I chartered a boat from Weymouth Harbour. The weather forecast was perfect. CruiseMapper said there were loads of ships in the bay. I loaded up the car with Peli cases full of camera stuff and headed down south with a mission of capturing some of the cruise ships anchored in Weymouth Bay. The bay has become a resting spot for cruise ships during the coronavirus lockdown and there can be up to 10 ships anchored close to the coast at once.

Unfortunately, my skipper let me down at the very last minute. I was devastated, but good mission planning always includes a contingency plan! I headed to the alternate site and set up.

Anchored were:

• Cunard Queen Elizabeth
• Cunard Queen Victoria
• P&O Aurora
• P&O Britannia
• Marella Explorer

Unfortunately due to VLOS (Visual Line of Sight) restrictions and the fact that I could only fly a maximum of 500m away from me, I couldn’t get as close to the ships as I would have been able to from the boat. I still managed to capture a few nice photos though:

One of the biggest and most impressive ship anchored in the bay is Cunard’s Queen Victoria. Built in 2007, she is 293m long and can accommodate nearly 2,000 passengers. Funnily enough, I had been on board the Queen Victoria twice last year as my girlfriend was working aboard and I snapped these:

It’s an amazing spectacle seeing all the ships in the bay and I’d highly recommend a visit, but must point out that a police spokesman said:

“There are a number of cruise ships in Weymouth Bay during the coronavirus situation.

“We know it’s very, very tempting to paddle over on SUP, kayak or other vessels for a cheeky selfie or to get the drone up to test your flying skills.

“Please remember that there is a 50m exclusion zone around the vessels, and be aware of other CAA instructions around use of drones fitted with cameras.

“Many of the vessels are still running and may need to move or reposition with little warning. The propulsion equipment poses a very real risk to other water users who come too close.

“Please keep at least 50m away, and if you need a selfie, get one from a distance! Enjoy the water and stay safe out there!”