Thursday, July 31, 2008

Tuesday from Looe, Cornwall

We arrived on Tuesday in the coastal Cornish village of Looe. This destination was not family related, but sheer enjoyment. There is a small estuary that empties into the English Channel and this ancient fishing village developed on it banks. It is absolutely amazing, especially in the summer when it is a family “holiday” destination for the Brits. Think a Cornish Coney Island and you’d get the picture.

It didn’t take long to find a Cornish pasty for lunch – there are shops and bakeries everywhere with them on display. In fact, they celebrate everything Cornish. Where the estuary empties into the English Channel are beaches that provide a great playground for children of all ages.

Sandy took pictures that should provide her with subject material for her painting for the rest of her life. Pictures will tell more than words about Looe. Hope you enjoy them.

This is our B & B, right on the banks of the estuary.

We're off to Cornwall...

After spending Monday night in Southampton, we loaded up our rental station wagon and began the drive westward from Southampton along the southern coast to and through Cornwall. My first impression? If Sandy and I survive 3 weeks driving on these narrow, winding roads, it will be more magnificent than the Miracle At Dunkirk.

The following might be more insightful for my family than my friends, but why Cornwall?

Cornwall is the southwestern most county of England. It is formally a “duchy”, or a formal territory of the British Crown. Camilla Parker-Bowles is the current Duchess of Cornwall.

Cornwall and the Cornish people are a distinct and unique culture, having had their own language until more modern times. It is famous for its coastal villages, such as Penzance – you know, where the pirates are from. It is very rural and agricultural, but most of all, until the late 19th century, it had been known historically as the world’s leading tin mining region for hundred of years.

Cornwall is the ancestral home of one of my great grandfathers – my mother’s father’s father. Got that? That would be Joseph Wilkins, father of Henry Wilkins. Other family members are of Cornish descent. The grandfather of Don Holman, my 2nd cousin in Clearwater, was a Cornishman by birth.

The parents of Joseph Wilkins were of Cornish descent, but immigrated to America in the mid-1800s. This was William Wilkins (1846-1891) and his wife, Lavinia Gill Wilkins (1846-?). William was a Cornish miner by trade. When the tin mines of Cornwall expired in the latter part of the 19th century, the Cornish miners spread throughout the world looking for mining employment. William and Lavinia left Cornwall and found employment in the iron and copper mines throughout the American midwest. My great grandfather, Joseph was actually born in 1868 on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in America, along with two other siblings. However, when he was a young boy, his mother returned to Cornwall with her children, while William remained in America. The exact reasoning behind this decision is not known.

Here the story takes a strange twist, for Lavinia had a fourth child, a daughter named Emma who was born in Kenwyn, Cornwall.

Lavinia eventually settled in Chacewater, Cornwall to raise her children, and my great grandfather, Joseph thus spent his formative years there, from age 8 to age 17. Lavinia returned to America in 1885 with her children and presumably reunited with her husband, William.

This is my great grandfather, Joseph Wilkins at age 19. This was taken in Michigan, shortly after his return to America. Circa 1890, about the time he married my great grandmother, Sarah Ellen Spry.

In the middle is my great great grandmother, Lavinia Gill Wilkins, born in Cornwall 1846. On the left is her daughter-in-law, Sarah Spry Wilkins, my great grandmother. (She was from the English coastal town of New-Castle-On-Tyne, but that's a whole other blog.) The lady on the right is unknown. This picture taken in Michigan, circa early 1900s.

Both Chacewater and Kenwyn are located just outside of the Cornish town of Truro. I have pieced this story together from several sources and am hoping to possibly do some further research in Truro.

The Cornish pasty – a pastry covered meat and potato pie, is one of the traditional staple foods of the Cornish, and it has followed them all over the world as Cornish miners traveled to ply their trade. It’s an understatement to say that it is a legendary tradition throughout my mother’s side of the family. Most of “us” remember Nana (my mother’s mother) and her pasties; however, Nana’s family was of Scottish descent, not Cornish. Most of you family members might find it interesting to realize that the Cornish pasty is more synonymous with the Wilkins side of my mother’s family, than it is with the Nelson side. However, both families ultimately settled in Calumet, Michigan where the Cornish were quite prevalent in the copper mines of that region. Thus, all immigrant communities of Calumet learned to love the Cornish pasty.

I hope this provides a little insight. Although Cornwall is a magnificently beautiful region, including rolling farm land vistas and coastal seaside towns and villages, it is a bit off the beaten path for international visitors coming to Great Britain. However, it is a popular summer destination for the Brits.

