Titanic Tales - piloting Liners into Queenstown

In the series of then and now photographs these two are a very interesting pair. The first is of the Titanic at anchorage at the mouth of Cork Harbour and the second, below, is of Ocean going liners, the Independence of the Seas and the Celebrity Eclipse, as they dock in Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

Although, the Titanic was massive for her time, as she weighed 46,000 gross tonnes and measured 883 feet, she actually pales in size in comparison to these ocean going liners. The Independence of the Seas, for example, weighs 154,000 gross tonnes and measures 1,112 feet and the Celebrity Eclipse weighs 122,000 tonnes and measures 1,032 feet in length. These liners today dock right in the heart of Cobh and the photo below is of a unique occurrence in 2011 when two of these liners were in at the same time. The photo shows the Celebrity Eclipse slipping her moorings at the Deep Water Quay and the Independence of the Seas about to take her place. Of course the ocean going liners of today are highly manoeuvrable due to their propulsion systems and side thrusters. They can, in fact, almost turn on a six pence and it's fascinating watching them dock and manoeuvre into position when they are berthing at Cobh.

Liners in the time of Titanic were not so manoeuvrable and, although, Cork Harbour was large enough and deep enough to cope with their size many of the larger ones, such as Titanic, anchored at the mouth of the harbour instead. This also allowed for a fast turnaround. Tenders, with passengers, mail, and provisions from Queenstown, would already be bound for the harbour mouth as the liner dropped anchor. The whole process of transferring passengers and goods to the liner could be done in short order and often enough the liner could be under way again within a matter of hours.

Discover little nuggets of Titanic history, such as this when you visit Cobh. Experience the story of Titanic and its visit to Queenstown. The Commodore Hotel is currently offering Titanic packages that will allow you to do just that. These packages include participation on the Titanic Trail, a visit to the Titanic Experience, or Cobh the Queenstown Story. With this year marking the centenary of the Titanic this package offers you the unique chance to walk in the footsteps of Titanic passengers as they left from Queenstown!!!

If you'd like to plan your trip to coincide with a visit of a Cruise liner have a look at the Port of Cork's schedule of liner visits here!