Comments on: The Royal Yacht Britannia deserves a fine landscape setting – not a trashy mooring

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 06:15:34 +0000

They are giving the Cutty Sark a glass skirt to protect it from the weather. It is not yet clear whether it will be more like crumpled bubblewrap or a breaking wave but, in the spirit of openness, the Cuttysark website has this comment "From the comments above there seems to be fairly universal dislike of this revised design. It is notable that the earlier design, which can still be seen on the architect Grimshaw's website, did not extend nearly so far up the hull leaving much more of the ship on view. I am unaware of any public explanation of why the design has been changed to make the glasshouse so much more prominent. The original design image is credited to Youmeheshe, an unknown architectural practice who were Grimshaw's subcontractor for the project although they seem to be off the job now. One wonders whether it was Youmeheshe's inexperience that caused there to be problems with the design. Through the medium of this blog comment I would ask that Grimshaw provide an explanation of why they have changed the glasshouse so that it now covers up so much of the hull." The project is overbudget and overtime. The chief engineer has resigned, saying it will damage the ship.

By: Lawrence

Lawrence — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:44:55 +0000

Perhaps even more tragic than Britannia is the Cutty Sark [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenwichwhs/3401748174/ ]. Even as a child I felt sorry for this ship in a prison, at least the Britannia can still sail away…

By: Lawrence

Lawrence — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:35:13 +0000

As one might expect, Hamburg has a couple of historic ships, the Rickmer Rickmers [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/57621291@N00/242889484/ ] and the Cap San Diego [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/crohweder/261837171/ ]. The Cap San Diego was one of the last traditional cargo ships, pushed out of service by container ships, The Rickmer Rickmers a sailing cargo ship plying routes to Hong Kong and Chile. Both ships are runs as museums, have restaurants and can be rented for events. One of the highlights of the Hamburg gay events calendar is the Leather Ball, the biggest event of its kind in Europe and held annually on the Cap San Diego. Both ships are kept in full working order by teams of enthusiastic volunteers mechanics.

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 05:39:26 +0000

Excellent idea though, being practical, it would be enough to have a few pick-up points in the Firth of Forth: Leith, Newhaven, Granton, Queensferry, Rosyth. People would only have short trips but that would be enough. Everyone would have the pleasure of seeing the ship at see. There could be special viewing points on the Calton Hill and the Castle Rock. It would be Urban Theatre of the best kind.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 05:24:13 +0000

Perhaps Britannia could dock at all the most fabulous locations in the UK on rotation giving everyone onshore an opportunity to experience her? [ http://ports.org.uk/ ] Perhaps even offering very exclusive cruising experiences between ports? [ http://www.traveltruth.com/articles/topten-cruiselines.html ]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 07:13:53 +0000

The Britannia is not big enough to serve as a hotel but it was built for visiting wonderful places – and this does not include a cheapskate shopping centre at the back end of the former Leith Docks.

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 06:18:25 +0000

Hmmm. Not an easy assignment…Should a moored hotel have all the attractions of a cruise ship?
[ http://www.cruisepassenger.com.au/proud-tradition ]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:49:26 +0000

The Chapman & Skeppsholmen has a much more scenic location. The Queen Mary, now a hotel in Long Beach, seems to have a better deal than Britannia. RSS Discovery has a respectable berth in Dundee.

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:56:03 +0000

Perhaps the Britannia could be converted to a boutique hotel with a comparable landscape setting following the example of the Chapman & Skeppsholmen hostel, Stockholm Sweden? [ http://www.maggiewilliamswanderer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/stockholm.jpg ]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:06:47 +0000

Very good. I was thinking about moving the Britannia to a better location but re-designing the setting is a good policy. I think the land in the foreground is probably scheduled for an (ugly) building at some point. It would be very easy for them to grow climbers on the Oceaan Terminal and you are right that it would look much better. But where would you put the bright colour? – and might it not compete with the ship. Part of the problem is that the benighted planners saw the ship as a ‘Five Star Visitor Attraction’ – this means a place where you can make loads of cash from visitors. So it was a thing to go inside rather than a thing to appreciate from afar.
PS it is of interest that this is the ship on which the last governor of Hong Kong sailed out of the harbour – an event which many people see as the Last Act of the British Empire. To inaugurate a new era of British-Chinese Friendship I think Red would be a good choise for the bright colour you would like to see. There are some dark moments in British imperial history but I do not see Hong Kong as one of them. It should not have been taken by force but the fact of its existence seems, to me, to have done a fair amount of good in SE Asia? I sometimes wonder if we should offer China a 100-year lease on the Isle of Wight to see what we can learn from the experience. I can see that this idea might not be popular on the Isle – maybe Sheppy would be a better choice (there is still a fair chance of a new airport being built in the Thames nearby, so journeys to China would be easy).