As skipper of the Queen Mary 2, Captain Christopher Wells will play a key role in the spectacular Three Queens event, when Cunard’s three largest ships will visit Liverpool on 25 May for an unforgettable showcase. Here he tells Your Move about his career, his time on the iconic QE2 and how he’s preparing for the big day.
How did your career on ships begin?
I ran away to sea to be a sailor after I finished my A Levels. I joined Shell Tankers as an apprentice and I was a deck cadet for four years and then a junior and a chief officer. I stayed with Shell for 16 years and sailed the world, particularly based out of the Far East. They were interesting times and very different ships from the iconic liners for which I now work.
You then moved on to working for Cunard…
It was a mid-life crisis, when you decide there’s more to life than tankers. I took a chance and I was fortunate to attain a job on the QE2, which was my first Cunard ship.
I met my wife on the QE2. My son was 13 months and he was on board. He took his first steps unaided on the helicopter deck of the QE2. That’s a long time ago, he’s 15 now and about to take his GCSEs!
Have you been to Liverpool before?
I have been here on the Queen Mary but not as captain. The first time I was here on a Cunard ship was on the QE2 in 1993. We came in and anchored in-river as it was before the new passenger ships berth was built.
I’ve also been here in the 1970s when I worked for Shell, we used to come in to the Mersey and I’d dock at Tranmere with the big 70,000 tonners. I’m older than I look!
What is your role at the Three Queens event?
I’ll be master of the Queen Mary 2 and I’ll be bringing the ship into Liverpool on May 24.
Have the captains been practising for the event?
We have our own simulator. Every day we drive the ship and we are practicing manouvres. We conducted an exercise with all three ships together, from which some of the images for the 175th celebration were created. We did that exercise in Lisbon. We had all three ships together in the river, but we had the image taken when we were just outside the harbour. This time we’re going to be exercising our manouvre inside a river.
How do you see the ties between Liverpool and Cunard?
I think it’s something special. Cunard was a huge company based here in Liverpool for 100 years and it was not just a passenger ship company, it was primarily a cargo company. It was based on the mail contract to deliver the mail to the colonies, to Canada and the US. The cargo ships ran from Liverpool for a hundred years.
It’s part of our heritage, it’s part of Cunard’s history and backbone so it’s important to bring the ships back and recognise and salute the city, without which Cunard wouldn’t exist.
