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Thread: River Mersey Ferry

  1. #16
    Senior Member shytalk's Avatar
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    We've been through this before a few times, he just keeps repeating it hoping it will convince people it's true.
    You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.
    Winston Churchill

  2. #17
    Senior Member lindylou's Avatar
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    There's no harm intended either as people call it this with affection for the place.

    I've never heard anyone say it in a nasty tone.

  3. #18
    Senior Member Waterways's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev View Post
    Paddys Wigwam - called so by Liverpool people. I don't know why WW is denying this?!
    Because I have never heard it.
    The new Amsterdam at Liverpool?
    Save Liverpool Docks and Waterways - Click

    Deprived of its unique dockland waters Liverpool
    becomes a Venice without canals, just another city, no
    longer of special interest to anyone, least of all the
    tourist. Would we visit a modernised Venice of filled in
    canals to view its modern museum describing
    how it once was?


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  4. #19
    scouserdave
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    Quote Originally Posted by XL391 View Post
    Dave, any more pics of her interior?? When were these from?
    I took loads of pics. These were in February 2006. Here's a few more. I took some in 2003, but couldn't gain access at the time.
    http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/...ris/index.html










  5. #20

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    How about getting a local celebrity to showcase plight of the Royal Iris and start the ball rolling Billy Butler for example

  6. #21
    Senior Member Waterways's Avatar
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    I may be cheaper to build a replica (externally) than renovate the old girl. I like the old light yellow (colour of Wallasey buses) and light green colours.

    Friends of mine were tugmen. One Saturday night they received a mayday from the Royal Iris immobile in mid river - on the Saturday night cruise yobs worked over the crew. A bunch of tugs went to her aid and the crews of the tugs (don't mess with these fellas, my mate was 6 foot 2), stormed the Iris with the police launch behind. They bent a few noses that night. When the police had control they left.
    Last edited by Waterways; 12-18-2006 at 01:02 AM.
    The new Amsterdam at Liverpool?
    Save Liverpool Docks and Waterways - Click

    Deprived of its unique dockland waters Liverpool
    becomes a Venice without canals, just another city, no
    longer of special interest to anyone, least of all the
    tourist. Would we visit a modernised Venice of filled in
    canals to view its modern museum describing
    how it once was?


    Giving Liverpool a full Metro - CLICK
    Rapid-transit rail: Everton, Liverpool & Arena - CLICK

    Save Royal Iris - Sign Petition

  7. #22
    Senior Member Waterways's Avatar
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    The new Amsterdam at Liverpool?
    Save Liverpool Docks and Waterways - Click

    Deprived of its unique dockland waters Liverpool
    becomes a Venice without canals, just another city, no
    longer of special interest to anyone, least of all the
    tourist. Would we visit a modernised Venice of filled in
    canals to view its modern museum describing
    how it once was?


    Giving Liverpool a full Metro - CLICK
    Rapid-transit rail: Everton, Liverpool & Arena - CLICK

    Save Royal Iris - Sign Petition

  8. #23
    Senior Member ChrisGeorge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by w141 View Post
    How about getting a local celebrity to showcase plight of the Royal Iris and start the ball rolling Billy Butler for example
    Well, maybe. Although I should think bringing back the Pooley Gates that used to be at the Sailors' Home might be a more achievable goal.

    Chris
    Christopher T. George
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  9. #24

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    My parents both come from Liverpool so as a kid growimg up in Seacombe hardly a week went by without us using the ferry because every one of our relatives lived over the water, I always looked upon the Royal Iris as being something quite regal saved for the New Brighton trip and river cruises.

    I am finding it rather strange but the photo's of her rotting on the Thames are tugging at my heartstrings, the origional Iris made a triumphant return to the Mersey after her exploits in Zeebrugge how fitting it would be to see the class of 53 sail into the Mersey for her resturation as a highlight of 2008

  10. #25

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    How did you gain access Dave? Was the owner about? I would love to see her back home. Is she in a REALLY bad way? Do you have any more internal pictures of her? The bridge? The engine room?

  11. #26
    Senior Member ChrisGeorge's Avatar
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    Hi Folks

    The plight of the Royal Iris reminds me of the similar straits of the S.S. Catalina, a ferry boat once used to carry passengers from the mainland of California out to Catalina Island. The old ferry boat, commissioned in 1924 by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley to ferry mainlanders to his island, is now partly submerged in Ensenada harbor, Mexico. Preservationists are hoping to salvage her and bring her back to California. The shots of the S.S. Catalina in her present state are as depressing as those of the Royal Iris.

    Chris

    Christopher T. George
    Editor, Ripperologist
    Editor, Loch Raven Review
    http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
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  12. #27
    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
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    A MERSEY ferry service from Liverpool Pier Head to Crosby is being planned as a new tourist attraction for the region.

    It would enable passengers to take a ferry past the Gormleys, as part of a plan to make better use of the River Mersey.

    With other proposals for a new ferry landing stage at New Brighton, the project would enable summer- time cruises taking in Liverpool, Crosby beach, home of Antony Gormley’s Another Place statues, as well as the regenerated New Brighton resort. Last night, the director of Mersey Waterfront, Louise Goodman, said talks with Merseytravel about the Crosby landing stage were already under way.

    It would cost an estimated £6m to create the stage, linked to the redevelopment of the former radar tower at Crosby Beach.

    Ms Goodman added: “We are already looking at the radar tower as a tourist attraction, with a project known as The Observatory.

    “It is technically feasible to go one stage further and build a new ferry landing stage as part of the Observatory project. It is something I would like to see and the early indications are that Merseytravel are supportive.

