Queen Mary 2, Artemis & The Calypso
Boy it was hot on the 18th July 2006!  Lovely breeze down the marina though.  So would it be another wasted journey Like the 14th June or would Artemis actually pass QM2 as she was meant to this time?  Things were not looking good when they arrived.  QM2 passed with a gorgeous sunrise at around 5.05am for her 6am docking.
With Artemis due to dock at 6.30 after turning round I guessed it shouldn't me more than 40 minutes until she appeared.  Wrong!  6.09am she emerged from behind the trees after a Hapag-Lloyd container ship!  Things just were beginning to not look good again.
So we went down the marina as Artemis was due to sail at 5pm with QM2 an hour later.  The Calypso was still in dock, the repairs taking longer than expected.
5pm came and went with no movement up the other end.  Finally, around 5.34 there was!  The only problem was she was going at what appeared to be one knot.  What should have been ten minutes to get past 101 took a staggering twenty three.
By the time Artemis had got this far, QM2 had cast off her ropes by 5.55pm - five minutes early!  She began to slowly move away from the dock while Artemis had ground to a halt just past The Calypso. She began to speed up a bit at 6pm then slowed before gaining speed at 6.02pm.  Meanwhile QM2 edged her way back to the dock as Artemis passed and they greeted each other.  Success at last - but only just!
So that was that.  It was worrying for a time we'd end up having to make yet another visit in the hope of getting Artemis passing so thankfully we don't need to even though they are in together again, with QE2, in 2007.  For the first attempt to get these two passing, click here.

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© Patricia Dempsey 18th July 2006
Not to be reproduced without permission