Captain Cook Cruises (Australia)
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Founded | 26 January 1970 |
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Founder | Trevor Haworth |
Headquarters | Darling Harbour, , Australia |
Area served | Sydney Harbour |
Services | Restaurant, river/harbour cruise & ferry operator |
Parent | SeaLink Travel Group |
Website | www.captaincook.com.au |
Captain Cook Cruises is an Australian cruise operator. As of January 2018, the company operated 21 vessels on Sydney Harbour, providing a range of Government contracted and non-contracted Ferry services, Sightseeing, Dining and Charter Cruises.
History
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Lady_Geraldine.jpg/220px-Lady_Geraldine.jpg)
Captain Cook Cruises commenced operating on 26 January 1970 on Port Jackson, Sydney with the Captain Cook, a modified 1943 Fairmile B motor launch. The business was founded by Trevor Haworth taking its name from James Cook who led the first European contact with the East Coast of Australia in 1770.[1][2]
Initially operating charters, on 1 May 1970 regular cruises began operating from Circular Quay to Middle Harbour. In November 1971 a second cruise commenced via the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers as far as the Gladesville Bridge.[1]
In August 1975, the custom-built Captain Cook II built by Carrington Slipways, Tomago was commissioned. In August 1978, the Lady Geradline was built by Millkraft Shipyards, Brisbane. This was followed by City of Sydney built by Sims Engineering, Port Chalmers in 1981.[3] In 1978 the original Northbridge marina was sold with a new facility purchased in Neutral Bay.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Captain_Cook_2.jpg/220px-Captain_Cook_2.jpg)
In May 1984, the John Cadman Cruising Restaurant business was purchased. In 1987, Captain Cook Cruises began operating cruises on the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater with the Lady Hawkesbury.[4] In November 1987, the Hegarty Ferries business was purchased from Stannard Bros, primarily to give Captain Cook Cruises exclusive access to wharf 6 at Circular Quay. It operated services to Jeffrey Street, Milsons Point and McMahons Point.[3] In May 1988, the business of Murray River Developments was purchased with the Murray River Queen and Murray Princess on the Murray River and the Brisbane Explorer on the Brisbane River.[1]
In 1991, operations began on the Great Barrier Reef in a joint venture with Qantas.[3][5] The MV Reef Endeavour was ordered, however problems during its construction resulted in the Lady Hawkesbury being transferred from the Hawkesbury River to the Great Barrier Reef as the Reef Escape in July 1992. In turn the Brisbane Explorer was transferred to the Hawkesbury as the Hawkesbury Explorer II. The Reef Endeavour eventually entered service in 1995.[1]
In 1992, the company began operations in Fiji, purchasing Tivua Island, located 18 km off the coast of Port Denarau. Sailing Day Cruises were commenced to the island. Reef Escape was relocated to Fiji from the Great Barrier Reef in 1995 and began accommodated cruises through the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands [citation needed].
On 7 January 2003, the former Hegarty routes ceased.[6] In November 2005 Matilda Cruises was acquired from Amalgamated Holdings Limited (now Event Hospitality and Entertainment), with 11 vessels.[7][8] In 2011, Captain Cook Cruises was purchased by the SeaLink Travel Group.[9][10][11]
Sydney
[edit]Network
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/MV_Elizabeth_Cook.jpg/220px-MV_Elizabeth_Cook.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Jillian%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2017_%2801%29.jpg/220px-Jillian%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2017_%2801%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Sydney_2000%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2017_%2802%29.jpg/220px-Sydney_2000%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2017_%2802%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Cockle_Bay%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2018_%2801%29.jpg/220px-Cockle_Bay%2C_Circular_Quay%2C_2018_%2801%29.jpg)
Captain Cook Cruises operate ferry services connecting Sydney Harbour, Darling Harbour, Barangaroo, Circular Quay, Watsons Bay, Manly, the Lane Cove River and White Bay.
The Shark Island and Zoo Express are part of the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) services which also call at Watsons Bay and Manly. These services will resume during the school holidays on 19 December 2020 after the COVID-19 Pandemic.[12]
Resumption dates for the City Loop (Darling Harbour/Barnagaroo), Luna Park, and Fort Denison services are not yet known.[13]
- City Loop
- Shark Island
- Circular Quay West
- Shark Island
- Zoo Express[14]
- Circular Quay West
- Taronga Zoo
- White Bay Only operates on days that there are cruise liners at White Bay. So will not resume until the cruise terminal reopens.
