Royal Rendezvous: Queen Mary 2 meets namesake Queen Mary

February 25, 2006 Maritime history was made Thursday as two legendary ocean liners, the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Mary, met for the first time in Long Beach harbour for a royal rendezvous. The commemorative festivities were part of the Cunard Lines' Queen Mary 2's highly anticipated maiden call to Los Angeles on Wednesday, where more than 25,000 spectators turned out. As she entered Long Beach harbour on February 23, the Queen Mary 2 was met by a flotilla of 800 boats, 14 helicopters, and three blimps, as well as 6000 spectators lining the shore to view the festivities. A first-time whistle salutation between the famed ocean liners had even more meaning as the QM2 carries one of her namesake's original whistles, the tone of whose deep bass "A" can be heard ten miles away. When the original Queen Mary was built, it was the world’s largest ever ship, being significantly larger than the Titanic. It still holds the record for the most people carried aboard a floating vessel. The Queen Mary 2 is longer, taller and nearly twice as large as the Queen Mary.

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