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New catamaran a $5 million boost
to West Coast/Tasmanian tourism
Strahan-based Gordon River cruise operator, World Heritage Cruises, launched a new $5 million,
222-passenger cruise catamaran in Hobart 28-November 2007.
The new vessel, the seventh built for
WHC by Hobart marine construction specialists Richardson Devine Marine, was named Eagle by
the Minister for Tourism, Arts and the Environment, Paula Wriedt at a ceremony at RDM's new
boat building facilities in Prince of Wales Bay.
Speaking at the ceremony, WHC Director, Troy Grining, said the new vessel marked a significant
step forward not only for the company and West Coast tourism but also for the wider Tasmanian
tourism industry.
"This new vessel is the biggest we have built for day cruising on the Gordon
River and is the biggest investment we have made to date in the tourism industry", Troy said.
"Eagle will be bring a new dimension to wilderness cruising in Tasmania and will give passengers
a genuine feel for, and appreciation of, the World Heritage Area which they have very often
traveled long distances to experience", he said.
The all-aluminium 35m catamaran will offer passengers two levels of seating comfort on three
decks
, she has large windows offering panoramic views, a reference library and a children's play
area.
Five generations of the Grining family have been in the vanguard of Gordon River cruising for
more
than a century and the new vessel's design and construction incorporates every possible
environmental protection feature - many of which the Grinings helped to devise, drawing on their
wealth of wilderness cruising experience.
The new vessel has been named for the first boat launched by Harry Grining, an early settler in
Strahan, who built the original Eagle in around 1897 to ferry goods and (mainly) Victorian visitors
around Macquarie Harbour and into the King and Gordon Rivers.
Eagle begin service in Strahan on December 10 2007 after undergoing final sea trials in Hobart.
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