QE2 (Queen Elizabeth 2nd) is heading off to her final resting place, Dubai. She will be refitted to be a shoreside hotel, but not in the traditional sense like the old Queen Mary. They are not trying to preserve her just as she was. Instead, the interior will be mostly gutted, and re-built as a modern hotel with large rooms and conference facilities inside the ship's hull. The Cunard trademark red funnel (smokestack) is rumored to be removed completely, and placed near the entrance to the hotel. In its place will be a smoked glass structure that will house a luxury suite and swimming pool. Certainly that will be one of those rooms that if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it! They are planning to pull out the engines, and build a nautical-themed lounge in that area. So the "ship" will mostly look like the QE2 from the outside, but inside they are hoping to create an upscale, world-class facility that will allow her to stand for decades to come. If you're one of those purists who thinks this is defacing the history of the ship, now would be a good time to get over yourself! The alternatives for the ship were to be ripped apart and sold for scrap, or sunk somewhere as a reef. At least the sight of her will still bring back memories for past cruisers, and inspire dreams for the next generation. Heck, YOU could have bought her and floated her on your lake if it meant that much to you, but you didn't so don't be a hater.
In a rock 'n roll reference, another Queen bites the dust in a few days. The Delta Queen is scheduled to spend most of the day in Cincinnati, her last venture to that river city after sailing the Mississippi for 80 years. She is not going out without complaints from historians, but the ship simply cannot pass its health and safety inspections. Groups have argued for years that she should be exempt from the rules and regulations, based on being "historic". Well, Mates I disagree in the strongest manner possible. As much as we all like the thought of old people ridin' along to banjo music, fire on board a ship is the #1 fear. As a Cap'n, the safety and lives of my passengers are in my hands, and if my vessel isn't up to the task, and can't be up-fitted to meet the standards of the day, then let bygones be bygones. I'm sure there were history buffs who tried to save the Conestoga Wagon from extinction too, and yet here we are in our Toyotas and such. If these preservationist whiners are so dedicated to riverboats, then they need to invest in building a new one that MEETS the fire and safety codes, so old banjo-lovin' folk will still have somewhere to go besides Branson, Missouri. The ship is scheduled to end service in November, barring some politically-based pork legislation trying to save the unsavable. I'll keep you posted.
I was reading the London Daily Telegraph (sure I was), and there was an article about politics in Brazil. Seems that when you run for local office in Brazil, as a candidate you can register under your own name, or if you feel something more dramatic is needed you can make one up. In the October election that just took place, three separate candidates chose the name "Barack Obama", while others registered under "Bill Clinton," "Jorge Bushi" and "Chico Bin Laden," but in an effort to possibly confuse more than inform, more than 200 candidates listed themselves under the name of the country's popular president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It may take a number of months to sort out who really won, and if the winner is the actual person represented or an imposter.
Certain Amazonian districts are demanding a re-count already, saying that many of the all-natural ballots made of various jungle flora and tree branches have been corrupted, some with "hanging leaves" where you cannot determine who the ballots were cast for. Former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris has been called in as a consultant....
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5 comments:
Sorry Cap't Bob but your missing the boat on the Delta Queen. It should be granted the extension. Certainly can't rebuild the boat, so the next best thing was done, putting in state of the art systems to protect the passengers.
I appreciate your sentiment, but she'd need to be virtually rebuilt to meet safety standards. Put her in a museum somewhere if you must, but not on water with the lives of passengers aboard.
Cap'n
Speaking as someone who watched QE2 being built from the first part of her keel through launch and on to service, I would preper to see her go to scrap than the planned destruction.
Last week I watched her arrive and depart from the river where she was built for the last time. I'll never go to see here again. I prefer to remember her as she is now.
I think it is whong to infer that she will be unchanged externally. The plans that I have see show that not only will the funnel be replaced by a glass tower as previously noted - extra decks will be added squaring off her existing classic profile. Additionally much of theexisting side plating of the superstructure will be cut away to enable balconies to be installed for each cabin.
Pictures of her launch and 40th anniversary events can be seen here (they can be viewed at various sizes:
http://pudzeoch.smugmug.com/gallery/3620601_j9Agk#292818487_frkeQ
Bob,
If you take time to study the facts, you'll realize you're less likely to be injured by fire while on the Delta Queen than in your house or a hotel. The law against wood construction in cruise ships predates the emergence much of the Delta Queen's fire safety technology. Like hotels, she has smoke detectors and a comprehensive alarm system. Unlike hotels, she is fully sprinklered, has a computerized fire suppression system, a roving 24-hour fire-watch that clocks through each area of the ship every 20 minutes, and a trained fire brigade amongst its crew (even the entertainers go through special training!).
The "Safety at Sea" legislation (that specifically exempted Great Lake steamers with wood construction) was never intended to be applied to the Delta Queen---a boat that is never out of sight of land, and can typically reach shore faster than a cruise ship can launch life boats.
Finally, fire fatalities in hotels, cruise ships, airplanes and private homes are most often the result of a smoke-filled exit path. In this case the Delta Queen is exceptional in that 66 of her 88 passenger staterooms open directly onto the safety of an open deck. Instead of a hallway, the remaining 22 staterooms open onto a large salon with 5 marked exits.
Unlike some too-long-in-power elected officials, I hope you're smart enough to admit it when you're wrong.
I've had a number of people express a contrary opinion when it comes to the Delta Queen. Old rivers run deep! But hey, that's their right the same way it's mine to say what I think on my own dang blog. Some folks emailed saying the crux of the issue is based on a stupid law. Be that as it may, take the adjective out of the sentence and it's still a law! Preservationists are more than welcome to do what they feel they need to, to overturn existing law, but short of that I'll let the issue lie in peace, and get my banjo music fix from Hee Haw re-runs.
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