Believe it or not but this was front page news – Big Ship Sails Past Scarborough.

Having said that news that it was due to sail past attracted large crowds of onlookers so it was perfectly justified.

‘Floating hotel’ proves a big attraction

Hundreds welcome return of Queen Mary 2

HUNDREDS of people gathered along Scarborough’s coastline to watch the giant liner Queen Mary 2 sail majestically past the town.

The vessel, which last sailed past us in July 2004, was on a “lap of honour” around the British Isles to mark her fifth birthday. Yesterday’s leg was between Flamborough Head and the River Tyne.

She was spotted on the horizon at about 2pm, before turning towards Scarborough and steaming across the South Bay, passing the harbour and castle headland at about 2.35pm, some 12 minutes earlier than expected.

It gave several hoots of the ship’s horn to greet the enthralled onlookers. Businesses enjoyed a boost in trade from the extra visitors to the town.

Karen MacDonald, the owner of Cafe View in Eastborough, opened specially for an hour so that customers could get a good view and a cup of tea.

She said: “The cafe is a good vantage point to see the whole of the South Bay. It was nice to be able to open up for an hour, to give people the opportunity to enjoy such a wonderful view.”

The voyage commemorates the introduction into service of Queen Mary 2 five years ago, in January 2004.

She is still the largest, longest, tallest, widest, most expensive ocean liner ever built and, since the retirement of QE2, the fastest passenger ship in the world.

Since its entry into service Queen Mary 2 has sailed almost 750,000 nautical miles, completed more than 120 Atlantic crossings and made calls to 115 ports in 45 countries.

Queen of the seas glides past

CROWDS of people were treated to a clear view as the world’s biggest liner, Queen Mary 2, sailed past Scarborough yesterday afternoon.

The captain acknowledged the onlookers by sounding the vessel’s horn several times as it steamed past, about a mile out, on its way up the coast.

And onlookers who spoke to the Evening News said it was a sight not to be missed.

John Hodgson, a 67-year-old retired wood machinist from Huddersfield, said he had planned to visit Scarborough anyway and it was a nice surprise to learn of the Queen Mary 2’s sailpast.

He said: “It’s the first time I’ve seen it and I was amazed she came in so close. We’d have come to see it anyway and I am impressed with what I have seen.”

Eileen Andrews, 67, used to live in Scarborough before travelling and working all over the world. She added that she had returned to the town from Gloucestershire on a “sentimental journey” and was pleased the ship was passing so close.

“It makes me want to travel again because I’ve travelled to a lot of places in my life and I’ve had friends that have travelled on this ship,” she said.

Ann Chadbourne, a retired shop assistant, added that she had seen the previous visits by the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2. She said: “It’s something that not a lot of people get to see and it shows how huge these ships are when it is next to the harbour.”

Barry Walker, a 65-year-old retired service engineer from Beechville Avenue, said he had seen the ship’s last visit. “It’s just the size of it really. You never really see cruise liners coming past here, do you?”

Lorraine Saunders, a 38-year-old hotel worker from Esplanade Road, said that the Queen Mary 2 was a “lovely boat”. She said: “It’s just the whole mystery of how they are built really. It’s such a huge ship and it’s something you don’t see every day.”

Christine Maloney, from Falsgrave Road in Scarborough, said: “I was away when it came in the last time, in 2004, so I was really looking forward to seeing it. It was amazing, it came in really close, much closer than I expected.”

The Queen Mary 2 is still the largest, longest, tallest, widest, most expensive ocean liner ever built and, since the retirement of QE2, the fastest passenger ship in the world.

Ports-of-call on this special birthday voyage, which departed Southampton on Thursday, include South Queensferry, Greenock, Liverpool, Cork and Cherbourg, returning to Southampton on Friday.

The owners of the Scarborough-based Coronia and Regal Lady pleasure steamers had planned to take passengers for a close view of the ship but the voyage had to be cancelled because conditions were too rough.

Queen Mary 2 factfile:

• The QM2’s hull is made up of 94 steel blocks, some of which weigh more than 600 tons;
• Her hull weighs 50,000 tons – more than a school of 330 blue whales;
• At 1132 feet long, Queen Mary 2 measures the same as four football fields in length;
• The vessel is equal to the height of a 23-storey building;
• It has 17 decks that tower 200ft above the waterline;
• The illuminated Queen Mary 2 name positioned where the gas turbines are located is 22 metres long and 2.4 metres high;
• The wine list consists of 343 different labels of wine and the annual tea consumption would fill an Olympic size swimming pool.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Saturday, October 17, 2009.