Tuesday - February 26, 2008
The Passing of the Queens, Sydney
Sydney was jammed with people on Sunday!
They had come from all over to see an important soccer match and then to watch the two "dancing Queens", as one Sydney newspaper referred to the the Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Queen Victoria. We walked down to Circular Quay to get a close look at the new ship and the area was jammed with buskers, food vendors, and rubber neckers, all waiting for 6 pm when the two ships would haul up anchor and change piers. Actually, the Queen Victoria, who was visiting Sydney for the first time, would leave the Circular Quay where she had been docked for a day and make her way on to Brisbane. The QE2 would leave her dock at Garden Island Pier, where we had spent a day, to take over the prime spot at Circular Quay. 
We organized a small party, including Marty and Lynne, with our friends across the hall, Terry and Diane, leaving the doors to each cabin open so that we could run from side to side to see it all. And what a spectacle it was.
People were jammed into any available spot along the route, and the Opera House outside balconies were covered with people. We counted 12 helicopters flying overhead and there were more sailboats and watercraft than one could count. At one point the captain had to sound the whistle to get them out of our way. It had been a gorgeous, sunny day and the evening light was beautiful on the sails and the water.
At 6:00 pm, as scheduled, the QE2 raised anchor and we started off towards Denison Island. Captain McNaught had told us at noon that we were to pass to the north of the Island while the Queen Victoria was to pass to the south. He also said that we would recognize the Queen Vic because she would be the big floating box with all the balconies. And he said that if we listened really closely, we might hear her whistle. Then he apologized to all of us because he said the passengers on the Queen Vic would have the best view! 
The Queen Victoria was late in leaving and we all joked that the Captain probably couldn't get it started! About 10 minutes later, she started to back out of her berth and we could see her backing under the famous Coathanger Bridge. Then she started moving toward us, and sounded her whistle three times. One of our friends said she sounded like a boy whose voice had not yet broken. You could hear gales of laughter from us on board the QE2 because we know what a real whistle sounds like. Then our Captain sounded our whistle three times as we approached the Queen Vic, and we could hear the cheers from the shore.
It was an incredible sight from onboard one of the ships; it must have been even more incredible from shore where one could see both ships in the late evening light. The newspapers on Monday morning had full front page photos and special inserts covering the event. We definitely bought a copy to keep for a souvenir.