Goodbye Old Girl

When I was a kid, trips to Manly (a forty minute voyage to the furthest extent of Sydney Harbour) were great adventures. The man who lived across the street was my hero because he was skipper of the "Curl Curl", a wonderful old Sydney Harbour steamer which dated from the 1920s. It was a Manly Ferry.

When I grew up I wanted to drive a Manly Ferry too.

Never happened unfortunately but that hasn't stopped me from taking the journey countless times, showing friends around Sydney, travelling to hiking expeditions, going on picnics and/or just for the heck of it, to blow the cobwebs out of my hair.

In 1980 the "Freshwater" entered service on the run, eventually joined by three more new 1200 passenger sister ships. Those boats have all since travelled upwards of a million kilometres between Circular Quay and Manly ... and I have been on board all of them many, many times.

Now alas, after nearly 40 years, they are about to be de-commissioned, beginning with the "Freshwater". Goodbye old girl. Thanks for all the memories.