The Last of the Four Funnel Liners

This afternoon we decided to make the most of the sunshine and had a walk round Lytham, to find there was an antiques fair in the Lowther Pavilion.

I came across a postcard sent from New York on November 7 1924 by a passenger who had just arrived on the Cunard ship Mauritania (although the postcard shows the later Aquitania).

Evidently the crossing had not been as smooth as Babs would have liked.

Indeed she was so disoriented on arriving back on terra firma that she inadvertantly wrote her message with the postcard upside down, realising and rotating it before writing the address of her friend on Central Drive, Blackpool.

She wrote:

Dear all,

Here I am in U.S.A. Sailed 1st Nov on "Mauritania" it's been 6 long days and very rough. Hope to winter in Bermuda and Nassau but will write you soon.

Hope you are all well.

Best love and Cheerio,
Babs

The Mauritania was built on the Tyne and her maiden voyage was on 16 November 1907. She won the Blue Riband for the fastest westbound Atlantic crossing in 1909 with a record that stood until twenty years later. Even on her final Atlantic crossing in 1934 she managed 24 knots, the original speed she had to meet in order to secure the mail contract when brand new. She was on her way back to England to be scrapped, docking in Southampton next to the Olympic, sister ship to the ill-fated Titanic and also awaiting the scrapyard.

One of her former Masters, Sir Arthur Rostron came to see her leave Southampton for the Rosyth shipbreakers. He had captained the RMS Carpathia during the Titanic rescue.

And what of the Aquitania? She was the last of the great ocean liners with four funnels. Built on Clydebank and launched on 21 April 1913 she was one of the first post-Titanic-disaster ships to be fitted with enough lifeboats for all crew and passengers, two of which were fitted with Marconi radio transmitters.

A month after her maiden voyage the First World War broke out and she acted as both a troop carrier and hospital ship during the war.

She served during the Second World War also and her long service ended in 1949, precipitated when a piano fell through the floor of one deck, crashing down into the dining room below and upsetting a corporate luncheon that was taking place... Her 36 years of service made her the longest serving Express Liner of her time, a record only broken by the Queen Elizabeth II.

Chilling on the Carousel

3 March 2004. We had joined the Carousel as she set off for a cruise around the Canary Islands. This being our first day on a ship, we decided to ignore the delights of Lanzarote and stay on the ship.

Here the ship is coming into the port in Lanzarote. This is as much notice as we took. Sorry Lanzarote - we'll have another proper look at you next year in 2005!

There was a lot to experience on board the ship in fact. Breakfast, which we took on deck al fresco. Buffet style and lots of choice. Scrummy. Following which we explored the ship.

This is the Promenade Deck - an unbroken full circuit of the ship. Walking 5 times around it meant you had walked a mile. We did. We were on our own...

11:00 am. Elevenses were being served. Freshly made biscuits and coffee. Then a chance to sit on the deck, soak up a bit of sun and read. I was reading Bernard Cornwell's Heretic.

Lunch time. We stuck to a light lunch - salad and fruit. No sense in scoffing everything in sight! Besides at 4:00 pm it was Afternoon Tea. Sandwiches with the crusts cut off and (ooh!) bananas and custard!!!

During the afternoon there was lots to laugh at as the entertainments team made up lots of competitions between passengers and crew and there was some sort of demonstration each afternoon - ice carving, fruit carving, towel and napkin origami, cocktail juggling...

There was a formal dinner and we dressed up to meet the ship's Captain.

We had a photo taken in front of a screen backdrop of the staircase from the Titanic... er... hang on... why would a ship want to remind its passengers of one of the worst maritime disasters? Answer: because to most people it's a film, not a tragedy and therefore it's Leonardo's great romance with Kate Winslet rather than all those frozen floating bodies.

Evening meals on such a small ship were with the same table of people every night. It made for a jolly time as we got to know each other during the week.

Tomorrow we arrive in Africa - Morocco to be more precise and the port of Agadir to be specific. Until then, there's a Midnight Snack...

Return to Atlantic Islands Cruise 2004 Index