UNITED KINGDOM – SOUTHAMPTON … TRAFFIC JAM

So we left Honfleur … traveling the English Channel to Southhampton England.

So getting to Southhampton through the Channel is an interesting experience. It is a little bit like navigating I-95 during rush hour. ( Fortunately we are not doing the driving ) During most of the cruise we have not seen all that many ships … occasionally some container ships stacked up outside of a busy shipping port … but nothing like this. There were boats coming and going in every direction … not just north and south but east and west … it was like the “ Grand Central Station of Ships” … a miracle we made it to Southhampton with our ship in one piece.

It turns out the harbor was a “natural” to become Englands major shipping port … as it is today. It is one of the deepest harbors in the world with a unique “ double tide ” that provides easy access for boats 16 out of 24 hours a day. And so the history begins …

Southhampton is a true “port city” … 80 miles southwest of London with lots of interesting history … dating back to the Stone Age. ( Reminds me of Fred Flintstone … 4000 to 2000 BC ) With its close proximity to France … Southhampton has had a key role in many critical events in English history … leaving a trail of monuments, museums and stone artifacts around the city.

Southhampton is a place worth exploring. In the mid 1330’s … just before the beginning of the “ Hundred Years War ” between England and France … a hostile raid initiated by the French … led to a fortified stone wall around the city … with parts of it still in existence today.

In 1415 Southhampton was the launching point for the Battle of Agincourt ( Village in northern France ) … a battle won by the Brits in the “ Hundred Years War ” between England and France … giving them dominance for the next 14 years. Eventually the English were defeated … France remained France and England remained England for the time being.

The next big launch … August 15, 1620 … Southhampton became the first departure point for the Mayflower … before it ran into problems at sea … returning to Plymouth for a “ do over.” Again the Brit’s were looking for expansion and with it came the discovery of “ New England. ”

Southhampton has been a major seaport for centuries with lots of action and a rich history of maritime activity. Its’ first major dock was installed in 1843 and over the next century became the premier passenger terminal in Europe.

Today Southhampton is probably best known for the “ infamous ” failed transatlantic voyage … the Titanic … April 10, 1912. Southhampton was the launch point with 724 of the 928 crew from the area working on the Titanic … over 500 locals perished with the sinking of the ship. Today the city has an exhibit in the South Sea Museum documenting the voyage … in memory of those that lost their lives..

In more recent times … the city played a major role in WWII in the Battle of Normandy in 1944 … serving as the launch point to those soldiers that fought. A total of 3.5M troops between America, Britain and Canada passed through the port in the first 48 hours of the D-Day invasion …. some historians view the Battle of Normandy … ( Code name “ Operation Overload ” ) as the turning point of the war with the successful liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Occupation.

Today Southhampton .. like many port cities … is rebounding from the economic impact of COVID … trying to find its way in this new “online” world. It is still one of the busiest ports in Northern Europe … a main port for ocean liners … and home to some of the largest cruise ships in the world.

So a great day in an interesting sea port … loaded with history. Speaking of history … I also had a chance to reconnect here with an old childhood friend who came in from London … ( Our mothers went to Art School together ) We were able to meet again after 50 years. ( A real highlight of the trip ) Brings back lots of old memories as I vacationed with her family in Cornwall … not far from here.

So back on board …. once again sailing through the English Channel. I was curious if in fact it really is as congested as it seems. It turns out to be the “ Worlds Busiest Seaway ” with over 500 ships daily. The traffic is in all directions …

So here we go again … navigating I-95 traffic … making our way back to the Atlantic as we head to North America. We have a final stop in the Azores as we make our way to the Port of New York … closing out our 196 Day Around the World voyage.

NEXT STOP … THE AZORES … DAY 190