    “If we have a ferry stage at New Brighton, we could have a brilliant cruise programme. We are sure that being able to sail from Liverpool or Wirral to view the Gormley statues would be a major attraction. It is also part of our determination to make much better use of our waterways.”

    The Mersey Partnership is now marketing the Gormley work of art as a national attraction and examining more ways of improving access to the waterfront at Crosby.

    The proposed expansion of the ferry service, with one or two new landing stages, is now a realistic option for a development programme. Talks will centre on how the Crosby scheme can be funded.

    Managing director of Mersey Waterfront Sara Wilde, also managing director of Trinity Mirror Merseyside, said the scheme was part of a vision to develop the Mersey as a world-class visitor destination.

    “The Mersey Waterfront will plan an increasingly important role in ensuring consistently high-quality design standards and visitor experiences in the coming years,” she said.

    A Merseytravel spokesman said: “We're happy to explore this further and would look seriously at any genuine opportunity to expand other ports of call for the Mersey Ferries. We will certainly discuss the plans for Crosby Marina further and would consider operating ferries to the location if there is a good enough business case.”

    A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “This is an interesting proposal which we will look at as it moves along.”

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  13. #28
    Senior Member Jericho's Avatar
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    Sounds a good idea. I wonder who will finance it? At least once a year we get a story about the ferry link to New Brighton being revived, so maybe this is in that category?

    In the meantime, I hope Mersey ferries (or better still a more ambitious company) reintroduces the old Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company sailing trips to Llandudno and North Wales.

  14. #29

    Default Turn it into a floating hotel?

    I had to google to find this thread, I still can't figure out the indexing here. Anyway, I don't usually "cross post", but have posted this on SSC and wondered if anyone here also had ideas about it.

    My idea is to find out if there is a market for a "floating hotel" ferry with cabins that you could sleep in - so you could board at Liverpool, go for a cruise and then it would spend the night at Seacombe or Woodside before returning you to Liverpool in the morning. It would have its own bar, restaurant and obsevation lounge. Maybe the old Royal Iris could be converted? It would be a really strong business: cruises during the day and evening, and hotel at night. Easyhotels have shown you can create nice rooms in tiny spaces, so it's not necessary to have huge cabins for just one nights stay.

    Currently you can charter one of the ferries for a few thousand quid for the evening, some companies do it for events, and I think that is going to be a growing business with all the conferences in Liverpool from the convention centre. Say 40 cabins @ £100 a night, that is £4,000 a night, and the boat could probably make the same again with morning and afternoon cruises in busy periods and dinners / drinks at night. If it earned say £8,000 a day/night for the busier half the year, and just £4,000 a day/night for the quieter half of the year (ie an average of £6k daily throughout the year) that would be a turnover of £2.2million pounds.

    There might also be a bit of demand for day trips down to Llandundno, which would add to the tourist offer for people staying in Liverpool. Tourists could sail back overnight after a nice day out in north Wales, seeing the glorious Liverpool Bay sunset while they enjoy their drinks and meal on the boat and enjoying a world-famous view of Liverpool over breakfast. Companies could hire it for "overnight" staff away days, which might work out cheaper than doing it on land, or it might also be hired for those companies who want a "captive market" of corporate guests and customers at conferences, eg for evening meal, corporate video etc........although of course you could always jump ship at the Wirral side and get a cab back to town if you did feel a bit trapped I suppose.

    It could also be chartered for weddings, and people spend stupid amounts of money on wedding receptions these days. People could get married in mid-river, have their wedding reception onboard whilst cruising the river, drop off guests at the Pier Head and Wirral at various points in the evening, and the remaining drunken guests who were staying in the cabins could all sleep it off on the boat without the hassle of taxis or getting to hotels etc. I think there would be enough uses to keep demand high year round, which would be important to the economics of the thing. You might close it for a month or two for maintenance work in January and Feb I suppose, if demand was too low, and lay off the casual staff. A staff-sharing deal with the Mersey Ferries might be useful for them and this company. (I don't know the law on this, but if sea burials are allowed, it could also be chartered for funerals, at least tipping ashes into the river / bay if not whole bodies, although presumably that would be a short one hour cruise rather than an overnight thing, and you might not want to publicise that too widely as it might sound a bit gruesome...point I am making is that I think there are dozens of groups of people and companies who might find profitable uses for such a boat).

    http://www.ferryphotos.co.uk/pages/royaliris.htm How many cabins could you get into that boat, leaving space for a large meeting room/bar/restaurant and observation lounge? The economics would I suppose depend upon how big you could go, because a lot of the costs (eg maritime and catering staff, fuel, berthing costs, maintenance) would be fixed anyway. Do you think you could fit 60 cabins in there, say 40 with window views and 20 without? That would make a dramatic change to my back of envelope calculation of £2.2m turnover, which was based on 40 cabins, and its profitability. If the old Royal Iris isn't big enough, there must be loads of larger boats that would be suitable knocking about? Mind you, the value of a boat that the Beatles played on should not be under-estimated, and if it can't be turned into a cruise-hotel-ferry thing, it should certainly be brought back as a floating hotel and be berthed in one of the South Docks. Unlike the replica Cavern, this is the real thing.
    Last edited by Liverpolitan; 05-06-2007 at 05:24 PM.

  15. #30
    PhilipG
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    Default "New" Royal Iris.

    Gerard posted a recent pic of a ferry boat called the 'Royal Iris'.
    I thought names were only passed on when the previous vessel ceased to exist.

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