Melbourne Daily Photo

Hello, I created this blog because Melbourne is my city and I want people to see what a beautiful place it is. So come with me on a journey of discovery as we traverse the dining precincts, the culture, the laneways and hidden gems that make Melbourne marvellous.




Waltzing Australia

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Queenscliff - Sorrento Ferry



The Queenscliff-Sorrento car and passenger ferry links two attractive seaside destinations - the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas. There are two vessels, the "M.V. Queenscliff" and the "M.V.Sorrento" and they depart Sorrento Pier and Queenslciff Harbour every hour between 7am and 6pm, every day of the year. An adult one way fare is $10 for foot passengers and from $55.50 for a car and one adult. Sorrento is a nice day trip and you could drive to Sorrento, spend a couple of hours, catch the ferry to Queenscliff then drive back to Melbourne via Geelong.

The M.V. Queenscliff was put into service on the 22 December 1993. Traffic using the ferry service continued to grow though the 1990s, carrying about 110,000 cars/trucks/coaches/motorcycles and 600,000 passengers each year so by 2000, a second ferry was needed. The MV Sorrento was built in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia at a cost of $12 million.

A Bit of Trivia
On 12 October 2005 the Australian Defence Force staged an anti-terrorism exercise on the MV Queenscliff. Two Black Hawk helicopters were used to fast rope members of the Tactical Assault Group onto the roof of the ferry, and members of the Boat Assault Force boarded the ferry from inflatable dingies


The M.V. J.J. Farnsworth
There was another, smaller ferry which plied these waters for many years and carried passengers only. The M.V. J.J. Farnsworth which travelled Sorrento-Portsea-Queenscliff, closed down in the early 2000's due to the increased frequency of the two larger vessels.

The photo below was taken in the late 1990's. I didn't have a digital camera then and this was taken with an instamatic ($29.95 from the local chemist) I used my digital camera and took a photo of a photo so the quality isn't all that good.

The old ferry
Photo taken at Sorrento pier, one April late 1990's. It was really fun riding in this - if you stood near the front of the boat, as the swell of the water rose, the boat dipped so low you almost touched the water! Great fun but it did make you feel a little giddy.

Today's Quote: The water is the same on both sides of the boat ~ Finnish proverb.

13 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

These are beautiful images.

Cezar and Léia said...

Have you posted about the destination of the ferry? Will you show us? I bet they're beautiful places too!
God bless you!
Cezar

Unknown said...

The top image is fantastic! Love it!

Anonymous said...

Great post. I like the photo of the ferry. We travelled on it earlier this year.

Anonymous said...

How very interesting to read. Longing to travel, this surely is an alluring mean to escape. Please have you all a good Tuesday.

daily athens

Louis la Vache said...

hee hee...
We both have a nautical theme today...
;-D

Leif Hagen said...

Great boat stories - I just wish I had better "sea legs!" Nice to catch up on your blog today!

Rob Siemann said...

This first shot of yours is quite wonderful! Almost monochrome.

diane b said...

I think I would prefer the big ferry. We were down there a few years ago but didn't go across next time I will!

Small City Scenes said...

Nice super ferry boat. I would have loved to go one the older ferry. Looks like fun.
Washington state has an extensive ferry system (largest in the US). My Mother lives on an Island and the ferry cost is $5.50 (USD) one way. MB

mia said...

Wow that first photo looks like a painting :) A moody, lovely painting.

Joe Todd said...

Always enjoy your posts and photos. I think that was a really good photo of a photo

EG CameraGirl said...

The top photo is magical! I like it a lot!

Melbourne Daily Photo

Hello, I created this blog because Melbourne is my city and I want people to see what a beautiful place it is. So come with me on a journey of discovery as we traverse the dining precincts, the culture, the laneways and hidden gems that make Melbourne marvellous.