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Thousands gathered on Sunday in Saint-Nazaire to witness the departure of the Queen Mary 2 in competition with four other vessels in a transatlantic regatta, celebrating Franco-American solidarity 100 years after the US landings in France.

The Bridge 2017 is a competitive event held in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1917 landing of US troops in France.

The Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 hopes to be the first to reach New York. The vessels left from the Saint-Nazaire Bridge, and hope to arrive at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York on July 1. Four multihull yachts are competing against the QM2.

Construction of the QM2 began in July 2002 in the dock of Saint-Nazaire, with 3000 craftsmen employed. At the time it was the largest and longest passenger ship ever built, measuring 345 metres and weighing in at 148,528 tonnes.

The QM2 is currently steaming ahead at 24.4 knots per hour.