The Geelong Flyer is an exciting new ferry that has joined the Port Phillip Ferries fleet to service a brand new service between Steampacket Quay on the Geelong’s Waterfront and Melbourne’s Docklands precinct. The purpose built catamaran ferry has been designed and built by Incat of Tasmania, one of the world’s leading catamaran manufacturers. The sparkling new Geelong Flyer is a sister ship to the Bellarine Explorer that launched in 2018. This ship was also built by Incat and services the popular route between Portarlington Pier and Docklands.
Port Phillip Ferries’ vessels have been a familiar sight on our bays since early 2016 when the company commenced several trial services using a leased ferry known as the Wyndham Explorer. This ferry began the Portarlington to Docklands run and with the service’s popularity and some backing of the state government, it was feasible to purchase what was to become the 400 seat Bellarine Explorer. With the success of the Bellarine Peninsula service it wasn’t long before the Geelong community expressed a desire for a similar service of their own. During 2017 Port Phillip Ferries did a few special cruises of Bellarine Explorer testing the AFL loving crowd. These trips were linked to football matches where Geelong played at Dockland’s Marvel Stadium. The special trips proved a public hit and gave the company confidence that a regular Geelong to Melbourne service would be feasible.
So a new vessel was commissioned and launched into service in the first week of December 2019 with much public interest. The new Geelong Flyer has a similar specifications to its Bellarine Explorer sister ship. Both ships are a 35 metre twin hull Catamaran powered by two v12 Man diesel engines that can both produce up to 1300kw. The two large decks features seating for 400 passengers as well as plenty of space and seating on the outer deck to take advantage of our beautiful summer days. Visitors can enjoy the journey with access to small licenced café and free wifi.
At launch the trip to Melbourne departs twice daily from Steampacket Quay beside Cunningham Pier and arrives in Docklands in around 100 Minutes, a time the company hopes to reduce to 90 Minutes in the future with negotiations over speed in the Yarra River being discussed with the government and regulators. The dock in Melbourne is close to Marvel Stadium and the free city circle tram making it easy to access all corners of Melbourne’s CBD. Fares at the time of writing vary from $10 for children over 4 to $18 for adults each way.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the name Geelong Flyer has been used. A steam locomotive that ran from 1926 to the mid 1960s was known as the Geelong Flier. This service was the pride of the Victorian railways at the time and completed the journey from Melbourne to Geelong in a little as 57 minutes at times compared to today’s train that can take up to 1 hour 20 minutes.
More info and timetables can be found at Port Philip Ferries website below
www.portphillipferries.com.au
