“It was a beautiful trip on the Queenscliff. Her gentle hum and the ease with which she handled the swell across The Heads was like poetry,” explains local artist Kirsty Gautheron.
Kirsty was invited by Captain Rob Hawthorne to ride at the helm on Tuesday, a day before the Manly Ferry ‘Queenscliff’ was to officially retire after almost 40 years on the Manly route. An exciting ride for an artist in love with our gentle giants of the harbour.
“The 30 minute crossing provides a very welcome pause in the day that can only be considered good for your health! Not everything in this life needs to be fast,” says Kirsty.
Kirsty’s love for ferries will be on show with her upcoming solo exhibition of paintings in mid November at Gallery 109 in Manly, details via @kirstygautheron, and in a group exhibition with @thebrushartists in early November.
“It is hard to believe the Queenscliff has been retired, being still well equipped to handle vast numbers of what could be well-spaced passengers and in, as I have seen on many occasion, a large and rough swell.
“I will miss the graceful curves and the rhythmic hum of this ferry. I sincerely hope we keep the remaining two of this class, for the enjoyment of regular travellers and visitors, for many years to come.”
Two of the ‘old girls’ are to be kept for weekends and public holidays but we are promised some form of exciting announcement regarding Queenscliff herself in coming weeks. We are waiting to hear back from local resident and newly minted Transport Minister Rob Stokes on his feel for the Freshwater fleet, so stay tuned.
Thanks to torrential rain and an overtired toddler we missed the boat – quite literally – but our friends at Northern Beaches Advocate were on the wharf and captured the issue very well, you can read their coverage here.
