Monday, August 24, 2015

HMY Britannia

Lorne Clifford and I went for a tour of  Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia this morning.  This ship was built in Glasgow in 1953 and was active until 1997 when it was de-commissioned.  It is now tied up in Edinburgh for the public to visit. 


This is the HMY Britannia permanently tied up at the dock in Edinburgh (Leith) 

This is view from the bridge

This is Prince Philip's sailing yacht Bloodhound tied up along side Britannia


This is the commemorative bell for HMY Britannia

This is the eating area where guests would enjoy breakfast and lunch

The story behind the monkey is funny.  The crew would hide the monkey every morning in a different place around the ship.  I guess this game made the crew to search high and low around the ship and find things that needed cleaning or repairs.  

The Wombat.  Another crew game.  When the fan came on, the wombat would go flying.  This became a "lively"game of catch the wombat/ chuck the wombat.

The State Room for formal meals.  Great leaders from around the world have dined with the royal family over the years.  Nelson Mandella, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, kings and queens from dozens of different countries along with dignitaries from business and entertainment world.

Around the walls of the ship are a number of beautifully adorned gifts to the royal family.  This is just one cabined of many with gold, silver and ivory carved gifts.



Accommodations for the senior non-commissioned officers.  6 to a room.


For my friend Ed Kalau!  I always wanted my engine rooms to look like this.


Low pressure and high pressure boilers.

Boiler controls

More accomodations

Mockup of the ships controls
This is from the State Room.  It is hand-carved from one solid piece of oak!
Typical Marine soldiers accomodations.  12 to a room.  Crew size was over 200




  

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