Sydney hydrofoils
The Sydney hydrofoils were a class of hydrofoils operated by Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service.History
On 30 December 1964, the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company took delivery of a 75-seat PT20 hydrofoil from Hitachi, Kanagawa. Named Manly III, it entered service on 7 January 1965 taking 15 minutes to cover the journey from Circular Quay to Manly compared to 35 minutes for conventional ferries.
In November 1966, a larger 140-seat Rodriguez PT50 hydrofoil built by Cantiere navale di Ancona, Ancona entered service. Named Fairlight, it would be joined by the Dee Why in 1970 and Curl Curl in 1973. These were joined by the Palm Beach purchased second hand from Macau in 1975 and the Long Reef from Italy in 1978.
In 1984/85, two 235-seat hydrofoils, Manly IV and Sydney entered service. The State Transit Authority replaced its remaining hydrofoils with three JetCats, with the last operating on 18 March 1991. The remaining vessels were sold for further service on the Mediterranean Sea. Three Hydrofoils were scrapped at Homebush Bay in 1988. These were Fairlight, Dee Why and Palm Beach.
The Fairlight CMI, a pioneering digital synthesizer, was named for the Fairlight II, which, in turn, was named after Fairlight, New South Wales.Vessels
