To e.o. who's sick of everlasting rain:get your lips curled!

[Naufragis]

Crowds mistake Rosyth ferry for QM2

ALAN RODEN

ONE is the world’s largest, longest, tallest and most expensive ocean liner.

The other is a standard car ferry which completes a daily trek from Rosyth to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge.

Spotting the difference between the two ships should be easy.

But hundreds of people missed the boat when they lined the Capital’s coast to admire the Queen Mary 2 as she set sail from the Firth of Forth on Tuesday evening.

Because instead of waving goodbye to the thousands of passengers on board the luxury liner, the confused crowds went wild for the ferry.

And less than one hour later, the giant QM2 majestically sailed past an empty shoreline on her voyage to the fjords of Norway.

Bus driver Michael Moran, 57, from Morningside, said he couldn’t believe so many people could mistake an ordinary car ferry for the enormous ?540 million cruise ship.

"I was driving away from the city, along King’s Road in Portobello, all the way through Joppa and along the coast to Musselburgh and there were cars parked at every vantage point waiting to see the QM2," he said.

"There must have been at least a few hundred people there, all waiting patiently for the liner to sail past.

"Just before 6pm every day I see the Rosyth ferry in the Forth, and so when it went past on Tuesday evening I really didn’t think anything of it at all.

"But then everyone got back into their cars and started driving away. It just didn’t make sense."

Mr Moran, who drives the number 26 route for Lothian Buses, said all the crowds had disappeared when he made his return journey. "I thought maybe I had missed the QM2 sailing past. However, when I got back to Portobello, there she was. She sailed right past me and she really is a huge ship. It was quite a sight.

"I realised everyone had mistaken the car ferry for the QM2. It’s almost unbelievable when you see the difference in sizes. They don’t even compare."

The QM2 is nearly four football pitches long at 345 metres and is the height of a 21-storey building. It weighs more than 150,000 tons and comfortably carries 2620 passengers.

The Superfast X ferry, which operates the Rosyth-Zeebrugge service, is only 203 metres long and has only ten decks. It weighs 30,000 tons and carries a maximum of 717 passengers.

Although the car ferry boasts two restaurants, a casino and a disco lounge, it pales against the QM2’s ten dining areas, the world’s first planetarium at sea, the largest ship ballroom and the largest wine collection away from dry land.

And while a seat on the ferry will cost you as little as ?84 for a return journey, a top-class suite for a 15-day Caribbean cruise this December on the QM2 is currently being advertised for more than ?8000.

A spokesman for operator Superfast said: "Perhaps the people who left early were so impressed they went to buy their tickets for a Superfast ferry."

Forth Ports, which operates both Leith and Rosyth ports, said they were "delighted" to have welcomed the QM2 on Tuesday.

However, their spokeswoman added: "The Superfast ferry is also a very distinctive service. It is the only sea link between Scotland and Europe and it sails from Rosyth every day. She is a familiar sight on the Forth."

A spokesman for VisitScotland said: "It’s unfortunate some people mistook the Superfast ferry for the QM2 and missed the world’s biggest and most expensive passenger liner. For those people lucky enough to see the boat they were treated to a spectacular sight."

The huge ship, which was too big to dock at Leith, was anchored at the Hound Point oil terminal near South Queensferry on Tuesday morning, and passengers were taken ashore by launches and bussed into the Capital.

A police spokesman said there was "heavy traffic" along the shore all day from people eager to see the QM2.

The vessel, which left Edinburgh at 6pm on her way to Geiranger in Norway, is due to return to her home port of Southampton in eight days.

[Torsten]

Hi Naufragis,

You obviously like funny real stories — thanks for sharing them with us. I'm curious to hear what Bruce has to say about his fellow country people.

In the meantime I'd like to contribute two definitions of words that appear in the article:

An ocean liner is a large passenger ship. The first ocean liners were built in the mid-19th century to travel from Europe to America. You probably remember the Titanic

A ferry is a boat or a ship which carries passengers or cars. It usually covers short distances and connects an island with a continent. (for example England is connected with mainland Europe by ferry).
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Naufragis]

hi torsten,

yes, I like to cheer myself up. I'm up to both of my ears in work: actually I am writing an essay about my work - do you remember? once I mentioned it: for that exchange programme in Glasgow - it's quite difficult to find words in a straight line to describe in detail what you're up to figure out by using other things than words...
but the positive point is that I can hand in this essay - which is to write in any case - to my prof. in art history and critic and also I can get a certificate for that.
to shot two birds with one bullet ...

I have collectors in south-west Germany who are also keen on that I show some new work ...
left and right beside me, behind me, in front of me : everywhere's request and claim ...
sometimes it's too much to handle with.

[Torsten]

Hi Naufragis,

Yes I remember you've mentioned that you were writing an essay for admission to Glasgow Art College. How are you getting along with it? How many words have you written so far? I take it you write it in English? When are you going to submit your essay?
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Naufragis]

well,

it has reached a lenght of about 5 sites and is supposed to extent to 40 to 50 sites... I'm collecting shortlines, questions, mean points, themes, relations, explainations ... so I'm struggeling with the starting point.
just 2 day ago I've decided to begin with "How comes...?" to progress from that point.

my intention is to write it in german first and then to translate.

[Torsten]

Hi Naufragis,

Please compare the meaning of site, side and page. Also, the words mean and main look very similar but have different meanings. Finally, the word ago indicates that the sentence should be in the Simple Past Tense so you don't need the auxilliary verb have.
I hope, it's OK if I give you some pointers? (I don't want to be an English teacher in who points out your mistakes but give you some hints because you are quite capable of learning yourself.)
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary