"Atlantic Queens"

This film is about 45 minutes or so long, but offers a splendid look at the Queen Mary in 1956. Areas visited include many of the ship's magnificent First Class areas, but also the bridge, engine and boiler rooms. Captain Donald Sorrell is also interviewed and discusses how he famously docked the Mary without the use of tugs during a strike in New York.

All in all, it is an amazing little film!

Queen Mary 1956 from Keith Lloyd on Vimeo.

"I would say that no seaman can be an atheist. He sees the Hand of God so often in the elements."

"I would say that no seaman can be an atheist. He sees the Hand of God so often in the elements." That is what Captain Donald Sorrell wrote in his (posthumously released) memoirs. Mariners and religion have a long, long history together: whether it be the Quaker whalers from Nantucket or the Cunard captain who performs Divine Service aboard one of the three Queens today. The two are connected. Captain Sorrell knew this, which is perhaps why he choose these words for a special prayer for the Caronia's maiden voyage:

We give Thee thanks, O Lord, for this beautiful ship, built by the efforts of people in whom the desire to strive and create has been allowed, through Thy grace, to develop and produce such a splendid result, and we pray that the crews manning her will continue, as we have commenced, to uphold always the highest traditions of the British Merchant Service. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Before anyone gets any wrong ideas, I want to explain my reasons for posting on such a topic. God and religion have both played a major role in maritime history and Captain Sorrell's prayer is a prime example of that relationship. Nothing more and nothing less.

References: Sylvia Duncan and Peter Duncan, The Sea My Steed: The Personal Story of Captain Donald Sorrell (London: Robert Hale Limited, 1960), 155.

"The Green Goddess" & Captain Sorrell

Captain Donald Sorrell was utterly amazed when he saw the RMS Caronia for the first time. He noted her huge funnel, sleek lines and unique green livery - which would soon earn her the nickname of "The Green Goddess." It was "the proudest moment of my career," her master noted. "To me had been entrusted the charge of this 34,000-ton luxury liner, which was insured for over four million pounds."

With her maiden voyage at hand, Captain Sorrell marvels at the Caronia's many sophisticated features:

Not a penny had been spared in her building; to Britons, still struggling under Sir Stafford Cripps's austerity régime, she was magnificent. Some of the younger members of my crew, all of whom were hand-picked, had never seen anything like it. There were six 45-foot motor-launches for cruising and two outside swimming pools. She had ten decks with thirteen public rooms and two restaurants, a cinema with seats for three hundred and a first-rate gymnasium with a qualified instructor. There was also a laundry large enough to cope with all passengers' washing, and the white uniforms of the crew which needed changing at least once, or sometimes twice and even three times a day in very hot weather.

There was only one refinement I didn't appreciate. Cunard had done me a special favour. Mine was the only bathroom on the ship to be fitted with fresh water. And I was probably the only person on
the ship who preferred salt-water baths!

With the bath aside, however, Captain Sorrell seems to have been pleased with his new ship and her amenities.

References: Sylvia Duncan and Peter Duncan, The Sea My Steed: The Personal Story of Captain Donald Sorrell (London: Robert Hale Limited, 1960), 151-152.