A special ceremony is to be held at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard near Trieste, Italy, today to mark the float out of Cunard’s new ship Queen Elizabeth. During the ceremony, three specially-selected coins will be welded under the ship’s mast for good luck. They are a half crown dated 1938, which was the year the first Queen Elizabeth was launched, a sovereign dated 1967, the year the QE2 was launched, and a sovereign dated 2010. The ship will then be blessed, a bottle of Italian Prosecco will be smashed against the hull by the godmother and the dry dock valves will be opened to allow in water for the first time. Having a godmother or ‘madrina’ as they are called in Italy, at a ship’s float out is an Italian tradition. For Queen Elizabeth, it will be Florence Farmer, whose husband Willie joined Cunard in September 1938 and served as chief engineer on the first Queen Elizabeth and the QE2 until he retired in October 1979. Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks said there’s been an Elizabeth in the Cunard fleet for 70 of the cruiseline’s 170-year history. He added: “This ship – the second-largest Cunard has ever built – will take the name far into the 21st century.” Queen Elizabeth’s 13-night maiden voyage, a Canary Islands cruise from Southampton departing October 12, sold out in 29 minutes and 14 seconds. Its maiden season of cruises to the Mediterranean and Caribbean runs until January 5 2011, when it departs Southampton for its first world cruise.
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