At anchor at Teignmouth
It's all change for cruise ships off the South Devon coast.
After several weeks here, the Ventura left Babbacombe Bay on Tuesday night. And on Wednesday morning, P&O giant Azura set sail too from Teignmouth. Both are heading for the UK's cruise capital, Southampton.
It's a straight swap at Teignmouth; one massive ship for another, with a slight difference. The Azura is a cruise lines, but Cunard's ship the Queen Mary 2 isn't. It's an ocean liner, although most people would think that's a matter of semantics. She's huge, luxurious and pricey, having cost nearly half a billion pounds to build. Onboard facilities include fifteen restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and the first planetarium at sea.
She's visible from the East Devon coast. Exmouth's coast watch team have tweeted a photo having watched two ships go out and one come in. "That leaves only one passenger vessel visible from our lookout....Queen Mary 2," they say.
Queen Mary 2 off Exmouth (courtesy: Exmouth NCI/Twitter)