History's Greates Ships

[GordMay]

Take a bow
The greatest ships and boats in the world have shaped our shared history and their stories make us who we are today. While some have met a watery grave on the bottom of the ocean, many survive in museums or moorings around the globe and others live on as fully seaworthy replicas.
Here we sail through time to discover the most influential launches from 2,500 BC to today.

42 Slides ➥ https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/...AggNb9#image=1

[GordMay]

Royal Yacht HMY "Britannia"

Royal yachts are nothing new. In fact, there have been over 80 such vessels, since the restoration of the Monarchy, in 1660. Commissioned for royal service, these yachts served as a form of transportation, before air travel became commonplace, as well as royal residences, providing a suitable space for glittering state visits, official receptions, and relaxing royal family holidays.

The latest [and very likely last] of these royal yachts, the “Royal Yacht Britannia”, was launched from the John Brown & Company shipyard, in Scotland, in 1953. The ship’s maiden voyage took her from Portsmouth to Malta, with the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, first sailing in 1954, from Tobruk, Libya.

“For Great Britain, she was a majestic symbol of the Commonwealth and a proud ambassador generating billions of pounds in trade deals," states Casey Rust, Marketing Director of The Royal Yacht Britannia & Fingal Hotel. "For the royal family and 220 dedicated crew of royal yachtsmen, she was home.”

The floating palace was the preferred honeymoon destination for no fewer than three of Her Majesty’s children. Princess Anne and her first husband cruised through the West Indies, in 1973, while Prince Charles and Princess Diana toured the Mediterranean, after tying the knot in 1981. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson had but five days to whip out to the Azores and back, in 1986.

The royal yacht has hosted other private shindigs as well, most recently the pre-wedding cocktail party, for Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Phillips, the night before her July 20, 2011 nuptials. Incidentally, Princess Anne was the last royal to roll up the carpet (sadly not red) in the the State Dining Room, which revealed a dance floor, that was put to good use for her 21st birthday in August 1971.

While in royal service, it took a crew of 220 Royal Yachtsmen to keep Britannia running.

After a long and successful career, spanning 44 years, and travelling more than a million miles around the globe, John Major's Government announced, in 1994, there would be no refit for HMY Britannia, as the costs would be too great. (The question of a new royal yacht became a political issue, until the government confirmed, in 1997, there would be no replacement.)
All the clocks on board remain stopped at 3:01pm, the exact time H.M. The Queen was piped ashore, for the final time, during the decommissioning ceremony.

Cities from around the United Kingdom bid to become Britannia's new home, with Edinburgh eventually sealing the deal, promising to keep her in the manner to which she was accustomed. And so they have. Britannia is now owned by an independent charity, The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, and all proceeds are invested in the long term maintenance of the ship for future generations to enjoy.


HMY “Britannia” departs Cardiff for the last time.

[goboatingnow]

I had the pleasure of a long chat with Lord Boyce who was an officer on Britannia. Interesting the then superintendent of the Shannon navigation in Ireland was present a d he turned out to have been a cadet on Britannia

[GordMay]

HMY “Britannia” was unique, in that her Commanding Officer [Flag Officer Royal Yachts (FORY)] was always a Flag Officer, generally a Rear Admiral (however the first two were Vice Admirals, and the last a Commodore).
Vice-Admiral Sir E. M. Conolly Abel Smith: February 1953-January 1958
Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Dawnay: January 1958-January 1962
Rear-Admiral Sir Joseph C.C. Henley: January 1962-March 1965
Rear-Admiral Sir Patrick J. Morgan: March 1965-August 1970
Rear-Admiral Sir Richard J. Trowbridge: August 1970-September 1975
Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh P. Janion: September 1975-February 1981
Rear-Admiral Sir Paul W. Greening: February 1981-September 1985
Rear-Admiral Sir John Garnier: September 1985-September 1990
Rear-Admiral Sir Robert N. Woodard: September 1990-April 1995
Commodore Anthony J.C. Morrow: April 1995-December 1997

Although never FORY, Baron [Michael Cecil] Boyce, KG, GCB, OBE, DL, rose to become Admiral of the fleet, First Sea Lord, and Chief of the Naval Staff, then Chief of the Defence Staff.

[goboatingnow]

Apologies I misplaced his title , he’s more then a mere “ lord”. I did not state he was a captain but he served on Britannia. I met him at the queens garden party for the RNLI as he is a senior patron