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Mankind has always been interested and attracted by the unknown. Great explorers that were driven by curiosity, explored the globe and greatly contributed to the world we see today. In the past, people did not have much choice on ways of travelling. Marine travelling was the most reliable and prolonged way. To prove this fact we can simply refer to great geographical discoveries, that began in the 15th century. Portuguese, Spanish, British explorers travelled across the Atlantics due to different reasons: trade interests - searching for new outlets; colonization– expanding the territory of the Empire, or simply the will to unveil the truth of the unknown.
The one thing that unites all of the mentioned facts is marine travelling. All the greatest discoveries such as discovery of America were done in this way. Ship has always been a vital part of worldwide travelling network, even though the humanity is relying more on aircraft nowadays the spirit of great adventures still attracts millions of romantics. Ships have been around us since the dawn of humanity. There are a lot of different types of this masterpiece, moreover, it is almost impossible to count all of them. To start of with Military and Civil ships classifications. These are the two main marine types. Moreover, they are subdivided on hundreds of other classifications.
According to many witnesses, the Queen Mary became the place of paranormal activity. Event of accidently nudging and sinking the British cruiser “Curacao” has influenced the nowadays experience of visitors. After being converted to floating museum and hotel, “Crew members heard clanging noises, as if the ship was under repair, but not a soul was there. One crew member sighted a woman at the swimming pool dressed in a bathing suit from the early 1950s, and was about to jump into the completely empty pool” (Bodnar 2008, 11). 1 According to the author, a lot of other incidents were reported: different sounds, hatches would open by themselves, wet footprints along the swimming pool which is empty, and the ghost of the first ship’s captain has been sighted often passing the bridge. 2 If you are into this topic – you should definitely give it a visit! After the war, Queen Mary got back on the regular basis of serving transatlantic civil transportations, however, with the development of aviation, the profitability has fallen significantly. As a result in the 60's giant ships for linking the Europe with America was not profitable. July 24, 1967 Cunard Line company set the liner for sale with the price of 3 million 450 thousand dollars (1.5 million pounds). During the travelling lifetime (31 years), Queen Mary managed to transport more than 2 million 115 thousand paying passengers and crossed 3,750,000 miles.
The new place of destination for Queen Mary after the sale was set to Long Beach, however, in order to get there, on October 31, 1967 Queen Mary with 1040 American passengers on board, under
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1. Bosnar, Gene . "Ghost Ships." The MSB Journal II, no. VII (2008): 11-12.
2. "The Queen Mary of Long Beach - History and Hauntings." Legends of America - American History, People, Legends, Old West, Travel Destinations, and Lots More. For the Nostaligic and Historic Minded.. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-queenmary.html (accessed July 18, 2013).
the commandment of Captain John Treshura had to go around South America and Cape Horn,due to the fact that the width of the ship exceeds the width limits of the Panama Canal. As a result the vessel
took a detour and visited Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Valparaiso (Chile), Callao (Peru) and Acapulco (Mexico).
Furthermore, a lot of interesting facts and personalities are connected with the name “Queen Mary – the Riband of the Atlantic”. First of all In 1970’s, Queen Mary served as an Oceanic Museum of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. More than 85 thousand square meters of space are devoted to presentations, meetings and conventions, 50 thousand - for shows and exhibitions. Also, the Queen Mary has 16 showrooms on board with the ability to accommodate up to 2,000 people at a time with a hotel for 365 rooms. Interestingly enough, liner Queen Mary, was brought to cinematograph as well. We can observe it in some episodes of the movie "Gone in 60 seconds" (1974), an episode of the movie "Pearl Harbor" (directed by Michael Bay). Image of the liner can be found at the end of the movie in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" (liner was painted on a tin box). If you believe in paranormal activity – Queen Mary is the best hotel to choose! There are rumors that you can meet real ghosts at night. The Queen Mary serves as a magnet for celebrities. It was visited by famous Hollywood actors, comedians, dancers, presidents, politicians, British Royalty: Bob Hape, Elizabeth Taylor, Lynne Redgrave, Winston Churchill, The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth, Jackie and Robert Kennedy and many others. 3
Finally, Queen Mary is one of the most impressive vessels ever created by the humanity. It has a long and interesting story. It is definitely a must see!
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3."Famous People Aboard the Queen Mary." Long Beach Hotels | The Queen Mary | One-Of-A-Kind Long Beach Experience, Tours, Events, Dining & more.http://www.queenmary.com/celebrities.php (accessed July 18, 2013).
Bibliography
Bosnar, Gene . "Ghost Ships." The MSB Journal II, no. VII (2008): 11-12.
"Famous People Aboard the Queen Mary." Long Beach Hotels | The Queen Mary | One-Of-A-Kind Long Beach Experience, Tours, Events, Dining & more http://www.queenmary.com/celebrities.php (accessed July 18, 2013).
"Queen Mary Facts & Statistics | Queen Mary Hotel | Facts & Statistics about the Queen Mary Long Beach." Long Beach Hotels | The Queen Mary | One-Of-A-Kind Long Beach Experience, Tours, Events, Dining & more http://www.queenmary.com/our-story/stats.php (accessed July 18, 2013).
"The Queen Mary of Long Beach - History and Hauntings." Legends of America - American History, People, Legends, Old West, Travel Destinations, and Lots More. For the Nostaligic and Historic Minded.. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-queenmary.html (accessed July 18, 2013).
