| QUEEN MARY 2 |
| CUNARD |
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An Interview with Captain
Christopher Rynd
by Richard H. Wagner
(continued)
THE CUNARD YEARS
Queen Elizabeth 2
Following Carnival Corporation’s acquisition of P&O and Princess
Cruises in 2003, Cunard Line, which is also a Carnival subsidiary, was
placed under the same management umbrella as Princess and P&O. In
order to broaden experience and to create more opportunities for
advancement, the personnel of the three lines were mixed with Cunard
officers commanding Princess and P&O ships and Princess officers
serving on Cunard ships. A senior master in the Princess fleet, Captain
Rynd was given the opportunity to command the legendary QUEEN
ELIZABETH 2 in 2006 for part of her world cruise and for part of her
European cruise season.
After having commanded some of the most modern and largest cruise
ships, commanding the nearly-40 year old ocean liner was like returning
to the past. “What myself and Commodore Bernard Warner have in
common is that we started out on ships of the QE2 era and older, so our
times as more junior officers were spent in such ships. So it wasn’t, let’s
say, so difficult for us to go back to what we remember of those ships in
the past.”
On QE2, the ship’s officers, especially the captain, still retain a social
role, frequently interacting with passengers. “After coming from one ship
where you had far less a social role, to re-engage with people was fun,
good to get back to. As I say, Commodore Warner and I both began in
that environment so it was a return to what we knew from the past.”
QE2 also differs from the modern cruise ships in that she does not have
all of the marine technology that has been developed over the last four
decades to make ships more maneuverable. “She is great in a straight
line. She wasn’t built for intricate maneuvers. Again, you need planning
and forethought and a keen eye on what the weather is doing. You must
hire tugs and get assistance or use your anchor and the other seamanship
methods to ensure that you can dock her.”
This is not to say that QE2 is technologically obsolete. “She has had an
awful lot of money put into her to bring her to quite a high level in the
technical spaces - - improving, cleaning and maintaining that ship so that
she not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the MCA, the British
Marine and Coastguard Agency. Also, the machinery that she had put
into her originally was put in during an age when they over-engineered
things and built them very solid so you have gear there that has lasted, will
last, for over 40 years. It is good solid gear, whether you are talking
windlass machinery or main propulsion motors. It is all solid, heavy stuff
- - different era technology but well-built. So, she is in good shape right
now.”
This includes the ship’s nine diesel engines. When QE2 was converted
from steam turbine propulsion to diesel electric propulsion in 1986, it was
estimated that the engines would last until 2010. However, it now
appears that these engines would have been able to continue beyond that
date. The reason for this lies in the fact that QE2 usually did not require
all of her engines to be online in order to maintain the speed needed for
her itineraries. As a result, “they were almost always able to have one or
two of the engines out for overhaul and maintenance. All of these modern
ships use their generators most of the time. So, in order to take one out,
you have to have a special program. They also negotiated a contract at
the time she was re-engined with the engine manufacturers and ever since
then they have had one of the engine manufacturer’s representatives
onboard to look after the overhaul program.”
Along the same lines, QE2’s hull remains in sound condition. “Like
QUEEN MARY 2, she was built with very solid, heavy steel plates, so
that is on her side, in her favor. I’m not aware of any significant
deterioration in the hull given they were so heavy and thick in the first
place.”
Queen Mary 2
Following his tour on QE2, Captain Rynd was asked to relieve
Commodore Warner as master of Cunard’s new superliner QUEEN
MARY 2. QM2 is a true ocean liner, a status she shares with QE2.
Also, like QE2, many of the old ocean liner traditions are maintained
onboard QM2. However, QM2 is much larger and incorporates
technology and amenities that were not available when QE2 was built.
Consequently, the two ships have developed different personalities.
“They are both Cunarders, many years apart. They both need to be
taken for what they are rather than comparing one with the other.”
“The single word that describes QM2 is ‘magnificent’. And, I say that
with all sincerity. She is a magnificent ship. She is magnificent in her
stateliness, her public areas, her power. I’m very fond of her. She is
exciting to handle as well as comfortable.”
