Like big boats? Queen Elizabeth 2 was in town...

[LePaul]

Showed up at 5am Sunday moring.  The little "toot" that horn made when she arrived made me jump, literally, 5 feet into the air...very cool vessel!


From today's Bangor Daily News (http://www.bangornews.com)

BAR HARBOR — Towering over the rest of the vessels, the Queen Elizabeth 2 anchored off the harbor Sunday morning for a day visit to the town.


It’s one stop on a cruise down the coast of New England, part of a trip that began in Southampton, England, and stopped in Quebec and Halifax, Nova Scotia, before arriving in Maine.

Although the luxury liner’s arrival was just one month short of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, QE2 passengers said that event had little influence on their travel plans.

John and Joan Duckworth of Lancaster, England, had been booked on a cruise that was scheduled to arrive in New York City early last September. They canceled that trip and took a Christmas cruise instead and were on board the first cruise vessel to enter New York Harbor after the attacks.

“There was a small ceremony as we entered the harbor,” Joan Duckworth said. “The hostess who had been on board the longest threw a wreath in the water and one of the singers sang ‘Amazing Grace.’ It was a very moving ceremony.”

The Duckworths said they chose the cruise mainly for the location, and the events of Sept. 11 had no impact on their decision to travel by boat.

Likewise, Derrick and Linda Edwards of Dorset, England, took the cruise because “we wanted to see New England,” not because they were afraid to travel by other means.

“The world can’t stop,” Derrick Edwards said. “If we let it stop, then the terrorists have won.”

For Betty Ann and Richter Heinz of Montvale, N.J., the New England cruise was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

“It’s something we always dreamed of doing, taking a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth 2,” Betty Ann Heinz said. “When we found out that the cruise went from Quebec to New York, it was ideal for us.”

Although Ralph Genee of the Channel Islands in England admitted that he felt safer traveling on the luxury liner than flying, he said the attacks were not a factor when he and his wife, Judith, decided to take the cruise.

“We didn’t go cruising because of that,” he said.

Although she chose to travel, Colleen Garrett of Windsor, England, said the collapse of the World Trade Center towers will make the visit to New York different.

“I can’t imagine arriving in New York and not seeing the twin towers,” she said. “Every time we’ve been, they were there.”

The QE2, which carries 1,800 passengers, was at maximum capacity for this cruise, according to one crew member, and has been booked at that level for most of the summer cruising season.

The ship was scheduled to leave Bar Harbor at 6 p.m. Sunday, heading for stops in Boston and Newport, R.I., before reaching New York. From there, the QE2 will sail back to England.

[Curval]

QEII is a ship, not a boat dude;)

Very big though...too big to get into the harbour here.  I rode a jetski around it once...took a while.

[LePaul]

What amazes me is how close to shore it is.  I work for a software firm that makes navigation software for boaters (http://www.thecapn.com)...i fired it up, entered in the ships coordinates and figure she was sitting in 45 feet of water.  Wow.   I beleive she's got 36 feet under the water line.  Just impressive when seen up close.

[Greese]

I     like     big     boats and I can not lie...

[Creto]

Hey lepaul can your company make boundry overlays for territorial, contigous, EEZ, closed areas (fisheries), sanctuaries, ecological reserves, and the such?  Pretty sure if ya could some in the CG might be pretty happy with it.  Most of what I'm talking about can be found in 50 CFR 622, 635 and 922 for the South Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf Region.  I realize some of this info is already on a chart (EEZ).  But kinda thinking along the lines of being able to label the boundry to describe what it is too.  Think about it

[LePaul]

Originally posted by Creto
Hey lepaul can your company make boundry overlays for territorial, contigous, EEZ, closed areas (fisheries), sanctuaries, ecological reserves, and the such?  Pretty sure if ya could some in the CG might be pretty happy with it.  Most of what I'm talking about can be found in 50 CFR 622, 635 and 922 for the South Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf Region.  I realize some of this info is already on a chart (EEZ).  But kinda thinking along the lines of being able to label the boundry to describe what it is too.  Think about it

Well, the software gives you the ability to create Alarm Zones, you set the boundaries and if crossed, we beep/flash/whistle.  These are popular for anchoring and with fisherman operating on the very edge of the US/Canada border.

Im just a tech who does a lot of quality assurance, so the regulations you quoted sort of zip over my skull