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My final thoughts on QE2
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When Cunard announced the sale of QE2 to Dubai, they announced it as
a restoration, a preservation. Loyal QE2 fans, of which there are very
many indeed, were upset, but happy the ship was to be saved.
It has become clearer recently that her fate is to be rather different
and I'm really quite annoyed by it. All her lovely original cabins
will be destroyed. Her appearance will be destroyed by additional
decks. Her lovely funnel will be removed and replaced with a
penthouse. Her epic engines will be gone. Cunard would
not have got such an easy ride from the press if this had come out
to start with, rather than dribbled out.
Many "liner buffs", myself included, would rather see the ship
scuttled or scrapped.
Cunard is trying to steer the media by describing just how "past it"
their 39 year old ship is and how she couldn't possibly go on but she
could have, or could have been saved properly ...
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They jumped at the first offer they got.
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They didn't advertise the ship for sale, and didn't give people time to
put bids together.
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The ship could have gone on for a long time with another big
refit (like she had in 1987). She could have been a famous
classic historic liner - the fastest in the world - just imagine...
Her powerplant is still modern and efficient, and her hull is
strong. She could even have gone on for another few years
without a major refit at all.
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The Rotterdam was saved and
sympathetically preserved while providing
modern hotel and entertainment accommodation. This could have been a model for QE2.
Have a look here -
http://www.ssrt.nl/
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The engines are not needed any more, but they're the first thing
anyone interested in the ship would want to see. Imagine
standing next to one of the 9 engines - each bigger than a
double-decker bus?
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The Queen Mary in Long Beach suddenly looks like a text book
preservation project, whereas before it looked like a cock-up.
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Contrary to what some people may tell you, there was still *a
lot* of original QE2 to save in 2008.
Anyway, I've not managed to keep up with all the last news releases
and articles about QE2, because I don't have the energy and it upsets
me.
My long QE2 story ended on
October the 5th on the
River Clyde along with many tens of thousands of people who came out
to see the most beautiful ship they'd ever seen and wonder why it was
going to a strange land to be chopped up.
Goodbye QE2... I will never forget you, but will never visit your
remains in Dubai. Thank you for the memories.
- Rob Lightbody, 22nd October 2008
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