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We docked beside the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith, the port of Edinburgh. The Britannia was right there from our cabin window, and Edinburgh Castle (albeit at telephoto distance) over Chris' shoulder as we had breakfast out on deck
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Royal Yacht Britannia
Royal Yacht Britannia, is the former royal yacht of Queen Elizabeth II, in service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is open to visitors and is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over 300,000 tourists visit the yacht each year.
Quite staggeringly she had a crew of 21 officers and 250 Royal Yachtsmen . The crew of Royal Yachtsmen were volunteers from the general service of the Royal Navy. Officers were appointed for up to two years, while the "yachtsmen" were volunteers and after 365 days' service could be admitted to "The Permanent Royal Yacht Service" as Royal Yachtsmen and served until they chose to leave the Royal Yacht Service or were dismissed for medical or disciplinary reasons. As a result, some served for 20 years or more. The ship also carried a troop of Royal Marines when members of the Royal Family were on board. For virtually all of her service the commander was a Rear Admiral
During her career as Royal Yacht, Britannia conveyed the Queen, other members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on 696 foreign visits and 272 visits in British waters. In this time, Britannia steamed 1,087,623 nautical miles
The 1936 racing yacht Bloodhound, once owned by the Queen and Prince Philip, is now berthed alongside Britannia. Bloodhound was one of the most successful ocean-racing yachts ever built and was also the yacht on which both the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal learned to sail. The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust bought Bloodhound in early 2010
To me it seems unbelievable that 250 RN ratings plus 20 officers and a Rear Admiral plus 45 functionaries who came with the Royals from Buckingham Palace when HM was on board, were needed to convey HM in style. The men changed their uniforms 6 times a day to ensure that they were pristine clean any time HM spotted one on deck
If I had not been a republican before I toured Britannia, I would have been by the time I finished the tour
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Robert and Rosamund
After the Britannia we walked for about 25 minutes to the port at Leith to meet Robert and Rosamund for a fish and chip lunch. We had not been able to get Robert and his wheelchair on board the Silver Wind, so they checked out local restaurants with access, and this fitted the bill. Robert picked up Guillain-Barré syndrome about three years ago in India. We heard about it from Maggie on our Beijing to Istanbul trip. It's a very rare and serious condition that affects the nerves. It mainly affects the feet, hands and limbs, causing problems such as numbness, weakness and pain. Robert is very slowly recovering, but recovery is not as fast as he thought or expected.
We enjoyed a long lunch with them, fish and chips and a bottle of Chardonnay. It was nice to reminisce over Campbell College and those whom we had known.
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