Greetings Family and Friends,
A return to On the Flip Side and another attempt at that dream of a Roving Retirement! After a much longer than initially planned stay stateside, I am once again overseas. The journey resumed where it left off – the south of England. This time around, it began with a week in Portsmouth, the primary homeport of the Royal Navy.
Spinnaker Tower
The beacon of the port and city, both figuratively and literally, is the Spinnaker Tower as pictured on the left. With three observation decks (middle one with a small café) accessed via elevator, one gets spectacular views of the massive Portsmouth harbor. Ships of the Royal Navy can be spotted at various points around the harbor including the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales – see the gallery of photos. The Spinnaker Tower is within the Gunwharf Quays which also contains quite the collection of restaurants, shops, residences, and a casino.
Adjacent and to the north of the quays is the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Within the dockyard is HMS Warrior as pictured on the right. Joining the Royal Navy in 1861, she was at the time the largest warship in the world with a length of 418 feet, beam of 58 feet, and displacement of 9,210 tons. She was of that period when warships were transitioning from sail to steam, wood to metal, and thus had both characteristics – steam supplemented by sail and iron plate encasing wood. Due to the lower number of bulkheads versus modern warships, the ship feels huge, especially the main or gun deck (first deck below the upper deck).
HMS Warrior
HMS Victory
HMS Victory also resides within the dockyard, as pictured on the left, but in drydock and undergoing renovation. This warship is famous as the flagship of Lord Nelson in the defeat of Napoleon’s combined French and Spanish fleet at the battle of Trafalgar. Being built roughly 100 years prior to Warrior, she is wood and sail only. While probably close to the apex of the wooden sailing warship, she feels positively claustrophobic in comparison to the Warrior. Especially the further one descends below decks, where it becomes challenging to find spots where one can stand upright. Also in the dockyard is the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Check out the photo gallery for some of its exhibits.
That’s it for now. As always, feel free to share this link with anyone who expresses an interest. And of course, if I am cluttering up your inbox, simply let me know and I will correct that. Please have a look at the gallery below for full-size versions of the photos above as well as additional photos of Portsmouth. Note that in the section below the blog where comments may be entered, the email address will NOT be displayed. It is collected simply as a way of identifying the writer before publishing the comment – unfortunately On the Flip Side gets quite a bit of attempted spam. Lastly, as before, I will sign off with my very much cherished title of Papi – the French word for Grandpa and how I am known by my Grandsons.
Until later,
Papi
Great pictures of a very impressive Ship, Mike! It’s nice to see your blog back in action. Always loved keeping up with your roving retirement travels.
Thanks Bill. Good to be back roving.
Papi,
Cool update. Who is the guy who looks like a cartoon statue? I like that you included a map.
Love,
Oliver
Thank you Oliver. As to your question, it is the figurehead from the HMS Marlborough. A figurehead (carved from wood and painted) is found on the bow of a ship. If one looks closely at the photo of HMS Warrior, one can see its figurehead on its bow. Love you Grandson, Papi.
Great pictures Mike. Thank you for sharing your travels. Fair winds and following seas on this leg of your journey(s).
Thanks Serena. I always appreciate a good tailwind – the stronger the better at this point in my life!
Thanks for sharing — nice to see you posting again. Safe travels!
Thanks Monica. And it is good to hear from you – hope things are going well for you my friend.
So happy you are able to travel again! It looks like an interesting place.
Thanks Jackie. If a place has maritime exhibits, like museum ships, then I’m usually interested in making a stop.
good morning, Mike.
So glad to see you are travelling again. On the road in foreign, just where you are meant to be. And starting in my favorite country of all. How I would love to live in the UK.
I hope you enjoy your journey
Aunt Kary
Thanks Katy. I always enjoy my conversations with the English – only possibly outdone by the Irish. They both know how to turn a phrase!