Thoughts on arrival in Southampton

I thought I would share with you some details of our arrival in Southampton, England last Monday. It was quite a moment for all onboard, but especially for me. I know this may sound corny, but one thing I’ve learned is that of my lineal ancestors, except for my mother, virtually all of them voyaged transatlantic at some point in their lives.

Our captain had projected arrival in Southampton at 6:00am last Monday from the time we departed New York six days earlier. Sunrise was scheduled for 5:15am. I wanted to watch and experience it all, so I got up at 4:00am and made my way to the top (12th) deck where I found two other souls in the pitch black.

Previously during the night, we had passed Land’s End to port (think left), the southwestern most point of England and entered the English Channel on a due east heading. As I arrived on deck, we were passing the Isle of Wight to port. It might be helpful to look at a map, but this island blocks or protects the river that leads north to Southampton. We swung around the eastern side of the Isle of Wight, steamed across the northern side of the isle on a westerly heading and then turned north again to enter the massive river. This is near the coastal city of Portsmouth, which you would see on a map.

An amazing scene of lights began to emerge during the process – lighted channel markers, lighthouses, other ships, etc, the first real signs of marine civilization I’d seen in 6 days. Dawn began to break and we could begin to see land as QM slowly steamed northward. An experienced local pilot had previously been delivered to the ship, and he began to maneuver the ship sharply in order to properly navigate the river channel. Being on top of a 1000’ ship as she is turning from port to starboard is a magnificent moment that is really hard to describe.

The sun began to rise and daylight broke. We began to pass small seaside villages, marinas and anchorages as we continued northward. All the local mariners were perched to watch Queen Mary cruise by. More and more of our passengers began to make their way onto the outside decks to watch.

Southampton eventually came into view, the pilot maneuvered her to the dock and the dock lines were fastened at 6:30am – 30 minutes later than the captain had projected 3200 nms previously. An amazing feat of piloting and navigating.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

More pictures from Queen Mary

Interior of Britannia Restaurant
The Captain's address in the Queen's Ballroom

Sandy at the Purser's Office


Our safety drill, almost immediately upon boarding in NY



North Atlantic from our state room on port side





Pictures from Queen Mary


In the Royal Court Theatre
Our new friends from Norwich, England - Nigel and Jeanette
Queen Sandy
At the Black and White Ball

Friday from Queen Mary

Friday afternoon.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner at the most elegant restaurant on the ship, Todd English. We eat dinner every night with our new found friends from Norwich, England, Nigel and Jeannette. We’re assigned to the same dinner table and they are really nice, interesting and fun.

Afterwards, I played a little blackjack in the casino, but before retiring, I went up to the top of the ship – Deck 12. It was a ½ moon, calm night, though a little chilly. I was alone, at the top of Queen Mary. I could only think about my father, and what his journey to war aboard Qm must have been like, knowing that a world at war was awaiting him, wondering if he’d even come back, being on board with 11,000 servicemen, etc. I am indeed fortunate, thanks to him and his generation.

Today, we have shifted to a 75 degree heading, and at mid-afternoon, we are about ½ way – 1500 nms on our stern, 1500 nms on our bow. The winds velocity and the sea conditions are worsening. Meanwhile the air temp has dropped to 60 degrees – it’s really chilly in the wind outside on deck. Welcome to the North Atlantic. We are 530nm east of Newfoundland, 700 nms from England, 700 nms north of the Azores – in the proverbial middle of nowhere. We exited the Grand Banks last night and are in deep water now - 2 ½ miles.

The well-known Canyon Ranch organization operates all of the spa facilities onboard, which are numerous. Sandy is in heaven and today had a “stone massage” – whatever that is. All I know is that it can be relatively expensive.

Friday night we attended a wonderful performance in the Royal Court Theatre by a fantastic pianist and orchestra, then ate dinner in the Britannia Restaurant. During all of this, the sea conditions took a real turn for the worse – seas 10-12 ft and 30 kt winds. For the first real time, one could feel the rocking of the boat – not uncomfortable, but it’s definitely there. We went to a Roaring 20s dance in the Queen’s Room after dinner. Try ballroom dancing while the ballroom is swaying around.

Hope all is well with you. We’ll stay in touch on the blog. Leave a comment, or send us an email.

Thursday from Queen Mary

Thursday afternoon. We’re steaming right along. We’ve been a little over 1000 nms thus far. We’re about 125 nms southeast of the tip of Newfoundland. We’ve have entered the area known as The Grand Banks. It’s only 300 feet deep, relatively shallow. It’s where the cold air and water of the artic currents meet the warm air and currents flowing up from the Gulfstream. This produces great fishing grounds and ……fog! We move in and out of fog banks continually sounding the horn. I hope the radar on the bridge is working! Once we clear these banks, we’ll truly enter the North Atlantic.