From a sailor’s perspective, one aspect of QM2 that is particularly
impressive is her maneuverability. Unlike traditional ships, QM2 has no
rudder. Instead, she maneuvers by turning two of the four propeller pods
that pull the ship through the water. When she is docking, these two
azimuth pods (often referred to as “azipods”) are used in conjunction with
three powerful bow thrusters. Not only does this combination often
eliminate the need for tugboat assistance but it allows the ship to perform
intricate maneuvers and thus dock in ports that other less maneuverable
ships cannot.
For example, in Stavanger, Norway the ship had to dock bow-on, close
to the center of the city, in an area surrounded by shallow water. In
order to exit the port, QM2 had to pull away from the pier, back-up until
clear of the pier and then turn 180 degrees essentially in her own length.
“That was a four point turn there done with a precision that would be
very difficult to replicate by other means. You have got the assurance of
this tremendous power that you can get from these azimuth pods. We
were operating with such tight parameters that we had a tug as insurance
if something didn’t work quite as we wanted it. Nobody will ever say
‘thank you’ for not taking a tug if things go wrong, so you take it.”
QM2’s ability to travel much faster than cruise ships combined with the
stability of her design also results in a more comfortable ride for
passengers. Captain Rynd illustrated this by describing how he dealt with
one Atlantic storm the ship encountered. “We made quite a bold
alteration of course in advance of that low pressure. We knew there was
a developing low but it was only 12 or 16 hours beforehand that it was
upgraded to a storm and that is when we put in the avoidance strategy. If
we had known when leaving England, we would have taken a different
course from the very beginning, of course. So, that added about 106
extra miles to our passage, quite a lot, but I’m sure worthwhile for several
reasons. One is passengers pay for a more comfortable ride. [Two,] if
you back strike right through it, you are using extra fuel just to maintain
your speed. So, by avoiding it, you maintain your speed, use less fuel,
and you keep your passengers happier. [Three,] you keep spas and
salons and other revenue sources open as well.”
“We went up to the north, the idea being that we would take that wind
on the beam rather than right ahead. For passenger liners, that is often
the most comfortable way to take heavy weather. Pitching is the motion
that gives the most discomfort to passengers and slows the ship down the
most. Taking it on the beam, the force of the wind steadies the ship, the
accommodations are like a stay sail and you have your stabilizers and you
minimize the rolling effect.”
North Atlantic storms frequently cover vast areas and it was not possible
to completely avoid the storm in question. It was a force nine gale with
gusts up to force 10. (The scale only goes up to force 12). Furthermore,
in theory, such high winds should have more of an effect on a ship as tall
as QM2 than on a ship with a lower silhouette. “Meteorological theory
is that you measure wind speed at ten meters above the water. Well, that
is below Deck Seven. [QM2 has 13 decks]. The higher the wind gets
above the sea surface, it loses friction and the wind increases so where
our anemometer is up on top of the mast, the wind will be five or ten
knots higher than it is forecast to be or reported to be at its theoretic
level. [Each balcony] is a little sail in itself. So, rather than the flat hull
alone taking the force of the wind, the balconies actually capture the
wind.”
Nonetheless, the storm had little effect on the passengers. Captain Rynd
noted how large groups of passengers sat by the viewing windows on the
promenades on Decks Two and Three “watching that roaring sea going
by the windows. We were doing 25 knots at the time and it was just
mesmerizing to watch that rough sea going by as we moved along.”
In addition, despite the storm and the alteration of course, the ship arrived
in New York on schedule. “When [naval architect] Stephen Payne and
the others were at the design stage, they did all that tank testing in the
Netherlands and computer simulations during which they ran the design
for QM2 through the worst storms of the previous five years and saw
what that would do to her speed. She was always able to catch up
afterwards with the propulsion plant that they put on this ship. So, if you
encounter one bad storm system, we will always get there on time was
what they were saying.”
“One of the wonderful things about this propulsion plant is that you have
got both diesel engines and gas turbines. You can make a very
acceptable speed just on the diesels. Then, you add the turbines for the
extra speed or when you need to take diesels out for overhaul and
maintenance.”
These qualities also serve to give QM2 a competitive advantage not just
on transatlantic crossings but when she is competing head-to-head with
modern cruise ships. “Our program out of New York this winter will be
two days down to the Caribbean from wintry New York. Two days
later in the tropics. So, her speed and size are being used to advantage
to make her distinctively different from other ships competing in the same
market. Her speed and her sea worthiness, I should say, because there
we are doing cruising out of New York in the winter, past [stormy Cape]
Hatteras, and south and yet, this has got to be the most comfortable ship
carrying passengers in the world today in any sort of weather. So, that
difference is being used to advantage.”
