If there is one summer outing to invite friends along to and gather your family for, then this is it!

We have arranged another great day out on the William C Daldy. This is a family fun day on Kawau Island.

Cruise Tickets: Devonport – Kawau Island Return only $112.00 Adult, $75.00 Child (up to and including 15yrs), $340.00 Family (2 Adults and 2 children) Click here to book now!

Boarding the Steam Tug at its base in Devonport, a loud blast on the whistle will mark our sailing as the smoke billows from the funnel and we steam down the Waitemata Harbour. At North Head, it will be full steam ahead as the engines are opened up for the “romp” up the Hauraki Gulf to Mansion House Bay in Kawau Island. The Tug William C Daldy rarely ventures out of Auckland Harbour these days. So book early.

We depart Devonport at 7am arriving at Kawau Island at 10.30am approx, where you can then enjoy several hours on the island – exploring Mansion House, The Island or take a picnic lunch.

We depart Kawau Island at 1.30pm arriving back at Devonport at 5.30pm approx.

A cash bar and BBQ will operate on this trip. Tea and coffee are available for only $2.00 each.

We do not have eftpos on board.

Enjoy a great cruise to and from Kawau.Island.Be quick – Limited to 110 passengers.

SCHEDULE

Please read these instructions carefully in case there are last minute itinerary changes!

• DEPART Devonport 7am
• ARRIVE Mansion House Bay 10.30 approx
• DEPART Mansion House Bay 1.30pm
• ARRIVE Devonport 5:30pm approx

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Click Here to book online now!

VICTORIA WHARF, DEVONPORT, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
30th January 2012

• Depart Devonport 8am
• Depart Princes Wharf (Downtown) 9am
• Return Princes Wharf (Downtown) 12.30pm
• Return Devonport 1.15pm

Please Note: You may embark or disembark in either Auckland City (Princes Wharf) or Devonport. (Victoria Wharf)
Times of events may change closer to or on the day.

PRICES:

• Adults $75
• Children $40 (up to and including 15yrs)
• Family (2 Adults, 2 Children) $200

All Prices include lunch of Sausage, Pattie, Bread Roll and Salad

Tea and coffee are only $2.00 each, we do NOT have eftpos on board

A fabulous day on the water is promised as Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour comes alive in one of the world’s biggest one-day Regatta’s.

Contact Bevan to reserve a seat and pay on the day or Click Here to buy a ticket online and secure your booking! Please book early as this is one of our most popular sailings. Book now and make sure you are at the boat in plenty of time to pick up and pay for your tickets, because your place on the tug will be sold to someone else 10mins prior to sailing if not paid for by then.

Ph: (09) 309 7526
Mob: (021) 801402

For more details E-mail: bevanct@yahoo.com

Monday 30th January 9.00am: Tugboat Parade
Tugboats young and old will gather at the entrance to the Viaduct Harbour and parade up to their start line off North Head.

10.00am: Tugboat Race off North Head
Watch this amazing display of maneuverability and speed as these wonderful craft roar up the channel, round Narrow Neck Buoy and return to finish off Devonport Wharf – best vantage points are North Head, East Coast Bays beaches, Devonport and Devonport Wharf.

• 11.30am Firefighting display off the Viaduct followed by a Parade through the Viaduct.
• 11.00am: First Start off Princes Wharf

Races start off Princes Wharf, Downtown Auckland at 5 minute intervals from 11.00am.

• 11.35 & 11.45am: Classic division starts
• 11.55am: Tall Ships and Waka start
• 12.00noon: Harbour Blast starts off Orakei Wharf
• There will also be aerial displays by the War Birds and the Red Checkers 

See some of the fastest boats on the water ‘blast’ off in a vision of colour and speed as they head off around the harbour.

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With poor coal and blustery conditions we still managed sail to victory. A BIG thank you to our stokers and our supporters for making this day a HUGE success! Winning the best presented surveyed vessel is a testament to all the hard work our volunteers and supporters have put in over the last 32 years!

• The Thompson Towboat Trophy for the first on handicap
• The Parry Trophy for the best presented surveyed vessel

Click the thumbnails below for a larger image

Society Patron Keith Ingram with the William C Daldy accepting the spoils from the 2011 Auckland Anniversary Day regatta tug boat race.

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Date: 11 September 2010
Photographer: Trevor Coppock

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Friday 3 September will be the first official New Zealand Merchant Navy Day. The purpose of Merchant Navy Day is to recognise the merchant seamen who risked their lives during the war transporting troops, military equipment and cargo around the world and to remember those who lost their lives during this conflict.

To mark this special day, we will be having a full day of activity here at Voyager.

Remembrance Service: The day will begin with a Remembrance Service at 8.30am in the Edmiston Gallery. The service will be very kindly officiated by Reverend Bill Law, Chaplain Auckland Merchant Navy Association and will include the presentation and blessing of a wreath to be hung in Oceans Apart. On arrival you will also be greeted by our very own resident Piper John Downie.

