A little fun fact about this video. It marks the first time I've ever had an AI software write a narration script for me. I did all the research for my video then fed the information to the AI and asked it to create narration in a story-telling format, the way I've always made my videos. It took a lot of corrections and requesting rewrites, but this is the result. I doubt I'll do this for every video, it did require almost as much work as I usually do...but for a challenging subject like Mauretania, the AI makes it easier to tell a story as opposed to reading a list of bullet-points. I hope you enjoyed it!
I must say, one can tell the script is generated by an applied statistics program. I thought it was a bit off before I read this comment. It's not *bad* per se, it's understandable and factual, but it doesn't read like your writing. The flow doesn't quite work and some of the word choices are odd. It's the narrative equivalent of "AI" art. It looks/reads great until you look/read closer and see the dataset behind the curtain. The honesty with your audience is appreciated and speaks to your character. I've seen other RU-vidrs deny using such programs when they clearly did, which speaks to theirs.
Hey, it's not too bad. Good to see you trying some new tech. Hope you find it a useful tool. There were a couple of times when some facts got repeated too close together. Now was that your own voice or a deep fake simulation?? Lots more people need to watch your vids.
Hi - yes, the rather flowery language that AI tends to use, especially in its conclusion paragraphs, and a couple of sections appearing to be a bit out of sequence, are two of the things that gave away the AI generation. If there wasn’t much difference in the time it took to produce, we’d rather hear your own style and emphasis (which is a strong reason for subscribing to your channel) rather than a machine-generated rehash!
@@B1ll1709 Hey Bill, don't worry, I plan to write everything myself, it's just that I was really curious how the video would turn out if it was written by AI. There were a lot of my own influences I put into the script. For instance, I asked the AI to pause from the story for a moment to explain what the Blue Riband was, as that is something I often do in my own writing. I wrote the last paragraph myself because by that point I was frustrated that the AI didn't understand what I wanted. And it was starting to forget the things it previously wrote, so I said to heck with it and wrote the last paragraph myself starting from "This, however, was nowhere near the end of Mauretania's story..."
I was born on Sep. 20, 1956 - fifty years after her launching. Next to Aquitania and Olympic, the best British 4-stacker. Excellent text, wonderfully read. Many thanks from here ♍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I'm currently rereading "The Unseen Mauretania" (to me the best book on the ship) and I absolutely love that you came out with this video at the same time. The Mauretania was truly a great ship and a grand lady who, sadly, is often overlooked (outside of ocean liner circles) in favor over her more tragic sister ship. Her ability to hold onto the Blue Riband for so many years stands as a great testament to her builders as well as the crew who operated her. If there is a regret about the ship it is that none of her interiors were filmed or photographed in color. The Lusitania's brighter interiors look so much better in black and white photographs with the Mauretania's coming acrorss a bit dark. Although, having seen footage of her paneling from the Mauretania Pub in Bristol, we can only guess how lavish her polished woodwork would have looked in real life.
@@AlextheHistorian Isn't it? I like it so much better than "RMS Mauretania: Queen of the Ocean" The latter has a great deal of information but the reading is a bit dry & the lack of photos is a bit of a draw back in my opinion.
Great job. Alex!! I had never heard of either Mauretania or Lusetania before watching your chats. I only knew Titanic (of course) and Queen Mary as it was in Long Beach! 🙂
Alex, I never knew that the Lusitania and Mauretania were built at two different shipyards, just goes to show "you can learn something new every day.... Mauretania did get a honorable mention by Mr. Caledon "Cal" Hockley at the start of James Camerion's Titanic movie. Not a big fan of AI but your personal narration is what makes your vid's great, you could read the instructions for a toaster oven and make is sound intriguing. Thanks for your time and HARD work.....
One of her engine telegraphs is on the QE2 in the Officer's Wardroom, appropriately set to "Finished With Engines". It's said that when she was shut down for the last time after reaching the breaker's yard, a great shudder went up and down the length of the ship.