- Darling Harbour
- White Bay
- Watsons Bay[15]
- A commuter service between Watsons Bay and Circular Quay commenced on 23 March 2015.[16]
- Lane Cove River[17]
- Circular Quay West
- Jeffrey Street
- Kirribilli
- Birchgrove
- Greenwich Point
- Bay Street, Greenwich
- Northwood
- Longueville
- Alexandra Street, Hunters Hill
- St Ignatius' College, Riverview
Vessels
[edit]Name | Builder | Year built | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Captain Cook I | 1943 | Fairmile B motor launch formerly named Daydream II, sold to Fiji as Stardust II | |
Captain Cook II | Carrington Slipways, Tomago | 1975 | |
Corsair | purchased second hand 1976 | ||
Lady Geraldine | Millkraft Shipyards, Hemmant | 1978 | named after Trevor Haworth's wife |
City of Sydney | Sims Engineering, Port Chalmers | 1981 | |
John Cadman | 1970 | purchased with John Cadman Cruising Restaurant business May 1984, rebuilt from burnt out hull of Lady Scott built for Sydney Ferries Limited in 1915, sold as Harbour Queen | |
John Cadman II | Carrington Slipways, Tomago | 1986 | |
Leura | purchased with Hegarty Ferries business November 1987, sold 2003, named after Leura | ||
Seeka Star | 1940 | purchased with Hegarty Ferries business November 1987, sold 2003 | |
Twin Star | 1972 | purchased with Hegarty Ferries business November 1987, sold 2003 | |
Lady Hawkesbury | Carrington Slipways, Tomago | 1987 | transferred from Hawkesbury River to Great Barrier Reef and renamed Reef Escape July 1992 |
Murray River Queen | Hindmarsh Island | 1974 | purchased with Murray River Developments business May 1988, sold 1993 |
Murray Princess | Hindmarsh Island | 1986[18] | purchased with Murray River Developments business May 1988 |
Brisbane Explorer | purchased with Murray River Developments business May 1988, transferred from Brisbane River to Hawkesbury River and renamed Hawkesbury Explorer II | ||
John Cadman III | Carrington Slipways, Tomago | 1989 | |
Captain Cook III | Wavemaster, Fremantle | 1990 | |
Reef Endeavour | Government Shipyard, Suva | 1995 | |
Sydney 2000 | Austal, Perth | 1998 | |
Alice | Norman R Wright & Sons, Bulimba | 1996 | purchased with Matilda Cruises business November 2005[19] |
Jillian | Norman R Wright & Sons, Bulimba | 1996 | purchased with Matilda Cruises business November 2005[19] |
Megan | Norman R Wright & Sons, Bulimba | 1996 | purchased with Matilda Cruises business November 2005[19] |
Elizabeth Cook | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2013 | named after Elizabeth Cook[20] |
Mary Reibey | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2014 | named after Mary Reibey[21] |
Annabelle Rankin | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2014 | named after Annabelle Rankin[22] |
Violet McKenzie | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2015 | named after Violet McKenzie[23] |
Capricorn Sunrise | Aluminium Boats Australia, Hemmant | 2011 | transferred from Gladstone November 2016[24] |
Cockle Bay | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2016 | named after Cockle Bay[25] Leased to RiverCity Ferries together with Blackwattle Bay, White Bay, Pyrmont Bay and Eleanor (the last three not listed here), from November 2020, to operate KittyCat CityHopper and CityFerry services on the Brisbane River.[26][27] |
Blackwattle Bay | Richardson Devine Marine, Hobart | 2016 | named after Blackwattle Bay[25] |
Nancy Wake | Aluminium Marine, Thornlands | 2017 | named after Nancy Wake[28] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Goldsack, Robert (1995). A Silver Jubilee: Captain Cook Cruises. Sydney: Fendwave. ISBN 0 646 19412 7.
- ^ Trevor Haworth 1931-2014 Otituary Archived 19 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 10 April 2014
- ^ a b c Andrews, Graeme (1994). Ferries of Sydney. Sydney: Sydney University Press. pp. 177–179. ISBN 0 424002 02 7.
- ^ Andrews, Graeme (1994). Ferries of Sydney. Sydney: Sydney University Press. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0 424002 02 7.
- ^ Luxury cruiser for Qld Archived 1 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Canberra Times 17 January 1990 page 4
- ^ Hegarty's ferry service Archived 31 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Afloat Magazine February 2003
- ^ Introducing Matilda Cruises Archived 8 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine Matilda Cruises
- ^ Quay Cruises Pty Ltd proposed acquisition of assets of Matilda Cruises Pty Ltd Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 3 November 2005
- ^ SeaLink buys Capt Cook Cruises Archived 30 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 25 August 2011
- ^ SeaLink acquires Captain Cook Cruises Travel Weekly 25 August 2011
- ^ Prospectus Archived 7 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine SeaLink Travel Group 2013
- ^ Cruise and Ferry Update Archived 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Captain Cook Cruises
- ^ Timetables - Ferries Commuter | Tourist - Hop On Hop Off Ferry Services Archived 20 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine Captain Cook Cruises Accessed 6 December 2020
- ^ Taronga Zoo Ferry Timetable Captain Cook Cruises 24 December 2010
- ^ "Watsons Bay Rocket timetable" (PDF). Captain Cook Cruises.
- ^ Watsons Bay finally gets a commuter ferry as Captain Cook Cruises launches private service Wentworth Courier 27 March 2015
- ^ "Lane Cove Ferry timetable". Transport for NSW.
- ^ Princess takes to the water Archived 1 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Victor Harbor Times 4 June 1986 page 1
- ^ a b c Vessel Directory Norman R Wright & Sons
- ^ RDM059 Elizabeth Cook Archived 18 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Richardson Devine Marine
- ^ Another New Generation Vessel Joins Captain Cook Cruises Fleet Sealink Travel Group 28 May 2014
- ^ Third New Generation Vessel Joins Captain Cook Cruises Fleet Sealink Travel Group 8 July 2014
- ^ Fourth New-Generation Ferry for Sydney Harbour Incat Crowther 5 February 2015
- ^ SeaLink's super ferry for Sydney Harbour ETB Travel 3 November 2016
- ^ a b Captain Cook Cruises adds two new innovative Catamarans to fleet ETB Travel News 20 January 2017
- ^ "'KittyCats' to fill in for suspended cross-river ferries awaiting repairs". Brisbane Times. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ Stone, Lucy (8 October 2020). "Final reports on Brisbane's wooden ferries delayed". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ Captain Cook Cruises puts new Sydney catamaran ferry Nancy Wake into service Baird Maritime 15 December 2017
External links
[edit] Media related to Captain Cook Cruises at Wikimedia Commons