Queen Victoria
Captain Rynd’s next assignment will be to play a key role in the
formative stages of Cunard’s new ship QUEEN VICTORIA, scheduled
to go into service in December 2007. “Paul Wright, of course, is the
nominated captain there and I will be relieving him. I’ve closely followed
her construction, she will be the very essence of a Cunard ship. There
has been a lot of thought and design into creating the great ocean liner
concept onboard. She also comes with a lot of what is learned from the
cruise ship industry, in terms of amenities, layout, what works well in
providing people with that type of holiday. She provides a liner
experience - - she is not built for the transatlantic but she will be providing
very much a Cunard product for people who love what Cunard is.”
QUEEN VICTORIA was not designed as a running mate for QM2 in
the sense that the QUEEN MARY and the QUEEN ELIZABETH
operated a transatlantic shuttle service in the 1950s and 1960s. “She will
be more destination orientated. She is doing Baltic, Mediterranean,
Atlantic Islands, and round the world voyages. She will be able to go to
St. Petersberg and other interesting ports that a ship of QM2’s size and
draft cannot easily go. They will be complementary ships, I should think.”
“The new QUEEN VICTORIA is being built by Fincantieri and you may
have heard the comment that this will be better than any other ship that
they built in that yard in the last ten years, in their words. The quality of
the interior will all be of a very high level.”
Captain Rynd was present when the new ship first went to sea in the late
summer for her sea trials. “She performed very well on trials meeting or
exceeding the requirements for maneuvering, speed, vibration levels and
all the technical equipment and system tests that can only be carried out at
sea with everything operating.”
“Although built on a Vista hull pattern she is longer, stronger, has an
extra deck to accommodate the ‘Grills’ area and has been completely
redesigned on the inside so you could not call her a sister ship of the
Holland America ships of that class. She will be a Cunarder true to her
legacy with all the signature rooms and facilities”
Queen Elizabeth 2
Following Carnival Corporation’s acquisition of P&O and Princess
Cruises in 2003, Cunard Line, which is also a Carnival subsidiary, was
placed under the same management umbrella as Princess and P&O. In
order to broaden experience and to create more opportunities for
advancement, the personnel of the three lines were mixed with Cunard
officers commanding Princess and P&O ships and Princess officers
serving on Cunard ships. A senior master in the Princess fleet, Captain
Rynd was given the opportunity to command the legendary QUEEN
ELIZABETH 2 in 2006 for part of her world cruise and for part of her
European cruise season.
After having commanded some of the most modern and largest cruise
ships, commanding the nearly-40 year old ocean liner was like returning
to the past. “What myself and Commodore Bernard Warner have in
common is that we started out on ships of the QE2 era and older, so our
times as more junior officers were spent in such ships. So it wasn’t, let’s
say, so difficult for us to go back to what we remember of those ships in
the past.”
On QE2, the ship’s officers, especially the captain, still retain a social
role, frequently interacting with passengers. “After coming from one ship
where you had far less a social role, to re-engage with people was fun,
good to get back to. As I say, Commodore Warner and I both began in
that environment so it was a return to what we knew from the past.”
QE2 also differs from the modern cruise ships in that she does not have
all of the marine technology that has been developed over the last four
decades to make ships more maneuverable. “She is great in a straight
line. She wasn’t built for intricate maneuvers. Again, you need planning
and forethought and a keen eye on what the weather is doing. You must
hire tugs and get assistance or use your anchor and the other seamanship
methods to ensure that you can dock her.”
This is not to say that QE2 is technologically obsolete. “She has had an
awful lot of money put into her to bring her to quite a high level in the
technical spaces - - improving, cleaning and maintaining that ship so that
she not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the MCA, the British
Marine and Coastguard Agency. Also, the machinery that she had put
into her originally was put in during an age when they over-engineered
things and built them very solid so you have gear there that has lasted, will
last, for over 40 years. It is good solid gear, whether you are talking
windlass machinery or main propulsion motors. It is all solid, heavy stuff
- - different era technology but well-built. So, she is in good shape right
now.”