I would like to extend a formal invitation to all of you to attend this service, as a mark of respect for the huge sacrifices made by our merchant seamen during World War 2.

Throughout the rest of the day we will have supporting activity including Merchant Navy specific tours (at 10.30 am and 1.00 pm) and hosting within the Oceans Apart gallery. My thanks to Barry Parsons for his work on this.

I hope that you can join us here at Voyager to mark this important day.

Kind Regards,

Paul Evans

Chief Executive Officer

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Turning a cruise liner around in Auckland could pump about $1.26 million into the local economy, says Royal Caribbean Cruises Australasia managing director Gavin Smith.

Royal Caribbean’s 1800-passenger superliner the Celebrity Century will have cruises that start or finish in Auckland from October 2011.

The employment that came with a full ship turnaround included coaches, taxis, baggage handlers, customs and border control agencies that attended the pier and engagement with the airport and local hotels, Smith said.

“We have local fresh produce provedoring requirements, we have fuel needs and we also have stevedoring needs because we’ll do a full store in Auckland, in terms of container movements and the more industrial side of the business,” he said.

“The general figure that the cruise lines use is around a million dollars into the local economy on a turnaround day,” he said.

“And then you’ve got the additional upside of most of the Americans and Europeans and Australians that are getting on and off the ship will be buying one, two or three nights [accommodation] pre- or post cruise.”

Passengers were more inclined to buy accommodation to experience the city because it was the start or finish point of the cruise, Smith said.

The Celebrity Century would be the third vessel the company had in the region, although the other two would not embark and disembark in Auckland.

The company said it would bring 6000 visitors to New Zealand in the 2010/11 season, rising to 36,000 in 2011/12 . Americans and Europeans made up about 70 per cent of guests.

Auckland was the cruise capital of New Zealand, Smith said.

“Importantly, the port is an industrial working port so there is a continuing interest in Auckland harbour being a working harbour. What’s exciting for passengers is it’s one of the few ports in the world where you still get a downtown experience because the passenger wharf is adjacent to the downtown area.”

Cruise New Zealand chairman Craig Harris this month said 113,000 passengers would come to New Zealand this year, with bookings for 134,000 and 180,000 in 2010/11 and 2011/12 respectively.

Royal Caribbean’s Gavin Smith said that in the next three to five years congestion would drive the investment to create another purpose-built pier in Auckland. However, any facilities would need to be multi-purpose for the off-season.

CRUISING ON IN

Season:

2009/2010 – 113,000 passengers
2010/2011 – 134,000 passengers
2011/2012 – 180,000 passengers

By Owen Hembry | Email Owen

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Due to the success of last year’s Auckland Heritage Festival and the continued support of the Ports of Auckland we are delighted to announce a series of public sailings will be available in September this year.

The hour-long, family-friendly tours will cruise through the commercial wharves, providing a close-up view of port operations.

The trip will also include a special stop at the Auckland Harbour Bridge, where the William C Daldy proved its might salvaging a runaway piece of the bridge during its construction in 1958. Click Here for the full story!

A detailed heritage commentary will also offer a unique insight into the history of the port and Auckland.

The development of the city and port over more than 160 years is a fascinating story.

Daldy has the capacity for 120 passengers which, if based on last years success will fill very fast!

The tours are free; however, a donation to the William C Daldy Preservation Society is appreciated.

The tours will be held at 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3.00pm on Saturday 17th and 24th of September as well as Saturday 1st of October during the Auckland Heritage Festival.

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Click Here to book for a sailing on the Earnslaw or to view her schedule.

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Click Here for more images, full specifiations and a detailed historical description of ‘The Lady Of The Lake’

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P&O Cruises plans to base its newest superliner in New Zealand. The 1800-passenger Pacific Pearl will be re-christened in the Waitemata Harbour on December 19, 2010. Auckland will be the ship’s home port and from here it will travel to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Craig Harris, chairman of Cruise NZ, said basing the Pacific Pearl in Auckland “is a real coup for New Zealand”. He said the industry already had bookings for the 2010 summer season and expected around 135,000 passengers. Mr Harris said cruise passengers were the fourth-largest group of inbound travellers.

Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia and New Zealand, said it chose New Zealand as the base because the country was driving much of the company’s growth. “Cruising has proven remarkably recession-resistant. As the world economy starts to recover, I believe we are in for sustained growth,” she said. “If New Zealand is to capitalise on that growth, it needs the right infrastructure and planning in place.”

FACTS

Built: 1989, renovated for P&O in 2010.
Weight: 69,500 gross tonnes.
Length: 247 metres.
Width: 32 metres.
Decks: 11.
Speed: Maximum 21.5 knots.
Passenger cabins: 839.
Facilities: Three restaurants, six bars and lounges, spa, fitness centre and gym, two swimming pools, multi-level show lounge, cinema, casino, duty-free shopping boutiques. Click for images

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Great depiction of the sinking of Brittanic

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