The Queen Galadriel at Poole Quay last night (August 11, 2010)
This is an unusual blog post for me, as I am not a particularly nautical person. Having said that, my brother was in the Royal Navy and I have ancestors who were fishermen.
I have been in Poole, Dorset, on holiday for the past few days, and will no doubt post some of my pictures in one of my “favourite places” pages.
But for now I have fallen in love with this beautiful old ship I saw moored at Poole Quay last night.
The Queen Galadriel in full sail…
She’s called the Queen Galadriel and you can find out more about her here. It seems the Cirdan Trust use her for the sail training of youngsters.
Queen Galadriel is a Baltic Trader built in 1937 in Svenborg, Denmark and was originally named ‘Else’ after the captain’s daughter. She is defined by her style of rigging as a “gaff ketch”.
Else traded as a cargo vessel around the coasts of Denmark and Norway, initially as a motor sailor but after 1956 she abandoned her sails.
She was in limbo between 1970 and 1983, when she was bought by the Cirdan Sailing Trust and went into service as Queen Galadriel, named after the wonderful Elvish character in Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel in the movie series of Lord of the Rings
This morning as I looked out on Poole Harbour from my hotel window at 7am the Queen Galadriel was heading out to sea, past the container vessels of the working dock and out past Brownsea Island, one of my favourite places.
The Queen Galadriel making its way out past Poole\’s working docks this morning…
Lovely, ain’t she?
The Queen Galadriel heads out to sea past Brownsea Island – whose western end is pictured on the left…
The hotel with such wonderful views over Poole Harbour is the Thistle Hotel on The Quay…
The Squirrelbasket 
She’s a beaut, especially under full sail, and what a gorgeous name for her, too. It’s conjured up a story idea, which I am going to scribble down before I forget it! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for commenting. Glad to have inspired you. Have you read the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C S Lewis (Narnia)? I always loved the atmosphere of that, too…
Just a drop in to say that I have just got back from spending 5 days crewing the QG sailing from Gosport to Ipswich, and she really is a lovely boat.
We had such a good time that we’re planning to return next year to sail her elsewhere!
Thanks so much for troubling to drop in! Glad she sails as good as she looks…
Best wishes