Under the wire

Flanked by a flotilla of a hundred or more sailboats and led by a San Francisco fireboat sending sparkling streams of water high into the sunshine, the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary II eased into San Francisco Bay for the first time Sunday afternoon.

It looked like a page out of a history book. Maybe it was. The Queen is 28 days into an around-the-world cruise on the occasion of her first entrance into the bay. It was, indeed, an impressive arrival.

The ship, for the moment the largest ocean liner afloat, reached the bridge at 3:45 p.m. For one heart-stopping moment, it looked like marine experts were wrong and the QM2 wouldn't quite make it under the bridge. But then, with a single loud, basso blast of the ship's horn, the giant craft slid easily under the iconic bridge as the crowd lining the walkways on the bridge above and those afloat cheered.

Moments later, trailing a San Francisco bar pilot guide boat, the ship moved toward San Francisco. For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, the big ship stayed at anchor between Treasure Island and San Francisco. The U.S. Coast Guard said she was eased into Pier 27 about 8 p.m.

As night fell, lights came on aboard the Queen. The massive liner, which has 17 passenger decks extending upward in an unusual configuration, provided a glittering, unusual site from San Francisco.

Aboard the Hornblower, Jack Wall of Livermore said he considered signing on for the trip. He said he took one cruise on the QM2 and found the ship absolutely spectacular.

``Its size, the amenities, the service is excellent,'' he said. ``My only complaint was that the martini bar was on one end of the ship and the restaurant where I liked to eat was at the other end.''

He said he decided not to take the 80-day cruise. They have to make it around the world in 80 days, so there weren't that many port stops, he said.