Recordando os paquetes da Canadian Pacific

Estes três transatlânticos da companhia Canadian Pacific Steamships fazem parte das minhas melhores recordações marítimas de infância.
Para além de ter tido o privilégio de ver estes navios em Lisboa na década de 1960, havia no Marquês de Pombal uma montra com fotografias e outros elementos de divulgação destes navios: eram três montras, todas da Canadian Pacific, uma dediada aos navios, outra aos aviões, que voavam para Lisboa regularmente, e ainda uma sobre os comboios...
Por sinal, dois destes navios tiveram uma longevidade fora do vulgar, o EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, de 1956 e o EMPRESS OF CANADA de 1961, que acabaram por ser as duas primeiras unidades da frota da Carnival Cruise Line, em 1972 e 1975.
Já o EMPRESS OF ENGLAND não teve a mesma sorte e acabou vendido prematuramente para a sucata em 1975, com o nome OCEAN MONARCH, depois de ter sido vendido em 1970 à Shaw Savill Line.
Não me perguntem porque gostei sempre tanto destes navios. Talvez por serem parecidos com os nossos da mesma época, talvez por serem dos mais modernos na altura em que me comecei a interessar por navios...
O cartaz que ilustra este pequeno texto é bem sugestivo, com as chaminés dos últimos Empresses, publicado na década de 1960, e a fotografia do OCEAN MONARCH, em Durban, tirada por Trevor Jones em 1970, durante a primeira viagem do navio ao serviço da Shaw Savill, testemunha a menor sorte do irmão do meio...
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

A distinctive funnel

A very distictive funnel of a famous passenger liner with a long career of over fifty years, mostly cruising after two decades on transatlantic services and off-season cruises: the TOPAZ (1997-2008), one of the last steam turbine passenger ships in service when I took those photos in 2002 in Funchal, Madeira Island. It was the same funnel I saw in Lisbon back in 1963 as the EMPRESS OF BRITAIN (1956-1964),  and later on as QUEEN ANNA MARIA (1964-1975), then as CARNIVALE (1975-1993) in Miami, later on as Royal Olympic's OLYMPIC (1994-1997).

In 2008 it was the sad end for that handsome funnel, at Alang, India, where the TOPAZ was finally scrapped. She was a lucky ship as her twin sister EMPRESS OF ENGLAND had met a similar end in Taiwan in 1975.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

THE TOPAZ nearing the end of a long career

The passenger steamship THE TOPAZ is going to be replaced in May on the PEACEBOAT world cruise service by the CLIPPER PACIFIC, a motor ship built in 1970 as the SONG OF NORWAY, RCL first ship.
THE TOPAZ is the venerable surviver of a trio of liners built between 1956 and 1961 for Canadian Pacific. The former EMPRESS OF BRITAIN of 1956 has been always one of my preferred liners. Probably because she is my age, I did sail on her many years ago, and used to see her in Lisbon in the sixties, first in CP original colours, later as the QUEEN ANNA MARIA. Now she is a candidate for the beaches of Alang, or may be another spell of lay up in Greece.

Photographs taken in Lisbon in July 2003.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia