26 January 2023
102 days, 31 ports, 18 countries.
Queen Mary 2 World Centenary Voyage
Ellen Frazer-Jameson reporting live from Queen Mary 2
Next port: Salalah, Oman
CUNARD QUEEN MARY 2
A photographic odyssey from the collection of JD Schwartz
WHO IS JD Schwartz ?
I'm Ellen's friend and traveling with her aboard QM2 - at least in spirit.
More about that later...
Some of you may be familiar with my name or by the photos I post on these pages. Many of you may not. I am a ship fanatic - passionate about the sea. I love to cruise, I love ships. My experience with CUNARD encompasses five unforgettable transatlantic crossings on Queen Mary 2 plus one each on QV and QE westbound transatlantic on their first segments each in January of a world voyage. I love the serentity of the open sea. One reason why I reside on an island in the Dutch Caribbean - ARUBA.
Since 1965 I have sailed on over 50 ships; 160 cruises including 14 transatlantic crossings and repositioning cruises. A good chunk of my earnings has gone into this obsession of mine. Some spend the same on cars, watches or clothing.
I met Ellen several years ago. The initial conversation immediately centered around Cunard and Queen Mary 2 and our shared love of travel and the sea. Conversation regarding ships and Cunard ignites an immediate friendship (with me at least); we are good friends.
I was in Miami just over a month ago dining at a sidewalk cafe in South Beach. Who walks by? - ELLEN ! After some casual conversation she told me of her planned voyage around the world on Queen Mary 2. I nearly fell off my chair. This is one for the bucket list and more likely than not, a dream, since in reality, the cost (for me) is somewhat out of reach. I immediately envisioned, the graphic designer, photographer, branding consultant and website developer I am, that this may be the ultimate and perhaps one-time opportunity to live my dream even if vicariously through Ellen's real-life journey - sailing around the world on Queen Mary 2.
Ellen is a published British author and has worked with the BBC in the past. The rest is history, and it has been a wonderful collaborative effort (and pleasure) to work with Ellen on our website, daily posts and updates. There are no coincidences...
Each day Ellen sends me her previous days material including text and photos. I assemble everything into what you have been seeing for the past 16 days.
My first crossing on Queen Mary 2 was a lifelong dream come true. Since I started cruising back in the 60's, I always wanted to cross the Atlantic - I never got around to it until 2016 following a life changing experience. It was time to cross the pond. I booked passage and in July 2016 boarded Queen Mary 2 for the first time sailing westbound from S'hampton to New York. After that first crossing I wanted to write a book. More of a photographic chronicle of the journey, the ship and my experience but the photos captured were poor thanks to my ineptness with the camera I had purchased. It took two more crossings to get the pictures up to par. Finally, I published my first book, "DIVINE CROSSINGS". Two further crossings garnered some even better images of Queen Mary 2, especially a voyage in August 2018 which featured a stopover in Halifax, the birthplace of Cunard. I am now working on a follow up book featuring Queen Mary 2 - a photographic odyssey.
As a solo traveller more than meeting fellow guests is acquiring new life-long friends. A priceless asset that continues to lure me to the sea on a ship.
Below are a few galleries from my collection...I hope you enjoy them. Looking at the photos I am immediately transformed back to those days where QM2 just took me away and into a different dimension...
I love black and white as a medium.
It lends itself well where QM2 is portrayedas an ocean liner.
The following photos were taken with a NIKON Z5 - a mirorless lightweight option to the bulky and heavy but fabulous Nikon D800 I also cart along.
I love stairs and stairwells. The design and intricacy in constructing them is an art.
A NORTH ATLANTIC RIDE...
ONWARD
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Current position of Queen Mary 2: Under way from Safaga to Salalah
Departure was 2 d 18 hrs 56 min ago. (at 23:00 h local time)
Arrival will be in 1 d 11 hrs 4 min. (at 07:00 h local time)
Traveled distance since Safaga: 1,115.25 nm (2,065.45 km)
Remaining distance to Salalah: 594.25 nm (1,100.55 km)
Traveled distance since Southampton: 4,893.66 nm (9,063.06 km)
Happy Sailing ...The Journey continues...
Ellen
COMING UP
On the horizon: Salalah, Oman
Queen Mary 2 - The Last Ocean Liner?
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Photo of the day (from the archives of JD Schwartz)
"HALIFAX"
Further updates will be posted as soon as we get them from Ellen onboard Queen Mary 2.