@@AlextheHistorian It's the Port High-Pressure turbine telegraph if I recall correctly, explains why the telegraph's face only had an "Ahead" section and no "Astern" portion for the pointer. Aquitania's bell is also aboard, I was rather surprised it wasn't moved to the QM2 along with the Britannia Cup.
*_No way._* I don't know how I never noticed it in pictures actually. That is wicked. Once again, her spirit still lives on both at the company she once served and across the world.
HI ALEX ,, WELL DONE A SHIPS HISTORYS IN THE PAST ,.. THE MAURETANIA HELD THE BLUE RIBBON 19 YEARS WE DIDNT KNOW THAT.. IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THESE GREAT OLD SHIPS HAD THOSE SHAKING AT SEA,, ALOT OF THESE SHIPS WERE DRAFTED TO WAR LIKE THE MEN AND WOMAN.. THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT VIDEO!! VETERAN..
Super excited to watch this. I’ll edit this with my reaction Edit: AMAZING VIDEO! I never even began to really process the battling career of the two sister ships! Wow what a history between them! That’s awesome!
From the time she first captured the eastbound record to the day she lost the Blue Riband to the Bremen, Mauretania was the champion of the Atlantic, in both directions, for a combined *_22 years._* Not even the United States, despite being the absolute fastest of all the record breakers and still retaining the Blue Riband to this day, got to hold the record for as long when she was in active passenger service. There's a reason why even to this day when I think of the Blue Riband that Mauretania is often one of, if not the first ship to race into mind. And not only was she fast, but she was charming, professional, and resolute. I can see why so many people around the world loved her, and it's a damn shame she couldn't be saved. What a beast. Excellent, spot-on job once again Alex. To top it all off, this day didn't go wasted either, as I learned something new. I didn't know that building materials were more expensive in Newcastle than in Clydebank.
Great video Alex I was just watching some videos of the Mauretania today . She is one of my favorite liners next to the Normandie Olympic Queen Elizabeth QE2 and Queen Mary.
She was, and even more: one of the best liners EVER BUILT!... Being a Pole and a fan of HAL, I have some favourites among British liners, and she is one of them, next to 'Mary' (534), 'Betty' (736) and the 'Old Reliable'.
She was certainly lovely, but Lucy had better lines. Contrary to the Titanic narrative, the Maury and Lucy were much more sumptuous and ornate than the Olympic Class. 🚢
maurys last blu ribbon attemt against the new bremen is a story all by itself, just amazing that in old age she managed 28kn against the german. alex, you do a fine presentation.
Mauretania and Lusitania were engineering marvels that were like a "Mission to Mars" of the day. Along with having propulsion systems that were almost analogous to nuclear fusion, their symmetric beauty was unparalleled. "From every angle, they looked perfect," as one author described. They were the first of only 14 passenger ships to have four funnels to have them evenly spaced and set the tone for what all ocean liners should look like in the public mindset. What's most striking about this vignette is how well Mauretania was sseparated from her sister, Lusitania. The extra building and running costs are not well known, even by liner enthusiasts, nor her additional power. Swan Hunter still does engineering work today, though is much smaller in scale, with a focus on design engineering services and renewable. Whether sailing from QM2 from Liverpool with the Three Graces ablaze at night or standing on a rather quiet Tyne today, to have seen Mauretania at any time during her career would have been breathtaking. Her silhouette has never been duplicated and one can only imagine the outpouring of sadness when she was to be sent to the breakers in Rosyth in 1934. Having seen the immense turnout for QE2 on her last voyage in 2008 and the lingering fond affection for her today, at a time when ocean liners are sadly an afterthought even in Britain, Mauretania would have been exponentially greater in the love she generated. However, fondness for her runs deep here, with half a column from one of her First Class areas featuring prominently in this home. For those wishing to see more of her fittings, the Java Club in Bristol, formerly known as the Mauretania Pub, has a number of her elegant pieces that are stunning. Thank you again for a wonderful documentary featurette on this great vessel.
I always wish the Mauritania was saved for preservation just like the Queen Mary. FDR even tired to save her but it was to late as Mauritania was being broken up for scrap.
