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After making a visit to New York City in October, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sailed out into the English channel from Southampton Tuesday on its last voyage as thousands gathered to say goodbye. The ship is heading to Dubai where it will be reformed into a luxury hotel.
As the 70,000 ton ship sailed away with its 2,700 customers and crew, it ran aground on sand banks by the nearby island of the Isle of Wight and had to be refloated with the help of five tug boats and a favorable evening tide.
Queen Elizabeth II launched the QE2 in 1967 and since then it has traveled around 6 million miles and made more than 800 transatlantic crossings. For over 40 years, the liner carried over 2.5 million passengers. Cunard, the owner of the vessel, said it was selling the QE2 to the Dubai World Company for $100 million.