Kestrel floats off to new life in Auckland | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

A former ferry boat and floating restaurant sneaked out of Tauranga Harbour early yesterday after being moored at the downtown waterfront for six years.

MV Kestrel, the iconic 105-year-old wooden vessel, was unbolted from the pontoon off The Strand reclamation at 6.30am and less than an hour later it was through the harbour entrance and heading for Auckland, towed by a tug boat.

Tauranga businessman Mark Scapens sold the former Fullers ferry to the newly formed Kestrel Preservation Society in Auckland after sailing it down from there in 2002.

He wanted it to be an integral part of the Tauranga waterfront re-development and dressed it up into an upmarket restaurant called Kestrel at the Landing.

But the business closed two years ago and the Kestrel had an uncertain future - Tauranga City Council couldn't guarantee a long-term berth for the vessel after the lease ran out in four years and because of that Mr Scapens couldn't attract new tenants.

Living every moment of the Kestrel's stay in Tauranga was Mr Scapens' business and financial manager, Sharon Sutherland, and she watched the classy wooden vessel glide down Pilot Bay from near the Bridge Marina.

"It was sad to see her go but it's going into good hands," she said. "The landscape (on the waterfront) has changed again.

"I sat on the pier and watched Mark proudly sail her into Tauranga eight years ago. And I've been with him through all the work he's done on the Kestrel. It was the end of an era."

Mr Scapens had spent nearly $1 million upgrading the vessel and turning it into a floating restaurant. The pontoon he built with glass walls remains on the water and Mr Scapens is now considering options for the future of this building.

As the Kestrel disappeared from Tauranga, it was heading into a new era. It is likely to be used for harbour cruises in Auckland.

The preservation society's spokesperson, Hugh Gladwell, said the Kestrel would be fitted out and operated to maximise its use by the public.

The society was impressed at the lengths Mr Scapens took to maintain the Kestrel's originality and condition. Thomson Towboats took the Kestrel back to Auckland on a 30-hour journey and the old vessel will tie up on the western side of Queens Wharf for public viewing.