Ships Whistle, Mid Atlantic

A 3-minute field recording by David Pitt on 22 May 2025, in the afternoon. Soundscape: wind and harbours, ports & boats.

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3:08Public Domain Markby David PittInternet Archive

3:08

Spectrogram of Ships Whistle, Mid Atlantic — Spectrogram of the full recording (time left to right, frequency bottom to top), generated by the Internet Archive.

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

Recordist's notes

On board Queen Mary 2 at noon every day the ship's main whistle is sounded and position and weather information broadcast. I placed the recorder as close to the funnel as possible, about 20 meters away on deck 13. The sound is, I believe, from one of two whistles either side of the funnel. This, the starboard one, is an original from the first Queen Mary. The whistle's note is preceded by a blast of air activating the whistle. The announcement is by the captain from the bridge and the speakers are some distance away. The background low frequency beat is from a combination of all the engines exhaust through the funnel. MixPre 6 II with 2 Sennheiser MKH 8020s in a rucksack hanging over a rail below the funnel and sheltered from the wind over the high deck.

Context

Equipment mentioned: Sound Devices recorders and Sennheiser MKH microphones. Professional location recorders (702, 722, MixPre series) with very quiet preamps.