IT WAS a day of celebration for the luxury cruise line when all three Cunard Queens were in Southampton – a rare occasion.

It was also the day that five lucky children, including 10-year-old Daniel Durney from Winchester, won an Echo competition to visit the three Queens and become ‘Captain for the Day’.

To win the competition, Daniel had to tell Cunard why he deserved the honour, and in his entry he told them about his grandfather and great-grandfather who had both been at sea.

Daniel was one of five competition winners, including Atia Fahim, 10, from Southampton.

The children were given a tour of Queen Mary 2 where they visited the bridge and spent time with the captain.

They then enjoyed lunch with the captain at the Captain’s Table on Queen Elizabeth, were presented with gifts and a certificate, and finished their day with a trip round all three Queens in a speedboat.

In the evening, onlookers experienced the most spectacular display as the Red Arrows display team flew over the three Cunard Queens in the Solent.

Simon Palethorpe, senior vice-president, Cunard, said: “I loved meeting the children today and giving them this unique look into the life of a captain and what it’s like on a Cunard ship.

“We know they had a lot of fun and hopefully it has inspired them for their future careers.

“It was such a memorable day for so many, ending with the breath-taking Red Arrows Display team flying over our three Queens in the Solent.”

Daniel’s entry

My name is Daniel and I am 10 years old. My Nanny and Grandad moved in with me at Christmas and my Grandad now lives downstairs in my old playroom. My Grandad was a sailor and went to sea at 15 and had lots of adventures. He was shipwrecked twice and saw lots of desert islands. Best of all he met my Nanny on the Queen Elizabeth 1, when he was 19 and my Nan had a one- way ticket to New York for a new life. My Aunty is named after the ship.

My Grandad said he became a sailor because when he was little, his Grandad filled his head with exciting stories about life at sea. My Great Great Grandad worked on the Queen Mary 1 and one day so did my Grandad as a deck boy.

He told me he once worked with Captain Inger, when she was younger and she was very clever, like me. The doctors say my Grandad is very sick and they can’t give him anymore medicine, but I know he would be very proud if I was a Captain of a Cunard ship and he could read about it in the paper.