QE2 arrives in Cobh for farewell visit

The famed cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 has arrived in Cobh this morning on one of the final legs of her farewell voyage after 40 years of service.

The huge liner reached Roches Point at the mouth of Cork Harbour at around 1.30pm and was escorted in slowly by four or five tugboats and a flotilla of boats.

There was even the unusual sight of one of the Dublin Port pilot boats joining the local pilot boat fleet for the occasion.

Here are some photos of the arrival, taken from Cobh town.

Cobh Harbour liner visit season nearing end

With the nights becoming longer in this part of the world the most successful season of liner visits to Cork Port for 2008 is gradually drawing to a close with the final scheduled visit being that of the Thomsen Celebration on October 24th. Before that there are still some interesting visits with the highlight being the last ever visit to Cork of the QE2 which will take place on Thursday, 2nd October.



The QE2 will tie up at the Deepwater Quay in Cobh around 9.00am local time and depart at 6pm. The old but still elegant ship will then sail for a final time to Dublin, Liverpool and Belfast before a final trip around the UK coast, a farewell voyage to New York and a journey through the Mediterranean before reaching its final destination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on November 27th where she will be converted into a floating hotel.

The QE2 was the star of the show at the 1991 Tall Ships Race, not taking from the grace and beauty of the tall ships including our own late lamented Asgard II, but complimenting them. There are still many homes around the Cork Harbour area with large photos of the QE2 surrounded by smaller vessels and with tugboats cascading water over her from their powerful water jets. It is a picture that will endure.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 (to give it its full name) was launched in Clydebank from the yard of John Brown on 20th September 1967 and made her official maiden voyage to New York in May 1969. By 2002 she had logged 2,000,000 miles at sea. QE2 has now been superseded by the Queen Mary 2 (since 2004).

QE2 to include Cobh on its farewell voyage

It's quite a few years since the QE2 was here for the fantastic display of sail that was the Tall Ships Race of 1991 when Cork Harbour was host to hundreds of sailing vessels, including the world's biggest a the time. Later this year, on October 1st to be more precise, the QE2 will be back in Cobh for its final visit as part of its farewell tour. After that the great ship will do a few more transatlantic trips before departing for Dubai where it will become a floating hotel. Most of the cabins are already booked out for the final voyages.