The Pontoon is for sale and is still at 120 The Strand, Tauranga
The Iconic Kestrel Ferry Has Moved To Auckland
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Bay of Plenty Times Article: Wednesday 1st December 2010
Original Article on BayOfPlentyTimes.co.nz Website A former ferry boat and floating restaurant sneaked out of Tauranga Harbour early yesterday after being moored at the downtown waterfront for six years. MV Kestrel, the iconic 105-year-old wooden vessel, was unbolted from the pontoon off The Strand reclamation at 6.30am and less than an hour later it was through the harbour entrance and heading for Auckland, towed by a tug boat. Tauranga businessman Mark Scapens sold the former Fullers ferry to the newly formed Kestrel Preservation Society in Auckland after sailing it down from there in 2002. He wanted it to be an integral part of the Tauranga waterfront re-development and dressed it up into an upmarket restaurant called Kestrel at the Landing. But the business closed two years ago and the Kestrel had an uncertain future - Tauranga City Council couldn't guarantee a long-term berth for the vessel after the lease ran out in four years and because of that Mr Scapens couldn't attract new tenants. Loving every moment of the Kestrel's stay in Tauranga was Mr Scapens' business and financial manager, Sharon Sutherland, and she watched the classy wooden vessel glide down Pilot Bay from near the Bridge Marina. "It was sad to see her go but it's going into good hands," she said. "The landscape (on the waterfront) has changed again. "I sat on the pier and watched Mark proudly sail her into Tauranga eight years ago. And I've been with him through all the work he's done on the Kestrel. It was the end of an era." Mr Scapens had spent nearly $1 million upgrading the vessel and turning it into a floating restaurant. The pontoon he built with glass walls remains on the water and Mr Scapens is now considering options for the future of this building. As the Kestrel disappeared from Tauranga, it was heading into a new era. It is likely to be used for harbour cruises in Auckland. The preservation society's spokesperson, Hugh Gladwell, said the Kestrel would be fitted out and operated to maximise its use by the public. The society was impressed at the lengths Mr Scapens took to maintain the Kestrel's originality and condition. Thomson Towboats took the Kestrel back to Auckland on a 30-hour journey and the old vessel will tie up on the western side of Queens Wharf for public viewing. Sunlive News Article: Tuesday 30th November 2010Kestrel heads north Original Article on SunLive.co.nz Website Tauranga’s iconic Kestrel ferry is on its way to Auckland. It departed at about 6.30am on Tuesday after spending six years docked in Tauranga’s CBD.
The ferry was purchased by the newly formed Kestrel Preservation Society. It is being towed to Auckland where the boat will become a feature of the city’s waterfront.
Two tugboats were needed to tow the Kestrel out of Tauranga harbour. One of the tugboats only towed it out of the harbour entrance, while the other will tow it to Auckland. It is estimated the journey to Auckland will take about 30 hours.
The Kestrel Preservation Society is hugely impressed at the lengths former owner Mark Scapens has gone to to maintain the Kestrel’s originality and overall physical condition during his eight year ownership. This will contribute enormously to future restoration and maintenance, according to the society.
Anyone interested in supporting the Kestrel can contact Kestrel Preservation Society at PO Box 171, Warkworth. Interested In Buying the Pontoon?We want to hear from you if you are interested in the purchase of the pontoon and associated piles and access bridge. If you are interested in buying the pontoon, fill in this contact form. Photos of the Pontoon
If you are interested in buying the pontoon, fill in this contact form. |
Interested In Buying The Pontoon?We want to hear from you if you are interested in the purchase of the pontoon and associated piles and access bridge. Download the Plans Now (11 pages, 2.9Mb .pdf) |
The History of The KestrelThe Makeover...The 105-year-old Kestrel is the last working survivor of Auckland's historic ferry fleet. The Kestrel's multi-million-dollar makeover was reported by the New Zealand Herald 23rd February 2005. She begun her second century as a classy floating restaurant and bar at her new mooring off the Tauranga city waterfront. What made the 39m Kestrel different from other boats making culinary waves in New Zealand is the adjoining two-level glass construction built on a 24m-long steel pontoon. Combining historic appeal with the strikingly modern, the restaurant could seat 400 diners. The VesselThe Kestrel is believed to be one of the largest wooden vessels of this age left in New Zealand and is unique in that she has two bows and two stems. A rudder and propeller at each end allowed the vessel to pull into a berth forwards. When ready to leave, the skipper would go to the wheelhouse at the other end - the stem then becomes the bow and 'Kestrel' can steam back out the way it came in. The Kestrel is 39 meters long, 8.7 meters beam, 2.7 meters draft, weight unloaded 188 ton. The Hull is 75mm Kauri with 25mm Totara outer skin for protection against sea worm. HistoryThe Kestrel was built at 'Chas Bailey & Sons' yard in Auckland and launched in December 1905 and was the second of the Albatross class of double-ended passenger ferry steamers intended for the Devonport service. However, in the first six months of her long life, she was often used for excursions and charters, to places such as Takapuna, Motuta pu or Kohimarama. The Kestrel settled into her duties as one of the Devonport boats and, alternatively, as an excursion steamer. The trip to Devonport crosses the busiest and at times the roughest part of the Waitamata. It was recorded in March 1908 that in strong northerly gale 'she was rolling her deck down the seas and taking great quantities of water'; and in a similar gale in 1909 that "she was taking the waves like a racehorse'. The Kestrel's period as a Devonport boat ended in July 1921 when she was relieved by the new steamer Makora. She was sent to the upper harbour service as a consort to her elder sister the Albatross, beginning a partnership that was to last nearly 38 years until the Harbour Bridge was opened. The Kestrel was laid up in June 1950 to be re-engined and remodelled on similar lines to the Albatross, returning to the Northcote service in January 1952 completely renovated with diesel engine, glassed upper deck and sporting the company's new livery of dark green hull and white upper works. As the MV Kestrel she continued the upper harbour passenger service until the Harbour Bridge superseded the ferry system. But for the Kestrel, unlike the Albatross, this was not the end. In 1961 she resumed her duties as a Devonport ferry for a further 20 years. She later spent the winter of 1982 laid up and under survey and restoration. The refit was very extensive; one of her lower cabins was converted into a fully carpeted restaurant, two bars were installed and a dance floor on the top deck. The Kestrel's carrying capacity was cut drastically to 500, but her new owner enthused that she was now good for at least another 20 years. And a more leisurely Devonport timetable allowed the old ferry to be successfully marketed as 'the flagship of an historic harbour fleet'. On the 30th of November 2010 The Kestrel was sold to The Kestrel Preservation Society and was towed out of Tauranga harbour and came to rest in Auckland harbour after a 30 hour journey on the 1st of December 2010. Photos of the Kestrel When It Was In Tauranga
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Kestrel floats off to new life in Auckland
