The sky was clear, the wind was sharp, the Captain did not appreciate our boisterous game of charades, the food was very good, the company likewise, and we nearly lost John .... Yep that about sums up the HCOAQ City Cat Cruz!
A hearty little band met at the City Cat terminal near St Lucia, and boarded the ferry a little late. We had been waiting for another member who, unbeknown to us, was already on the ferry we missed....
The Cat trip from St Lucia to Hamilton cost $4 ea return and it is well worth the money. The views of the city at night are beautiful, with Southbank all lit up with streamers of blue neon and stabbing white strobes. The concrete bridges are brilliant white as you pass under, contrasting with the black sky and you can just see the traffic whizzing by over head. The Story Bridge arcs across the river like a giant grey cobweb, each riveted truss and girder highlighted in orange, an engineering marvel and a beauty to behold.
In total the trip took an hour, with the Cat stopping at all ports along the way. This boat can really get up and go. When the Captain lights her up there is no steady acceleration just a rush as the Cat seems to reach cruising speed effortlessly, the twin props biting the water and lifting the nose up so the craft can ride on the cushion of air rushing through the tunnel between the hulls.
We arrived at Hamilton in time to catch John on his second trip around the Hamilton restaurants trying to find us. As mentioned he was on the ferry we missed while waiting for him ...... it all made sense at the time!!.
We meandered up to Le Bella Sierra for a fine meal, with the boys wandering all the way down to the Hamilton Pub to obtain the wine. This was the Keeleys last HCOAQ function for some time as David had accepted a job down south, so tea became a farewell dinner.
We left just in time to catch the last ferry home, but I think the Captain would have been happier if we had missed it. The boisterous game of charades was not to his liking even though we were the only people on the ferry, but it made the trip go faster and kept us inside out of the chill wind. After charades we looked at John's photos from the Austin 7 club get together held over the Easter weekend. Some of these little cars were pedaled from South Australia just to be there. One guy even carried a spare crankshaft lashed with wire to the underside of the chassis, seems these little beasts have a habit of breaking them. We stumbled (were we pushed??) off the ferry at St Lucia around 11:30pm, an excellent way to spend the evening.
