The photo does seem to be a stock picture. It looks like a FotoFlite image. June and Twynkle asked for a bit more detail so here's a modified version of a post I put up in another place on the forum. I hope it's of interest.
In February 2008 QE2 visited Melbourne for the final time. At the time I was CEO of the Australian Shipowners Association so had a lot to do with ships, their owners, crews and all the service-providers to shipowners. I contacted my friends at the Port Philip Sea Pilots and it was arranged that I would accompany the pilot boarding QE2 off Port Phillip Heads. We left the pilot station in the pilot cutter at about 00.30 and as it was very rough and as QE2 was the fifth ship to have her pilot dropped off, we did not reach the ship till about 01.30.
The pilot boarding ground is about 5 nm south-west of the Point Lonsdale light which means the pilot launch has to go some distance out nto Bass Strait to reach waiting ships. This night it was blowing 30 - 35 knots with rough seas on a heavy swell. The ships were asked to assume a course which would create a lee with the pilot ladder rigged on the ships' port side and to proceed at seven knots.
By the time we reached QE2 she had overheard the pilot boat's coxswain's instructions to the other ships so she contacted the pilot boat confirming the pilot's requirements. QE2 made an impressive sight as we approached her in the dark of night in rough seas. She was well lit up with her funnel lights on. We rounded the stern and came up close alongside a shell door on five deck. Seven knots doesn't sound very fast but even in a pilot cutter next to a large ship on a windy night with spray all around, it seems pretty fast.
The pilot went aboard first. The deckhand on the launch sort of lifts you toward the pilot ladder as the launch rises on a wave then crew members on the ship sort of lift you aboard so before you know what's happened, you're in the ship. Because it's a side door, the climb from the launch is probably only around 3 metres or 10 feet.
We were accompanied briskly to the bridge. Introductions were then made. Capt McNaught asked why I would want to come out on such a bleak night. I suggested to him that I suspected that he would know that an opportunity to visit his marvellous ship seemed to me to be a very good reason - a comment which he accepted gracefully. The Master then briefed the pilot on the pilotage plan, the steering characteristics of the ship, the power and speed available and other navigational details. The con of the ship is then handed over to the pilot. I had been on enough ships to know that as a visitor you make yourself inconspicuous while ship handling is taking place.
Once the ship was safely through the Heads and in the South Channel in the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay, the astmosphere was relaxed on the bridge. Hospitality on the bridge was warm, with regular cups of coffee and hot food. I asked Capt McNaught about his feelings about the ship's career ending and his views on other ships in the Cunard fleet. He described what would happen when the ship reached Dubai and how she would gradually be shut down. As to other ships, it's enough to say that he seemed to feel that QE2's sea-keeping capabilities in heavy weather and her ability to maintain speed were unmatched.
Captain McNaught's comments about the condition of the ship's structure were interesting and revealed that he more than most accepted the reality that 40 years is a long time in service for any ship and that no structure exposed to the stresses and strains of 40 years at sea was going to last forever.
Rounding the South Channel Pile Light requires the ship to make a sharp turn of more than 90 degrees to port. The Master required that this turn be executed slowly and gradually, presumably for the comfort of passengers.
The answers that Ian McNaught gave to the questions found elsewhere in the QE2 Story forum reminded me of the discussion I had with him that night. We took probably five hours to make the passage up the Bay to Port Melbourne at a leisurely pace. When we got to Station Pier and the ship was being put alongside, observations were made about the nature of the ship, her passengers and crew. They were always caring observations and conveyed a strong empathy with the ship and her passengers and crew.
Once the ship was alongside Capt McNaught asked if the pilot and I would stay for breakfast but we both had to get away and declined his invitation. The Captain gave us each a plaque commemorating QE2's final year of service which was a lovely and unexpected surprise.
As my wife and I were to travel in the ship just ten days after this, I asked the seaman who escorted us off the ship to show me where Cabin 2007 was, which he did before we left the ship through the Two Deck Lobby.
This was a sensational experience. An adventure going out to and boarding the ship. A real experience having a lengthy discussion with QE2's most popular master. The unforgettable sight from a launch of the ship lit up in a heavy sea in the middle of the night. One of my great life experiences.
