise and there is always plenty of boats and ships to look forward, photos here included show Old Portsmouth and the NORMANDIE EXPRESS on her way to Caen, for more pics of the ship please click below on my BRITTANY FERRIES blog

WARSHIPS AT PORTSMOUTH LAST WEEK

Seen from the NORMAN SPIRIT just about to finish her crossing from Le Havre, photos of warships taken at Portsmouth almost 10 o´clock pm, that´s the beauty of summer we have daylight until really late in the evening, 23rd June 2011

AT SEA AND ON BOARD LD LINES "NORMAN SPIRIT"

Last week was my first trip on board NORMAN SPIRIT, I have sailed on the ship before when she was the PO FERRIES "PRIDE OF AQUITAINE" back in 2004, the ship looked in very good condition with very basic passenger facilities but very clean and with a very satisfatory level of food served on the self-service restaurant, there is no Bistro or Brasserie on board, the food was actually better than the one on board BALTIC AMBER which LD LINES operates on the Saint-Nazaire/Gijon service, the crew is very attentive and young, also there are several lounges with comfortable seats,please visit LD LINES website to see the options on offer, I enjoyed seeing posters of former liners like the QUEEN MARY and the QUEEN ELIZABETH on display on board, all photos are dated, the 23rd June 2011

NORMAN SPIRIT READY FOR SEA

The LD LINES "NORMAN SPIRIT" is seen here ready for sea, another daily crossing from Le Havre to Portsmouth was about to start, 23rd June 2011

SHIPPING ACTIVITY AT LE HAVRE

Le Havre is the second busiest port in France only surpassed by Marseille, last week there weren´t many ships around but there is always activity to keep an eye on, apart from the NORMAN SPIRIT and NORMAN ARROW ships that can be seen on todays and yesterdays posts in this blog, a few more shots captured last 23rd June