I started cruising when I was 3 months old back in 1975 when my parents took me on the P&O’s SS Canberra. My love affair with the Canberra started and my parents regularly took me on her for holidays. In the late 70s and 80s you could also quite easily go down to Southampton and pop on to the ship for a few hours and we often made the journey from home in Surrey down to Southampton to spend an hour or two on Canberra catching up with crew we knew and to watch her sail out to the sounds of a military brass band and streamers galore being thrown from the ship.
In my early days of cruising we sailed across to the Caribbean and North America on a few occasions and I vividly remember being on Canberra when she was the largest cruise ship to sail up the Mississippi to New Orleans, and when we were in New York at the same time as the James Bond movie Moonraker premiered there and I got to see Roger Moore and Richard Keil !
In 1982, it was the first calendar year that I didn’t get to holiday on the Canberra as the great white whale went to war in the Falkland Islands against Argentina. I was worried that the Argentinian Air Force would sink her but thankfully despite entering the dangers of San Carlos Water through the fog, the Air Force were unable to strike her. Canberra came back to the UK victorious and to an amazing welcome in her home port of Southampton. I was lucky enough firstly to be on the quayside of dock 105/106 in Southampton to welcome her home but secondly we were the first civilians to walk up her gangways as she docked to present cabin steward John Brown with an award for his service in the Falklands.
Canberra re-entered passenger service in September 1982 and whilst not on her we sailed out of Southampton on the Sea Princess at the same time as Canberra and she kept alongside us down through the Bay of Biscay as we battled through a Force 11 gale.
In 1983 we returned to Canberra and spent the next few years cruising on her many times to the Mediterranean visiting such wonderful places as Egypt, Israel and Greece. In July 1986 whilst on a 16 night cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean we met a family from Scotland and both my brother and I made friends with Darren, Jason and Mark Ferguson. Their dad was a really nice friendly person who spent time talking to with us as a family frequently and was called Alex. Alex a few months after we met him became manager of Manchester United Football Club and the rest they say is history !! Sir Alex went on to become the most successful football manager this country has ever seen but despite this, whenever Man Utd came to play my football team (Wimbledon), Sir Alex would always take time to say hi to me and he even helped me with a School project on cruising by answering questions in writing to me with his views on cruising.
I continued to cruise on Canberra into my teens and my fascination about her remained unabated and I would often make my own way down to Southampton just to blag a few hours on board to see friends I had made over the years. We of course tried a few other ships (The QE2 and Pacific Princess) but to me nothing could beat the atmosphere and friendliness that Canberra created.
As I left School and got a job, I decided to travel on Canberra on my own, without family and I did it by booking a friendly fours berth. This was basically a berth in a cabin that you would share with 3 total strangers !!! My first night in a friendly four found me with 3 gents who lets just say were at least 50+ years older than me so thankfully the Chief Purser decided to give me a cabin to myself. Let’s just say I had a fantastic 15 nights after that and thoroughly enjoyed myself !!!
With Canberra aging and P&O having just launched the Oriana, they announced in 1996 that they were going to retire Canberra from service the following year and she would be sold for scrap. Many diehards of this great ship were gutted and calls to turn her into a floating hotel in Southampton fell on deaf ears.
I managed to book myself on Canberra’s penaultimate voyage and I introduced my then girlfriend, Nicola to her first cruise. We hadn’t been dating long but had known each other for a few years. My plan was to have a fantastic cruise and then on the morning of our arrival back into Southampton and being picked up by our parents I was going to propose to her. The cruise had been amazing, although tinged with sadness at this being my last ever cruise on Canberra. Our last night on board we celebrated Canberra’s history with new found friends (and a few old ones too !!) and I was building myself up for what I was planning following morning. However late into the evening we heard news that Princess Diana had been involved in a serious Car crash and that at least two of the occupants had been killed and Diana was on her way to hospital. Thinking very little more of it we partied on before eventually retiring to bed. At 6.30am, Captain Rory Smith made an announcement that woke the whole ship, to announce that Princess Diana had died in hospital from the injuries sustained in the crash.
The whole ship that morning was upset and I felt that there was no way in light of what had just happened that I could propose as it would not be appropriate to do so right now. Thankfully a couple of weeks later I did get to propose to Nicola and we married in August 1999 before heading off on honeymoon on a cruise !!
Back to Canberra, I had one more adventure left with her. It was the day that she arrived back into Southampton for the very last time. I was one of the thousands who lined the shoreline in Southampton to welcome her home. It was a very emotional day for all involved, as they were there to remember the great times and memories that this wonderful ship had given them. She appeared through the fog up Southampton Water to cheers and ships whistles which was very fitting for such a great ship. I was then fortunate enough to then spend one last night on her as a party was held for a select few crew and friends and we gave her the best send off that we possibly could !!
Canberra left a few days later bound for Pakistan where she was cruelly run aground and gradually dismantled for scrap.
Whilst she may be gone, for me her memory and the memories she created live on and whilst I still regularly cruise to me, no ship has come up to creating the enjoyment and atmosphere that the Canberra did.
Anyway I hope you have enjoyed me sharing my thoughts and memories on this great ship and any questions please feel free to ask.
Canberralover
No comments:
Post a Comment