A much-loved old lady of the Bay of Islands has made her final voyage as a ferry - with another of the Bay's most remarkable old ladies at the helm.
The Fullers ferry Bay Belle carried her last passengers on Friday, bringing to an end 50 years of service, first on
the Cream Trip around the islands, then on the Paihia-Russell crossing.
At the wheel during the Belle's final trip was 85-year-old Jane Taylor of Russell, the Bay's - and possibly New Zealand's - first woman to captain a commercial vessel.
It wasn't just a chance for Mrs Taylor to say goodbye to an old friend, it was also history revisited. In 1973 she skippered the Bay Belle when the ferry was retired from the Cream Trip.
"I feel rather sorry," Mrs Taylor said. "I haven't skippered her for rather a long time, but I love her and I feel she could keep going for a long time yet. She just seemed to be a part of my life." Gail Pawley, who started on the ferry 33 years earlier, said: "It's a bit sad, but like anything that gets old it has to move over for the new. It's a beautiful boat, you feel safe in it. It's also a good learning boat, because it's trickier to drive than the new ones. You have to think about what you're doing."
As the ferry arrived at Russell around 6pm a karanga rang out, the children of Russell School performed a haka, and the heavens opened.
The Bay Belle and her replacement, the Bay Belle II, were blessed by Bishop Ben Te Haara.
Friday's fares were replaced by a donation for Christchurch.
BAY BELLE
- The Bay Belle has carried 5,300,000 passengers
- She has travelled 610,000 nautical miles (1,130,000km)
- That's almost three times the distance from the Earth to the moon, or 28 times around the Equator
- She was built in Opua in 1961 to carry passengers on the Cream Trip. From 1973 she served on the Paihia-Russell crossing
- Her replacement, the Bay Belle II, was built in Invercargill and sailed up the coast earlier this month
- Bay Belle II is an aluminium 100-seater with the same open top deck as the Bay Belle.