I’ve usually used “exotic” for offshore windfarm-related vessels or others that are rarely-seen, because prior to five or so years ago, such vessels never called here. In this case, cruise ships became quite scarce because of Covid, and so I counted myself fortunate to catch QM2 arriving this morning.
The fog blocked out the familiar landmarks of the port.
JRT did the honors. Although I didn’t stick around to see how they spun around using her pods, I suspect the single tug didn’t have a lot to do. If I’m wrong, someone will correct me.
Way back when I also caught the ship on foggy mornings here and here.
The passengers there stand quite close together, albeit in the fresh February air.
I believe this is her second post-Covid visit.
All photos this morning, WVD.
tugster: a waterblog 
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February 22, 2022 at 12:30 pm
BEVERLY A ROLFSMEYER
This was awesome! How lucky you were to be there.
February 22, 2022 at 6:07 pm
ROBIN David Leslie DENNY
A very fine ship, far better than the current “blocks of apartments” cruise ships.
Stephen Payne, the designer, told me that, to withstand the battering of the North Atlantic storms, the bow plating steel is 38mm. thick and required special training for the welders.
I was on board her in Cherbourg when she did a 180 degree spin while a tug watched. The stern came a bit close to the concrete pier.
Limited roll in a seaway is due to the Stabilisers designed by William Wallace of Brown Brothers.
His design was offered to all the Scottish shipyards but was rejected. On his second visit, Edward Denny of William Denny Bros. agreed to try the design. It was first fitted to TS Isle of Sark in 1934 proving so successful that the British Admiralty demanded that it be supplied only for use on RN warships to provide stable gun platforms.
Cunard tried it on their “Media” but it failed to work. It was found later that the fins had been washed away due to poor fitting.
The Long Beach “Queen Mary” was fitted with the Denny-Brown stabiliser so reducing her habitual roll from about 10 degrees to less than 5 degrees. That stabiliser became an almost universal fitting for ships, though lately under a different name.
February 26, 2022 at 4:01 am
js
You often use the Manhattan skyline in your compositions.The QM2 with fog is even better,especially the passengers at the rail.