Queen Elizabeth in Helsinki, 21 August 2011

Queen Elizabeth

IMO 9477438
Built 2010, Fincantieri Monfalcone, Italy
Tonnage 90 901 GT
Length 294,00 m
Width 32,25 m
Draugth 8,00 m
2 092 passengers
6 MaK diesels, combined 50 700 kW
2 azipods
3 bow thrusters
Speed 23,7 knots (maximum)

Cunard Line's latest ship, the Queen Elizabeth, really needs no introduction. I could also ramble here about Cuanrd's recent reflagging of their fleet to Bermuda or about their current naming policy and how disrespectful it is to their history, but since I'm writing this at a quarter past one in the morning I guess we'll go straight to the photos.

Queen Elizabeth departing from Helsinki West harbour on the evening of 21 August 2011, photographed from Vattuniemi. I never seem to be in luck with Cunarders. The only time I've tried to photograph the Queen Victoria thus far I arrived too late and could only get a few aft photos of her. With the QE she manoeuvred out of the harbour in such a manner that I could only take aft-oriented photos of her too. Still, they're not all bad.

Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

Reversing from quay, with Tallink's Baltic Princess in the background.

Put crap on the foreground, make photo look more artistic.

Sailboats also help (as noted in the previous entry, this was the day of a "floating boat exhibit" and hence there were a lot of boats buzzing around).

This was the closest I could get to a photo showing the ship from a forward angle. Since this was late in the day the shore was alreaduy in the shade, somewhat diminishing the attractiveness of the image.

Norwegian Sun in Helsinki, 21 August 2011

Norwegian Sun

IMO 9218131
Built 2001, Aker MTW Wismar, Germany (hull), Lloyds Werft Bremerhaven, Germany (outfitting)
Tonnage 78 309 GT
Length 258,06 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 8,00 m
1 936 passengers (double occupancy), 2 400 passengers (maximum)
6 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 50 700 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
2 stern thrusters
Speed 22 knots

For a (very) brief history of the Norwegian Sun, see the first entry on her. The photographs below show the NSun departing from Helsinki West Harbour on 21 August 2011. Photographed from Vattuniemi. Click on the images to see then in larger size.

Norwegian Sun and the photographer's wife, part 1.

It was very hard to get a "clean" shot of the NSun this day, as there was a "floating boat exhibition" at Lauttasaari and hence the sea was full of all sort of small craft. As you probably know I'm all for photogenic sailboats, but a sailboat without sails is not very photogenic - and neither is three or four different types of boats in the foreground of a photo.

I should take more vertical photographs like this, methinks. Of course, there's the problem that I tend to screw up the horizon in them even worse than usually.

Step 1: Take a normal photo with the placement of the subject a bit off. Step 2: Crop the photo to panoramic dimensions. Step 3: ???. Step 4: Profit!

The photographer's wife, part 2. Probably wishing she was on the NSun and not stuck in Vattuniemi with me.

Kristina Katarina in Helsinki, 14 August 2011

Kristina Katarina

IMO 7625811
Previous names: Konstantin Simonov, Francesca, The Iris
Built 1982, Stocznia Szczecinska im A. Warskiego Szczecin, Poland
Tonnage 12 688 GT
Length 138,00 m
Width 21,01 m
Draugth 5,60 m
450 passengers
4 Sulzer diesels, combined 12 779 kW
2 propellers
1 bow thruster
Speed 18 knots

For a history of the Kristina Katarina, please see the first entry on her. The photographs below show the ship in Helsinki on the evening of 14 August 2011. She was at Kanavaterminaali's quay overnight in preparation for her second winter season, which will take her as far away as the Caribbean, making her the first Finnish-flagged cruise ship to ever sail there (there have, of course, been Finnish-owned cruise ships in the Caribbean, but never a Finnish-flagged one - though there were plans to take Finnlines' Finnstar there in the early 1980s, but she was withdrawn before any of these plans could be realised). Photographs taken from various locations in the South Harbour. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Sunset a half past eight: The Kristina Katarina at quay alongside the Suomenlinna II, one of the three serries providing service between Helsinki's Market Square and the island fortress Suomenlinna (aka Sveaborg in Swedish).

An hour later in the same place. On the right in the background in the orthodox christian Uspenski Cathedral. The grey tower in the background on the left is the tower of the Kallio Church.

A different point of view taken from Tähtitorninmäki. The white building next to the Kristina Katarina on the left is the (former) Enso-gutzeit headquarters, also the former HQ of Finnlines.

Later, that same evening.

(Almost) the same point of view as on the first image, but now showing the row of former warehouses along the shore of Katajanokka. The rightmost building is the terminal used by Viking Line.

Sea Wind in Turku, 12 August 2011

Sea Wind

IMO 7218332
Former names: Svealand, Saga Wind
Built 1972, Helsingør Skibsværft og Maskinbyggeri, Denmark
Tonnage 15 879 GT
Length 154,41 m
Width 21,04 m
Draugth 5,02 m
Ice class 1B
12 passengers (as a cargo ship), 363 passengers (maximum)
363 berths
60 cars
1 270 lanemetres
4 MaK diesels, combined 7 356 kW
2 controllable pitch propellers
1 bow thruster
Speed 18 knots

More Sea Wind. And in case you missed it, the previous entry on the ship contains additional photographs and a detailed history. The photographs below show the ship arriving in and departing from Turku on 12 August 2011, photographed from Ruissalo (albeit from different locations). Click on the individual images to see them in larger size.

Arriving in the harbour in much better lighting than in the previous entry. The black blob aft of the the Sea Wind's radar mast is the funnel of the Isabella.

Sea Wind reversing into quay in front of her fleetmate Silja Europa. The building just visible behind the aft superstructure of the Silja Europa is the Turku Castle.

Later, that same evening: The Sea Wind sailing on a meadow after departing from Turku.

The moon was (barely) visible above the Sea Wind's bridge in the original image, but it was sadly obliterated when treating the image.

Isabella in Turku, 12 August 2011

Isabella

IMO 8700723
Built 1989, Brodogradiliste Split, Yugoslavia
Tonnage 35 154 GT
Length 169,40 m
Width 27,60 m
Draugth 6,40 m
2 480 passengers
2 166 berths
364 cars
900 lane metres
4 Wärtsilä-Pielstick diesels, combined 23 760 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 21,5 knots

For a short history of the Isabella, see the first entry on her.

The photographs below show the Isabella departing from Turku on the evening of 12 August 2011, photographed from Ruissalo (from a different spot than the preceeding Turku images). Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

Departing the harbour, with Sea Wind also preparing to depart in the background.

Passing Pikisaari.

The yellow glowy thing is not an added effect, but luck with the way the rays of the setting sun interacted with the clouds.

She is a very pretty ship, in my humble opinion.

Cathing the evening sun.

Sailing in to sunset (well, not quite... yet).

I really miss those calm summer evenings.

Really sailing into sunset this time, turning into the deep channel between Ruissalo and Pikku-Pukki.