Bigmike911

Good News. The Banyan tree in Lahaina Maui which was potentially killed by the fire, has begun to put on new leaves. It will be a while before it is known that the total tree with it's 50 plus trunks has completely survived, but this is a great start.

If you have not already been the Solent Sky Museum is interesting, especially if you are interested in aircraft and boats. If you are at the Ocean terminal, you can walk, if you are at the Mayflower you would need a short taxi. (Solent Sky Ltd Albert Rd S, Southampton SO14 3FR, UK). I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Blue Marble, how was your day in Hamburg? I see that you are headed back to Southampton, any plans for your port day there?

I lived in the UK for two years in 2000 and 2001. I was at the Last Night of the Proms on 15 September 2001, and remember that "Adagio" was added as a result of the 9/11 event. When I hear it I am taken back to that night. The last nights are always full of energy, but that evening was electric. You could actually feel it in the air. I won't forget it.

I hope you will consider Cunard's Hamburg tour, which includes a stop at the amazing Miniatur Wunderland. Hamburg is my favorite German city. The Venice of the North.

I am watching the NY Harbor Web cam to see the QM2 departure. There is some on on You Tube posting as Blue Marble who is sailing on her today 9/11. Is that "our" Blue Marble?

Nothing like a small glass of port to finish off a nice day. And you will sleep like a baby. Enjoy L.L..

Glad to hear that you were mostly spared. It looks like the hurricane moved very quickly over Fla and GA, and that means not as much rain. That is always a good thing. Brother Harvey gave us 50 inches, tho less up in the the woods than in Houston. Let's see what the rest of the season brings us. Hopefully you have had yours for the year.

Bon Voyage for you LL. Wet sounds great, when you have had only high heat for more than a month. Enjoy your trip.

Have you considered a back up generator? I have a 20 kw natural gas (also available in propane) generator that was a god send during Harvey and even more in the Feb 2021 Freeze where the whole grid went down for several days. It will handle A/C, refrigerators and freezers and multiple appliances. It has a smart switch that as soon as we loose 'street' power it starts and when it gets of speed switches over. (about 12 seconds) I also have UPS (Uninterruptible Power Systems) on TV and Satellite, computers, router and internet radio that keep those systems powered during the switch. When you live in Hurricane Alley Gulf Coast is pays to be prepared. Good Luck with Idalia, fingers crossed it looses it's punch before it gets to you.

I guarantee you, you will not be disappointed.

That brings back good memories. I did a round trip Trans Atlantic, on Queen Mary2. It went on and did a five day to Europe and I spent the five days in Scotland. One of the tours to the Highlands was to Blair Castle, and a trip into Pitlochry and I did a tour of the Blair Atholl distillery, which was quite enjoyable. In the Bond House they had whiskeys dated in the 50s and early 60's which the tour guide said were due to be blended into Johnny Walker Blue label in the fall. I still have a wee dram of Blair Athol whiskey.

I watched a program on the tree, with a Hawaiian Arborist who has examined it. He says that the trunk branches and the 25 roots which extend from the branches have live sap. They have aerated the ground provided nutrients and a compost cover to the ground below the tree, and are watering it. It could be up to six months to determine if it will live. It would be glorious if this old specimen actually makes it. On the Monday before the Fire, I bought two tee shirts on the Lahaina Yacht Club's web site to replace a couple that have gotten tattered. I got an email Friday from them saying their stock and the building were destroyed. He gave me the choice of a refund or appling my purchase money to their employee fund. I chose the donation.

I should have noted the voyage was on Queen Victoria.

I have been reflecting on a round trip I took in 2015 from Los Angeles to Hawaii and Back. We had a day on Maui, and the ship was tendered to and from Lahaina. When you first got ashore there was an enormous Banyan Tree, now we are told it was (or maybe is) the largest in the islands. Banyans have the habit of creating support for long branches by dropping roots down and creating new trunks. We walked along Front Street and had lunch at the Lahaina Yacht Club a favorite eatery of mine over the years on a deck over looking the pacific teeming with whales. On either side of the street were shops and one story shopping centers selling all kinds of Hawaiian gifts, including shirts from Hilo Hatties. Now it is all gone, and the terrible fire has taken the lives of 100+ people and probably many more. The historic Hawaiian Royal Capitol is mostly gone. I feel very sad. I took a picture of the Banyan Tree and it is here

L.L. Could you kindly send some of that English Liquid Sunshine my way. August started out 103F 39.5C with no rain in sight. I reluctantly upped the every other nightly watering of my lawn to 140% of normal or 14 minutes vs 10. There are 19 'trains" (lines of sprinklers) on the system 9 front, 10 back, so the water should help, but the water bill will be approaching the National Debt. When we get some rain, I can cut back, but nothing in the 10 day forecast. I would even take a small hurricane right now.

John that looks like a fun way to spend the day, and get away from the heat on land. Well done.

I believe Cunard Uses MarineSat, not starlink.

You might contact Luggage Forward and ask them. They are very efficient on the telephone.

They no longer have White Star Luggage Service but now recommend LuggageForward.com which I have used. It is as efficient as White Star, maybe a bit better actually.

Good Morning. It's July Fourth, the 247 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the (now) United States. It will be a day filled with family, food and this evening Fireworks. Queen Mary 2 is in Boston today (one of the key cities in the war of Independence) for the celebration once again emphasising the strong bonds between the US and the UK which go on, and will into the future. To Americans, everywhere, Happy Fourth. To the rest of the world, thanks for your friendship.

I was hoping to watch the You Tube New York Harbor cam which is at the waterfront museum at Red Hook for the arrival and departure. The camera there is out of service til mid July. I hope all who traveled from Southampton came out ok and those going to Halifax should be good to go later tonight.

I had been following the voyage and was surprised to see the Halifax diversion. Looks like they have taken care of the ill crew member. Those who have onward flights should contact their airlines asap to re-book. You don't want to risk being a no-show and losing your ticket money. Last weekend the US air traffic was a mess due to weather and short staffing at the FAA. The coming weekend is a holiday weekend and could be as bad. Once re-booked you might want to spend a day in a Hotel in NYC and catch a Saturday, Sunday flight or even Monday They should be less busy than Friday the beginning of the Holiday/ Good Luck.

Thank you. Obviously older than the Marie Rose in Portsmouth, which I had to pleasure of visiting several years ago. It is good that there is an effort to preserve it.

Alas, it is behind Wapo's paywall. What is the name of the ship, perhaps we can find more information that way. Thanks.