On the evening of Tuesday, 12 March 2013, Cunard Line will again make history as the company’s newest Cunarder, Queen Elizabeth, meets RMS Queen Mary, once the undisputed Grand Dame of the North Atlantic, in a special Cunard Royal Rendezvous in Long Beach, CA. This will be the third Royal Rendezvous between one of Cunard’s modern fleet of Queens and the Queen Mary. Queen Mary 2 met her predecessor in February 2006, and Queen Victoria met the Queen Mary in March 2011.
This meeting is particularly poignant as Cunard’s original Queen Elizabeth – whom the current ship is named for – crossed the North Atlantic regularly, along with the Queen Mary from 1946 to 1967, on their appointed schedules many times, sighting one another in mid-ocean.
The last time the two sisters met was on 25 September 1967 in the small hours of the morning. The Queen Mary, eastbound, was on her last Transatlantic Crossing in Cunard's service. In the autumn darkness, Commodore Geoffrey Marr stood at attention on his flying bridge of the westbound Queen Elizabeth; Captain Treasure Jones was in the same position on the Queen Mary. As the two great Queens closed in on one another, the lights were flashed on, scattering the indigo Atlantic night in Cunard red; porthole pearls were in regal array. Each captain doffed his hat as the mighty Tyfon whistles exchanged their farewell salutes.
It is with this sense of history that Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary embark on this special 2013 Royal Rendezvous, bringing together two of the most famous names in maritime history.
Adding to the historical significance of the event will be the presence of one of Goodyear’s iconic blimps overhead, the Spirit of America, which will escort the Queen Elizabeth into the harbor and capture aerial coverage of the Royal Rendezvous.
For more information, visit www.goodyearblimp.com
Public Viewing Location
Aboard the Queen Mary – Promenade Deck – Aft (back)
1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA 90802
To learn more about the Queen Mary, visit www.queenmary.com