I have been amazed at the calm sea – it has been 2-4 feet since we left, and we haven’t seen so much as a white cap. There have been some whale sightings. We’ve maintained a heading of about 60 degrees and thus are slowly moving northward, so the temperature is dropping. We just passed the 46th parallel, so we’ve moved about 6 degrees north from New York. It’s pretty chilly on deck.

But, I feel guilty at times when I compare our voyage to the passages of my ancestors. My paternal grandmother, Violet Henderson escaped the poverty and over-crowding of London by passaging from England to the new world of Canada in 1905. She was 10 years old and traveled with her single mother, Emma who was 45 years of age at the time. They spent 11 days at sea in November aboard SS Kensington. Kensington was only 480 ft without “stabilizers”. Not a bad ship for her day, but comforts and technology on board were primitive by today’s standard of QMII.

Tonight, we go to a formal dinner in the swankiest dining room onboard, and then onto a broadway-type musical show in the ship’s theatre. It’s evening gowns and tux again. Doubt Violet and Emma enjoyed anything like that.

Leave us a comment on the blog or send us an email and let us know how you’re doing.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Wednesday from the Queen Mary II...




Maybe a little insight into QMII might interest you. We departed New York at 6pm Tuesday evening. The crossing is 3200 nms,and ETA Southampton is 6am next Monday morning. Each day, we turn our clocks forward 1 hour, so the time differential next Monday won’t be that great.

This is Wednesday afternoon and we’re steaming along at around 25 knots on about a 60 degree heading. We’re 200 nms south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and will soon be approaching the position where Titanic sunk – ee gads! I show 2800 nms on my handheld GPS to Portsmouth, England Although Tropical Storm Christobal is spinning around in the Atlantic, we’re not being affected by it. We’re in 2-4 foot seas and you scarcely feel any rock or roll – but that could change. We’ve had a lot worse than that in the Bahamas aboard Interlude. So far, the ride is quiet and peaceful, no loud roaring of any engines.

I must say we are living in luxury. There is a fairly strict dress code for the entire trip. Last night was “informal elegant”, but tonight starts 4 nights of “formal” evenings. Everyone is supposed to be appropriately dressed for the occasion no matter where you might venture to onboard. We’ll attend the Captain’s cocktail reception tonight, followed by dining in the Britannia Restaurant and then a formal ball in the Queen’s Ballroom. I’m going to have to keep my tux pressed!

We spent this morning just getting ourselves more familiar with the layout of the ship and all of its “activities”, which are too numerous to mention. That in and of itself is a big job. I finally got the activity handbook out of Sandy’s hand this afternoon, and we luxuriated out by the pool atop Deck 8.

QMII continues on to Hamburg, Germany after the stop in Southampton, and of the 2600 passengers onboard, about 1000 are Germans. Thank God we’re dining and toasting each other now. The original QM zig-zagged the Atlantic trying to outrun German U-boats during WWII while delivering hundreds of thousands of American troops to England. I have to be a little careful before mentioning that one of my principal objectives for visiting England was my father’s experience with Eighth Air Force in WWII. From high-flying B-24s, he pulled the pins on a lot of bombs that dropped on their homeland. Not sure what they’d think about that.

That’s it for now. I’ll keep you posted.




Wednesday, July 23, 2008

More from Queen Mary II.....

Governor's Island and Manhattan

The Verinzano(sp?) Bridge and last sight of land

We'll try to not bore you with too much narrative or too many pictures, but here are a few more shots as we departed New York. It was exciting to say the least.

Welcome to Queen Mary II - more to come later




Welcome To Our Journey

We hope you enjoy following along with our trip. This is not going to be your typical “tourista” trip to Great Britain. We won’t be visiting Buckingham Palace or Stonehenge. Following our 6-day passage to Southampton aboard Queen Mary II, we’re renting a car to travel throughout England and Scotland to the towns and villages that were the roots of my ancestors.

Most of you know that I have spent much time over the last 3-4 years researching my family’s history. My ancestral roots trace both to England and Scotland. Also, my father served in the Eighth Air Force in England during World War II and we’ll be visiting some of the historic places associated with his service. You’ll learn more about this as we go along.

I hope you’ll return to the site often. We’ll try to update it as often as possible. You might want to bookmark the page.

Come along…..we’re first traveling the high seas – an eastbound transatlantic crossing aboard the queen of the high seas – Queen Mary II.

Doug (and Sandy)