The annual Australia Day Ferrython is one of those magical Sydney moments I’d always wanted to part of and this year I was lucky enough to be invited by China Southern airlines, who fly A380s to Guangzhou and have sponsored the race for the last three years.
We took our friend Fergus, aged 6, who’s a big fan because he has the Fergus the Ferry books series, written by Sydney lawyer John Williamson-Noble, and Fergus and the Race is all about the big day!
Four ferries raced from Fort Denison, down the harbour and around Shark Island, before heading west to the finish line under the Harbour Bridge.
The race started in 1981 and 30 years ago, there was a close shave when the Karrabee took on water and sank at Circular Quay not long after it had unloaded hundreds of race passengers.
In recent years the Lady class ferries battled it out, then two years ago the zippy, and perhaps appropriate, First Fleet class catamarans took over, with four corporate sponsors dressing them up. The Star, who sponsor the Sydney Festival, are new the kids on the boat.
It’s an amazing day out and the number of spectators, both on the water and harbourside, blew me away. Everyone was so excited and had a great time.
My one wish is that everyone could have the chance to go and I’d appeal to the organisers – it’s part of the Sydney Festival – to put on one more ‘People’s Ferry’ so people can buy tickets and join in the fun.
The race was more a ballet than propellers to the floor as the boats weaved in and out of each other and surged forward at full throttle. I suspect the result had a touch of WWE about it. The NRMA won, but hey, when you have Dawn Fraser, NRMA director and champion swimmer on board, it’s no surprise.
Here are some pics from my adventure.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.