Suitable send-off for HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth - The Yorkshire Post says

HMS Queen Elizabeth departing HMNB Portsmouth ahead of its maiden operational deployment. Picture: Shaun Roster / SWNS.COM.HMS Queen Elizabeth departing HMNB Portsmouth ahead of its maiden operational deployment. Picture: Shaun Roster / SWNS.COM.
HMS Queen Elizabeth departing HMNB Portsmouth ahead of its maiden operational deployment. Picture: Shaun Roster / SWNS.COM.
A maiden voyage of an important ship has long held a romantic resonance for those interested in maritime heritage.

Taking with it the well-wishes of the monarch and the hundreds who lined the harbour walls of Portsmouth, the first operational deployment of the Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth is no different.

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Crowds waved off the £3 billion warship at the weekend as it set sail from Portsmouth Naval Base for the 28-week deployment by the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific region, covering 26,000 nautical miles - further than the distance around the world at the equator.

Though the ship’s first sea trials took place in 2017, the CSG will now carry out operational visits to 40 countries including India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore with more than 70 engagements planned.

But the Queen’s visit to her namesake ship was a wonderful way for a British-made boat of this magnitude to depart.