By
Rebecca Gibson |
Cunard Line’s Three Queens met on the River Mersey in Liverpool for the first time on 26 May to help the company celebrate the 175th anniversary of its maiden transatlantic voyage.
Flagship Queen Mary 2 sailed from the Liverpool berth up to the mouth of the Mersey to meet Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria before all three ships sailed in single file to Liverpool’s Pier Head.
Stopping just behind her sister ships, Queen Mary 2 paused in front of the Cunard Building, which served as Cunard’s headquarters for nearly 50 years until 1967.
Just 1,312ft apart, the three ships performed a synchronised 180-degree turn to starboard, before Queen Mary 2 used her whistle to sound ‘175’ – one blast, followed by seven short blasts and five more. The ships then moved into an arrow formation with Queen Mary 2 at the front, before lining up 426ft apart as a salute to the Cunard Building and the City of Liverpool.
The Red Arrows then flew low over the Three Queens as they lined up on the river.
“All of us at Cunard are moved by the incredible reception the Three Queens have received from the people of Liverpool and beyond today,” said Richard Meadows, president of Cunard North America. “This moment has brought the relationship between Cunard and the Mersey alive, and that together, Liverpool and Cunard have paid tribute to the people who have created our 175 years of shared history.”
Earlier this month, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria – the largest passenger ships ever to muster together on the Mersey – met at the UK port of Southampton for the fourth time in 175 years.
To mark the occasion, Commodore Christopher Rynd, master of Queen Victoria, was joined on the ship’s red funnel by Captain Chris Wells, master of Queen Mary 2 and Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge, master of Queen Elizabeth and Cunard’s first female captain.
“It’s been a privilege to bring the Cunard fleet together on the Mersey for the first time ever to mark Cunard’s 175th anniversary year and our historic and ongoing partnership with Liverpool, our spiritual home,” said Christopher Rynd, commodore of the Cunard fleet.