Arrival of the Queen QM2 sails into town; thousands come to share the spectacle

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BAR HARBOR – Hundreds of sightseers watched the giant Queen Mary 2 ease into Frenchman Bay at sunup Monday, and thousands more came throughout the day to get a glimpse of the largest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world.

The weather was perfect for a clear view of the ship, which idled in the town’s premier anchorage in front of the Bar Harbor Inn from about 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

While hundreds of visitors lined the town pier and Shore Path to watch the ship sail into the harbor, hundreds more watched its approach from atop Cadillac Mountain.

U.S. Coast Guard boats looked like toys in a bathtub as they circled the monstrous QM2 to enforce a 300-yard security zone. Even large sailboats such as the Margaret Todd were dwarfed by the ship.

“It’s prudent to have our harbors at a higher state of alert,” especially when a “highly visible target” like a cruise ship is in port, Coast Guard Lt. John Reardon said.

Before the Cunard Line ship left for Maine Sunday afternoon, it was docked overnight in Halifax. Canadian officials there also created a 300-yard safety area around the vessel.

David and Lesley Lachance of Gorham, N.H., said they married in Bar Harbor in May and decided to return to see the Queen Mary 2. The couple sat sipping coffee on a rocky ledge next to the Shore Path, facing into the rising sun as they watched the ship sail into Frenchman Bay from the Gulf of Maine.

“It’s pretty big, compared to the ones we saw yesterday,” David Lachance said.

“Look at that thing. Oh, my word,” Lesley Lachance said, marveling at the ship’s size. “That is just amazing.”

The ship’s formal arrival into Bar Harbor was marked moments later by the clatter of its massive anchor and chain being lowered into the water.

Crowds walked much of the dirt off the Shore Path as they passed back and forth in front of the monstrous cruise ship hour after hour.

Gov. John Baldacci, who helped cut the QM2 celebration cake at noon, might have summed up the day best when he said, “Best ship, best state, best weather.”

The QM2, sailing in its inaugural year, left Bar Harbor for New York City, where it will rest until late Wednesday before leaving for another Atlantic Canada voyage that will include a stop in Portland on Oct. 10 before returning to New York Harbor.

Shirley and Patrick Godwin, passengers from Worthing, England, sailed on the ship from its home port across the Atlantic to New York before continuing on its current journey to and from Quebec City.

Despite bad weather left over from Hurricane Ivan that forced the ship to skip stops in Newport, R.I., and Sydney, Nova Scotia, they said they had had a “great time.”

The ship’s luxurious amenities plus the reception the vessel has received in the ports it has visited have made the trip well worthwhile, they said.

“I feel like the queen of England,” Shirley Godwin said as she stood waiting to board a tender that would take her and her husband back to the cruise ship.

Patrick Godwin, clutching a bag from a local bookstore under his arm, said he and his wife enjoyed their brief visit to Bar Harbor. They rode a tour bus to the top of Cadillac Mountain and ate lobster at a restaurant in Hulls Cove, he said.

“The weather is perfect,” he said, standing under a cloudless blue sky. “Not a breath of wind. [Local people] should be very proud to live here.”

Alicia and Peter Cartridge of Malvern, England, said moments after setting foot in Bar Harbor that the ship is as elegant as advertised.

“‘Chic’ is the word,” Peter Cartridge said. “[Cunard] has a reputation to protect.”

Not every passenger was enamored of the ship’s reputed glamour, however.

“Compared to other ships, it’s about the same,” said Jacqueline Soto of the Dominican Republic moments after she disembarked from a tender that brought passengers ashore next to the town pier. “The service could be better.”

Harbor master Charlie Phippen had no complaints Monday afternoon. He praised mariners, visitors and residents, as well as the ship’s own tenders that shuttled more than 2,000 passengers and crew to shore and back without incident.

Coast Guard officials were pleased by the cooperation from mariners in keeping the security zone clear, Phippen said.

“Everything’s going A-1,” Phippen said as he tried to eat his lunch on the run. “Everything’s been real smooth. Everyone I’ve seen has been very respectful and very careful watching the security zone.”

Costas Christ, who took over as executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce only weeks before the QM2’s arrival, also was pleased with the day.

“I am very, very happy,” Christ said. “I think this is the best of Maine: the community coming together to make something wonderful happen.”

Merchants on Cottage Street, which was open only to pedestrian traffic between Rodick and Main streets, said in the early afternoon that they had not yet been as busy as they had hoped.

Nonetheless, many businesses seemed busy. Some were distinctly crowded, and a few had lines spilling out their front doors onto the sidewalk.

At the Timberland Factory Store, employees were brought in from Timberland stores in Freeport and North Conway, N.H., to help out for the day, according to store manager Herb Zahn. Many people returning to the ship later in the day, many of them ship employees, were carrying Timberland bags as they boarded tenders back to the QM2.

Zahn said the store is popular with cruise ship passengers and employees because Timberland merchandise is “much more expensive” in Europe.

“It’s steady. It’s pretty good,” he said of the store’s sales Monday. “This year’s been pretty good.”

Michael Betesh, manager of Lobster Crossing, said that though sales at the T-shirt shop were “brisk” Monday, it was not as busy as he thought it would be.

“I thought it was going to be more hectic,” Betesh said. “There’s a lot of excitement about the ship being in town.”

The town put all of its police officers on the streets, including reserve officers, and emergency and fire vehicles were parked strategically throughout town.

Except for one disorderly conduct incident, police had no problems with the crowds, according to patrolman Tim Bland.