There is a host of ferries that ply their trade on the harbour. But, when anyone mentions a ferry, I immediately think of the gree/gold state government owned ferries. Sydney Ferries' fleet consists of 28 vessels. The fleet is divided into six vessel classes:
Freshwater Class (4 vessels)
Lady Class (2 vessels)
First Fleet Class (9 vessels)
RiverCats (7 vessels)
HarbourCats (2 vessels)
SuperCats (4 vessels)
During January, I will cover each of these classes.
The First Fleet Class catamarans are named after nine of the eleven vessels in the First Fleet. They primarily operate on inner harbour routes, meaning they do not go to Parramatta, neither across to Manly. They are:
Supply
Sirius
Alexander
Borrowdale
Charlotte
Fishburn
Friendship
Golden Grove, and
Scarborough
The two members of the original First Fleet (1788) that missed out having a ferry named after them are: the Lady Penrhyn, and the Prince of Wales.
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10 comments:
This is so interesting. I look forward to reading about the ferries in future posts.
Lots of info I didn't know about here. I also think of the green and gold ones whenever I think ferry.
I like the bottom shot. Captures the action of the Quay very well.
These are my favourite ferries.
Great colours in the top shot and interesting juxtaposition below.
The green and gold ladies of the sea bring back fond memories of my travels to Manly on the ferry. Even the rock and roll of the ferry as it passed the heads was like a grand adventure.
It looks like quite a working boat. The second shot really empahasizes the differences in size.
I love the contrast of the period charm of the ferry in that second shot contrasted against the sleek lines of the cruise ship.
Looking forward to this so I can sort them out. I was surprised to see one on the Brisbane River last year or maybe before that who knows my memory is a blur. It was here in dry dock getting a new fit out, I think it was a manly ferry and it made its way up here under its own steam. That would have been something to see.
Diane, the Manly Ferry is a much bigger beast. I am going across to Manly on the weekend.
Some other information about the First Fleet ferries - they were designed by the Sydney naval architect Alan Payne, who also designed the Americas Cup challengers Gretel and Gretel II in the 1960s. The ferries were originally designed to be 30 metres long to minimise wash, but were cut short by five metres as the Urban Transit Authority hoped this would reduce crewing levels from three to two. They ended up with a crew of three anyway and unfortunately the shortened hull means they don't have the low wash feature.
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