What would you do if you were stranded in the middle of Sydney Harbour in a packed peak-hour ferry which has just broken down? Me? I’d probably give it one hour before I murdered any possible challengers, took over the captaincy and established a new civilisation on the waves.
Nobody did that last night, when passengers on the Manly Ferry were stranded for hours after their ferry broke down about 30 metres from the wharf.
Passengers on a Sydney ferry have spent a frustrating three hours stranded on board, when it broke down during the evening peak. #9News pic.twitter.com/s8xMCH7hiI
— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) March 9, 2017
Transport authorities organised for a couple of rescue craft to pull up alongside the stranded vessel, so passengers could just step over and be whisked to safety. Not so. Rough swells stopped this daring rescue mission from being executed.
Turned out the ferry needed a spare part, which was eventually delivered by water taxi. The 6pm service ended up landing onshore at about 8:30pm.
A passenger named Maciej Skrzyszewski told the Sydney Morning Herald that the captain offered free tea and coffee, so everyone was pretty chill about it all:
Everyone thought that the first boat that was going to come would take us, then they said another one would drop passengers from Manly Wharf and come and pick us up. They tried to connect, but it was a bit rough for them. They opened the small cafe for people to get anything they want, so people could get some tea or a coffee or water.
So it was all fine in the end. Slightly less thrilling than the Manly Ferry being slammed by monster waves earlier in the week.
Source: 9 News.
Photo: 9 News.