This includes the ship’s nine diesel engines. When QE2 was converted
from steam turbine propulsion to diesel electric propulsion in 1986, it was
estimated that the engines would last until 2010. However, it now
appears that these engines would have been able to continue beyond that
date. The reason for this lies in the fact that QE2 usually did not require
all of her engines to be online in order to maintain the speed needed for
her itineraries. As a result, “they were almost always able to have one or
two of the engines out for overhaul and maintenance. All of these modern
ships use their generators most of the time. So, in order to take one out,
you have to have a special program. They also negotiated a contract at
the time she was re-engined with the engine manufacturers and ever since
then they have had one of the engine manufacturer’s representatives
onboard to look after the overhaul program.”
Along the same lines, QE2’s hull remains in sound condition. “Like
QUEEN MARY 2, she was built with very solid, heavy steel plates, so
that is on her side, in her favor. I’m not aware of any significant
deterioration in the hull given they were so heavy and thick in the first
place.”
Queen Mary 2
Following his tour on QE2, Captain Rynd was asked to relieve
Commodore Warner as master of Cunard’s new superliner QUEEN
MARY 2. QM2 is a true ocean liner, a status she shares with QE2.
Also, like QE2, many of the old ocean liner traditions are maintained
onboard QM2. However, QM2 is much larger and incorporates
technology and amenities that were not available when QE2 was built.
Consequently, the two ships have developed different personalities.
“They are both Cunarders, many years apart. They both need to be
taken for what they are rather than comparing one with the other.”
“The single word that describes QM2 is ‘magnificent’. And, I say that
with all sincerity. She is a magnificent ship. She is magnificent in her
stateliness, her public areas, her power. I’m very fond of her. She is
exciting to handle as well as comfortable.”
From a sailor’s perspective, one aspect of QM2 that is particularly
impressive is her maneuverability. Unlike traditional ships, QM2 has no
rudder. Instead, she maneuvers by turning two of the four propeller pods
that pull the ship through the water. When she is docking, these two
azimuth pods (often referred to as “azipods”) are used in conjunction with
three powerful bow thrusters. Not only does this combination often
eliminate the need for tugboat assistance but it allows the ship to perform
intricate maneuvers and thus dock in ports that other less maneuverable
ships cannot.
For example, in Stavanger, Norway the ship had to dock bow-on, close
to the center of the city, in an area surrounded by shallow water. In
order to exit the port, QM2 had to pull away from the pier, back-up until
clear of the pier and then turn 180 degrees essentially in her own length.
“That was a four point turn there done with a precision that would be
very difficult to replicate by other means. You have got the assurance of
this tremendous power that you can get from these azimuth pods. We
were operating with such tight parameters that we had a tug as insurance
if something didn’t work quite as we wanted it. Nobody will ever say
‘thank you’ for not taking a tug if things go wrong, so you take it.”
QM2’s ability to travel much faster than cruise ships combined with the
stability of her design also results in a more comfortable ride for
passengers. Captain Rynd illustrated this by describing how he dealt with
one Atlantic storm the ship encountered. “We made quite a bold
alteration of course in advance of that low pressure. We knew there was
a developing low but it was only 12 or 16 hours beforehand that it was
upgraded to a storm and that is when we put in the avoidance strategy. If
we had known when leaving England, we would have taken a different
course from the very beginning, of course. So, that added about 106
extra miles to our passage, quite a lot, but I’m sure worthwhile for several
reasons. One is passengers pay for a more comfortable ride. [Two,] if
you back strike right through it, you are using extra fuel just to maintain
your speed. So, by avoiding it, you maintain your speed, use less fuel,
and you keep your passengers happier. [Three,] you keep spas and
salons and other revenue sources open as well.”
“We went up to the north, the idea being that we would take that wind
on the beam rather than right ahead. For passenger liners, that is often
the most comfortable way to take heavy weather. Pitching is the motion
that gives the most discomfort to passengers and slows the ship down the
most. Taking it on the beam, the force of the wind steadies the ship, the
accommodations are like a stay sail and you have your stabilizers and you
minimize the rolling effect.”
North Atlantic storms frequently cover vast areas and it was not possible
to completely avoid the storm in question. It was a force nine gale with
gusts up to force 10. (The scale only goes up to force 12). Furthermore,
in theory, such high winds should have more of an effect on a ship as tall
as QM2 than on a ship with a lower silhouette. “Meteorological theory
is that you measure wind speed at ten meters above the water. Well, that
is below Deck Seven. [QM2 has 13 decks]. The higher the wind gets
above the sea surface, it loses friction and the wind increases so where
our anemometer is up on top of the mast, the wind will be five or ten
knots higher than it is forecast to be or reported to be at its theoretic
level. [Each balcony] is a little sail in itself. So, rather than the flat hull
alone taking the force of the wind, the balconies actually capture the
wind.”
