Devon: Multiple cruise ships arrive in Torbay

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Persistent storms have forced the cruise ships to be anchored and all six of them left Torbay and Babbacombe Bay – both located in Torquay – at the end of last week as the South Devon coast took a pounding from the nasty weather. But on Monday they began to make their return and on Wednesday, six could be seen from a distance. These were the Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2, Arcadia, Oosterdam, Zaandam and Eurodam.

Currently, the Queen Victoria cruise ship, which is operated by the Cunard Line and is named after the famous British Monarch from the nineteenth century, is anchored around Hope’s Nose in Babbacombe Bay.

There have also been suggestions that Anthem of the Seas, which cost £1billion to build in 2015 and is one of the biggest cruise liners in the world, could be about to set off for Torbay over the coming days to undergo a routine hull inspection.

As of Wednesday morning, the massive vessels was seen off Poole in Dorset on the South Coast of England.

International travel, including that of sea travel, has come to a virtual standstill as coronavirus restrictions ban passengers from travelling around the world.

This has seen cruise lines across the world anchored in sheltered harbours, waiting for the go-ahead to once again start sailing to popular holiday destinations in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

During the year-long Covid pandemic, Torbay and Babbacombe Bay on the South West coast have been popular locations for cruise ships to anchor.

This is predominantly because the waters surrounding the bays are sheltered from prevailing westerly winds.

The cruise ships have become a familiar part of the Devon landscape over recent weeks and months.

Local residents have embraced their presence, sounding their horns for Remembrance Sunday and New Year’s Eve.

At Christmas, local youngsters also made cards for the skeleton crews on board the ships, with well-wishers also collecting presents to be taken on board the huge vessels.

But heavy wind and rain battering the area at the start of 2021 has forced the liners to weigh anchor and dash to alternative anchorages that might offer more protection from the elements.

The weather is now beginning to improve with the worst of winter hopefully a thing of the past, and with a dramatic shift in the wind, the cruise ships have returned in large numbers.

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Meanwhile, the brand new Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough, seen as a world leader in polar exploration and research, was also in Torbay on Wednesday taking part in sea trials.

In 2016, the ship was thrust into the spotlight even before it was built when a poll to name it saw the public overwhelmingly deciding to name the vessel Boaty McBoatFace.

Technical sea trials and scientific equipment testing began in October 2020.

Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough is in the process of undergoing mariner training, testing and trials of the vessel’s technical, scientific and operational features and capabilities before it can set off on polar operation later this year.

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