Wonders of the World

I've been fortunate to see a lot of things in the last few years.  The Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower at night, Versailles, being nose to trunk with an elephant and so on.  This week I was fortunate to see the largest container ship to ever dock in the United States, the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin.  In the words of the traveling party, I "nerded out" with regards to the vessel.  Beyond the fact that it is so massive you could see it a great distance before entering the port terminal, it is just epically large.  To help explain scale, it is as long at the Empire State Building and as wide as a 12 lane highway.  It holds 18,000 containers and in run by a crew of 20.  The captain and first mate are a charming Croatian team with the remaining crew being Phillipino.  The good news is that the champagne bottle broke during the christening.  I understand this bodes well!  I don't have many words to describe the grandeur of it.  I hope the photos will do some justice.  



The fire boat showing off its epic spraying power.

View from the bridge - 12 floors up!  Those cranes will take 4 days to unload all of the cargo.

View from the bridge.

Looking over the edge of the bridge wing was a bold and slightly nausiating choice!


The modern bridge.  The horn is so loud....and awesome.

Got containers?  Use them to make a gangway for ship tours.  

Another view from the bridge.

The beast from a distance. 

And now some snapshots from the pretty part of Long Beach - don't let the name fool you.  Downtown is a little sketchy, but the beach front is worth it.  



The Queen Mary and Carnival Imagination





Farewell Long Beach!  And may the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin have smooth sailing for the rest of her days!

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