Nonetheless, the storm had little effect on the passengers. Captain Rynd
noted how large groups of passengers sat by the viewing windows on the
promenades on Decks Two and Three “watching that roaring sea going
by the windows. We were doing 25 knots at the time and it was just
mesmerizing to watch that rough sea going by as we moved along.”
In addition, despite the storm and the alteration of course, the ship arrived
in New York on schedule. “When [naval architect] Stephen Payne and
the others were at the design stage, they did all that tank testing in the
Netherlands and computer simulations during which they ran the design
for QM2 through the worst storms of the previous five years and saw
what that would do to her speed. She was always able to catch up
afterwards with the propulsion plant that they put on this ship. So, if you
encounter one bad storm system, we will always get there on time was
what they were saying.”
“One of the wonderful things about this propulsion plant is that you have
got both diesel engines and gas turbines. You can make a very
acceptable speed just on the diesels. Then, you add the turbines for the
extra speed or when you need to take diesels out for overhaul and
maintenance.”
These qualities also serve to give QM2 a competitive advantage not just
on transatlantic crossings but when she is competing head-to-head with
modern cruise ships. “Our program out of New York this winter will be
two days down to the Caribbean from wintry New York. Two days
later in the tropics. So, her speed and size are being used to advantage
to make her distinctively different from other ships competing in the same
market. Her speed and her sea worthiness, I should say, because there
we are doing cruising out of New York in the winter, past [stormy Cape]
Hatteras, and south and yet, this has got to be the most comfortable ship
carrying passengers in the world today in any sort of weather. So, that
difference is being used to advantage.”
Queen Victoria
Captain Rynd’s next assignment will be to play a key role in the
formative stages of Cunard’s new ship QUEEN VICTORIA, scheduled
to go into service in December 2007. “Paul Wright, of course, is the
nominated captain there and I will be relieving him. I’ve closely followed
her construction, she will be the very essence of a Cunard ship. There
has been a lot of thought and design into creating the great ocean liner
concept onboard. She also comes with a lot of what is learned from the
cruise ship industry, in terms of amenities, layout, what works well in
providing people with that type of holiday. She provides a liner
experience - - she is not built for the transatlantic but she will be providing
very much a Cunard product for people who love what Cunard is.”
QUEEN VICTORIA was not designed as a running mate for QM2 in
the sense that the QUEEN MARY and the QUEEN ELIZABETH
operated a transatlantic shuttle service in the 1950s and 1960s. “She will
be more destination orientated. She is doing Baltic, Mediterranean,
Atlantic Islands, and round the world voyages. She will be able to go to
St. Petersberg and other interesting ports that a ship of QM2’s size and
draft cannot easily go. They will be complementary ships, I should think.”
“The new QUEEN VICTORIA is being built by Fincantieri and you may
have heard the comment that this will be better than any other ship that
they built in that yard in the last ten years, in their words. The quality of
the interior will all be of a very high level.”
Captain Rynd was present when the new ship first went to sea in the late
summer for her sea trials. “She performed very well on trials meeting or
exceeding the requirements for maneuvering, speed, vibration levels and
all the technical equipment and system tests that can only be carried out at
sea with everything operating.”
“Although built on a Vista hull pattern she is longer, stronger, has an
extra deck to accommodate the ‘Grills’ area and has been completely
redesigned on the inside so you could not call her a sister ship of the
Holland America ships of that class. She will be a Cunarder true to her
legacy with all the signature rooms and facilities”
THE PRINCESS YEARS ..... Page 1
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Captain Rynd was present for
QUEEN VICTORIA's sea trials.
(Photo: Cunard).
QUEEN VICTORIA's sea trials.
(Photo: Cunard).
ABOVE: QM2 in Stavanger,
Norway. BELOW: Captain Rynd
begins a four-point turn which
turned QM2 180 degrees in a very
confined area.
Norway. BELOW: Captain Rynd
begins a four-point turn which
turned QM2 180 degrees in a very
confined area.
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