You're right. It's 4am and I just saw your comment. I was very confused. I actually got out of bed and checked my sources. The main source material I used for this video was the book "The Unseen Mauretania". They make only a brief mention that in 1903, Swan & Hunter merged with Wigham Richardson. But for the rest of the book it continues to abbreviated the company as "Swan, Hunter" or "Swan & Hunter". My other sources made little to no mention of Wigham Richardson. So it came as a bewildering shock to learn that I missed such a basic detail. Alas, the video is published and I can't change or alter it.
Mauretania had a somewhat long career at sea, she survived being a troopship in World War I. Towards her final years, in the Great Depression, she was used as a cruise ship. She was finally scrapped alongside RMS Olympic in 1935.
@@AlextheHistorian -- I was kind of hoping you were going to touch on her demise... and possibly show the famous painting, "Mauretania Arriving At Rosyth" by Charles Pears for the Queen Mary's 2nd Class Smoking Room.
I didn't want to make a complete historic documentary on Mauretania's career, it takes too long to produce those videos and lately not many people have been watching them.
Oh I wasn't the one who gave them nicknames. Many ships were given names of endearment by their crew. There was Lusi, Maure, Queen Mary was 'the Mary', Queen Elizabeth was Lizzy, Olympic was Old Reliable and so on...
Wait, how have I just now found this video? The Maury is one of my favorite girls, so how did I miss this? Maury's 1909 record would be broken in 1924 - by Maury herself. The poor girl was run into the ground during WWI, and then afterward she was thrown back out onto the Atlantic instead of being sent for an overhaul, because Cunard was desperate for cash. Even when she struggled to match her old speed, they kept working her. At one point, she barely made 17 knots, and people were starting to mock the poor girl for it. Finally, a fire on board forced Cunard to get her that desperately needed overhaul, and then later, they sent her to have her engines rebuilt. Then in 1924, she set a new record, and it was that one that Bremen broke in 1929. Maury though came within a half knot of regaining it, and on her final voyage before retirement, she managed 32 knots for a brief moment. That's the Mary's top speed. It's sad that she wasn't saved, but I'm sure if the Depression hadn't wrecked everything, she might have been. She was loved by so many people, and many were heartbroken when she was cut up. One final humorous note. A book I read as a teenager about her and Lusitania stated that after Maury's 1924 record, people actually wrote her fan mail and named their daughters after her. I have never been able to confirm that, but it's fun to think about.
Why couldn't The Mauritania be station in the Harbors of New York where The Lusitania left in 1915 as a Musiem or Hotel like The Queen Mary was to Honor her sunken sister ship?
Shame she wasn’t preserved, but hey at least we have Queen Mary, which took some design ques from muary , and I just realized Muary sounds similar to Mary
Lusitania had the exact same blades as Mauretania. Whenever a new set was designed for one ship, they made sure the other ship was given the same ones. I dont know why Mauretania was faster than Lusitania, I mean they were so close I'm speed. But one thing is for certain, even sister ships have their differences. Mauretania being faster is one of those things we chalk up to calling her "a ship with a personality".
If Lusitania Speed was not enough as The Mauritania was then why did they put faith in The Lusitania and let her sail in 1915 in the middle of a war zone in War World 1?
That wasn't faith that was *fate. The ship was scheduled to cross then. You might even go so far as to say Churchill chose to execute Lusitania and save Mauretania.
I wonder what would happen if Rose sailed on Mauretania instead of Titanic…. Would she have met another Jack? The Olympic Class and … Lucy Class really were beautiful compliments of each other. I can see why the 4-stackers are a lot of peoples’ favorite era of ships. Didn’t mention in the Liners of the Past books that JP Morgan’s grabby grab monopolization was a big part of the inspiration for these two great ships. So bizarre to think that in person, Maury would look rather small to our contemporary eyes. Such a special ship. I am more of a Lucy fan (though I love the extended promenade on Maury), but I wouldn’t argue if I had to sail on Maury instead.
