Thursday 2 August 2012

My Super Yacht in London

Hey look at this baby then, isn't she beautiful. Wow, wow, flippin wow. I was grinning from ear to ear when I found it. Carol dropped me off at Farnham Station and I was able to get a cheap off peak return ticket. It was fiftyfive minutes to Waterloo Station. When I got there I found someone giving out free ice lollies to everyone, with compliments of Virgin. Then on to the Jubilee Line and I was at Canary Wharf in no time. There were lots of Olympic Meeters and Greeters about dressed in their pink and purple uniforms, so I asked for directions. A nice young lady gave me a complimentary map which will come in very usefull for future visits.

The place was awash with boats of all sizes, some of them amazingly massive. It must have taken a lot of skill to squeeze them into such small spaces. My first sighting of the ILONA yacht.

I found my trucking hat the other day after I did the post Name Game. I thought it would be a good idea to take it with me, you never know it might get me on board the yacht. Worth a try.


So sleek, so shiny, so classy.

There was barriers in front of it, with cars and people coming and going. I made myself known to the crew members. I told them my story, and asked if I could go on board for a look around. I hoped they would take pity on a poor old pensioner who had come a long way on a train all the way from North Lincolnshire, just to see the yacht. I grovelled and pleaded, but to no avail, they wouldn't let me on :o(

There was a bench opposite so I sat and ate my sandwiches, watching people coming and going. After a while a nice young man came across to speak to me, he was the second officer. I was able to ask him lots of questions, he said this was his main full time job and he travels all over the world with it. What a fantastic job, eh! Lots of pictures, I couldn't stop snapping I was so excited.






Here are a few other boats moored nearby. This German boat was massive.



The biggest Super Yacht was the Octopus.




I bet this one looks grand when it's at sea.




The big Octopus had a little Octopus runabout parked next to it.

Of course the ILONA was the best one of all.


I am so pleased I went to see it. Another night with Carol tonight, tomorrow I'm off to Portsmouth. Toodle pip.

20 comments:

  1. She IS breataking..I would have been jumping up and down with excitement...she's gorgeous! I'm quite fond of the sailing ship too.
    So now, you are off to Porstmiff...my old stomping grounds...please wave at the Royal Navy for me (any bit will do)..and Portsmouth University...I went there when it was a humble Poly! Can't wait to see the photos!!!
    Night night.
    Jane x

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  2. I'm glad you went and saw her Ilona. I suppose they wouldn't let you on board because you might be a terrorist! They come in all sorts of different guises these terrorists you know.

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  3. I'm so surprised that you didn't get an invite on board! x

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  4. What a beautiful yacht! The crew must enjoy sailing it around the world. A shame they didn`t let you look round.

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  5. hard to imagine how big they are. Such wealth for so few.....

    Gill in Canada

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  6. Wow!! What a fantastic yacht. She's lovely, and so sleek.

    Ya boo to them for not letting you on for a sneaky look around. I wonder who she belongs to?

    Sue xx

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  7. You would have thought they would have let you on board. Didn't you say "do you know who I am?"

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  8. Glad you had such a fun time! The photos are excellent :)

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  9. So pleased you enjoyed seeing your namesake. She really is a beauty. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better you get chatted up by a nice young man. lol

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  10. The Ilona is a beauty. I'm so glad you got a chance to see it up close even if you didn't get to go inside. It is quite spectacular and the young man who chatted you up was a bonus. I'm amazed how they got such huge ships into such a narrow waterway.

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  11. I googled it and found out the Ilona Yacht it is Australian owned by Mr. Frank Lowry. He immigrated to Australian in the early 1950s with only a suitcase. It seems he made his fortune by building shopping malls..or so the story says! Interesting to think about for sure!

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  12. What an amazing outing! That ship is rather grand! Shame they didn`t invite you on board for a quick snoop around. Now, I bet that would have been the most amazing highlight of that outing. Nevermind, or ''nyama problema'', as they say in Bulgaria. At least you got to see it up close.

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  13. Must be a lot of money in shopping centres to be able to afford a yacht like that beauty.

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  14. wow what a fantastic yacht, I can see why you wanted to go an have a look at it. It's a shame that man didn't invited you on board for a nosy inside too!

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  15. Such a shame they wouldn't let you go on board Ilona... never mind she was def worth the trip I think.

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  16. You could have told them you are a TV star Ilona, but I bet no one on there ever needs to watch Superscrimpers.
    I am gald you had such a great day. Thanks for sharing all the pics.

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  17. WOW!!! Can't even imagine what it must be like to actually OWN one of these!!! It boggles the mind :)

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  18. You made it! You look to the manor born with the yacht in the background. I thought it was so nice of the second officer to come and chat to you. Glad you are enjoying yourself.
    Wendy (Wales)

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  19. Hi Ilona! Just wanted to let you know that this post inspired me to take my daughters to Canary Wharf. Although it is not that far from where we live, I suppose we'd basically forgotten about it. The girls loved exploring the area a bit and seeing the superyachts. As it was a lovely evening, we sat on the green opposite to relax a while before moving on to Canada Square Park where everyone was enjoying the Olympics on the big screen. Sometimes we forget how good or interesting the things and places on our doorstep can be...thank you for reminding us...we had a great time!

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  20. Hi Wendy P. I'm pleased you had a good time. I think it's fabulous round there, if I lived nearby I would visit often.

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