Whitianga Water Transport Limited sold

David Pierpont, long-time owner of Whitianga Water Transport Limited, has sold the business. David has flawlessly provided the Whitianga ferry service for nearly 40 years.

New owner Fred Acke has had his home in Whitianga for the last four years, where he met his partner Caroline. Fred has been at sea for around 32 years on Super yachts and first sailed into Whitianga in 1989.

"I was pretty sure back then I would end up living here, of all of the world that I have sailed I think Mercury Bay is probably one of the best places to live," says Fred.

Fred and Caroline aren't planning on any immediate changes to the ferry service, although he has made a commitment to build a new ferry to replace the 'Stella B' within a year, "She will be a 50 seater and have character, not some boring looking thing like you might find noncing about Auckland!"

Fred's thoughts on the retiring Dave are of much admiration for a sterling service and job well done, "The poor bugger has had me on his case for the last 3 years, the only way he could get rid of me was to sell me the business, and it's about time he had a Christmas off," says Fred. I wonder how many times he has crossed the harbour"

There will be a slight increase to the fees.

"Council owns, manages and maintains both the Ferry Landing and the Whitianga wharves and there is a cost to maintaining this infrastructure," says Paul Kelly, Mercury Bay Community Board.

"Whitianga ferry fares have not been reviewed and raised for some time. Concession cards won't increase, the price increase is only for the casual rates at this stage," says Mr Kelly.

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