By the time Aucklander Kate Farrant turned 30 in September, her 1960s kauri ex-Fullers ferry, the Bay Belle, was ready to host the party. The celebration marked the start of a new decade and launched a bold new chapter in her life.
She bought the Bay Belle well over a year ago, intent on resurrecting the historic ferry to its former glory as well as giving her a new life as a floating pizza restaurant – a new departure for a vessel that has already had a rich and varied history.
The Bay Belle, built at Okiato in the Bay of Islands, was originally intended to ply the well-known ‘Cream Trip.’ This trip was a popular tourist attraction, where for minimal cost a visitor could spend all day on the vessel delivering mail, freight, and groceries to isolated farms and islands, meeting residents and having a great day in the Bay. The journey retraced the route of the original Cream Trip, when cream cans were picked up from farms. She had a top speed of 11 knots and was painted light green and white.
In the 1970s the Bay Belle became a passenger ferry transporting people from Paihia to Russell. By the time she retired, the Bay Belle had carried over 5.3 million passengers and travelled the equivalent of 24 times round the world.
With Kate Farrant’s 30th birthday celebration now over, the vessel will be put to work to earn her keep. Farrant aims to have the business up and running this summer, with the Bay Belle re-imagined as a floating pizza restaurant and social hub for local boaties in the Hauraki Gulf.
Farrant, who calls herself an “extreme extrovert,” bought the 57-foot, 65-year-old ferry from a deceased estate listing on TradeMe in October 2024 with exactly that in mind. The vessel came with an impressive ecosystem, fostered by the waters in Paroa Bay, noted for its extreme marine growth. Though the Bay Belle was clearly in need of major work, Farrant saw her potential.
She drew inspiration from Woody Bay Pizzeria on Rakino Island, once run by local Alf Newton, who served boaties anchored up in the bay. Before the business closed in 2023, Newton made up to 150 pizzas a day when the wind was favourable, but the pizzeria struggled for business when there was anything more than a lick of wind from the west.
Newton has been an integral part of Farrant’s journey, teaching her how to make great pizzas and providing encouragement to embark on this ambitious project. Now in Vietnam, he is only a phone call away when she needs help.
Also only a phone call away is Bay Belle’s former skipper, Charlotte Ebbett. Farrant was thrilled to meet Charlotte earlier this year. Having skippered her for 23 years, almost half the vessel’s life as a Fullers ferry, Charlotte’s expertise and passion for the vessel are invaluable to Farrant. Ebbett has described the Bay Belle as “a mentor, a trusty workmate, an on-the-job engineering tutor, and, in the end, my best friend.”
When Ebbett saw Farrant live on the Breakfast morning show, she reached out to offer her support. The moment of their meeting is captured on a small video on Bay Belle’s Facebook page. In the video we see Ebbett take the Bay Belle out on the water for the first time in 13 years, as well as inspecting the engine and diagnosing a fault. Shortly after, Ebbett gifts Farrant Bay Belle’s old gear shift lever, “Passing over to the next generation,” Ebbett remarks.
Farrant describes the Bay Belle project as her “heart and soul” and the foundation of a long-term business that blends her love of sailing and cooking.
Farrant says she prefers to teach herself rather than go through conventional channels. Her culinary skills were sparked early when her mother started a business and her father was left in charge of meals. “He had a very limited repertoire,” she said. So, at age nine, she decided to learn how to make decent food. Before long, she and her competitive father were watching MasterChef together, trying to outdo one another in the kitchen. She says her father is now an excellent cook. These playful contests nurtured her love of cooking.
Sailing is a more recent obsession. As a child she had sailed her father’s Sunburst during summer holidays, but until recently Farrant hadn’t thought much about a return to the water. She had been occupied with getting her glider pilot’s licence. COVID restrictions changed her mind. The limitations compelled her to seek the freedom of the sea. She began joining friends on their boats and enjoyed it so much she dreamed of having her own vessel, so she spontaneously bought a 1969 Raven 26.
Friends were quick to help her learn how to sail and maintain the keelboat. Through them, she met American seafarer Captain Geoffrey Jones, who owned the Alvei, a 100-year-old schooner stuck in New Zealand due to COVID. Alvei is part of a nonprofit sailing co-operative that retraces old shipping routes and teaches traditional sailing skills.
The story of the Alvei resonated with Farrant from the get-go. The three-masted topsail schooner was purchased by Jones for $US100 from a deceased estate. He then used volunteers to restore and maintain the vessel while travelling around the world. Farrant was captivated by the story of the Alvei and the opportunity she represented.
Farrant flew to the United States to join the Alvei’s crew as a volunteer, soon becoming the ship’s cook. Over nine months, she sailed with Alvei to Nova Scotia and the Bras d’Or lake, then down the east coast of America to Suriname, via Bermuda. After returning home to reconnect with family, she later rejoined the schooner in Ireland, sailing through the centre of Scotland on to Amsterdam over six months, once again as cook.
The experience of provisioning for sea voyages and spending weeks on the ocean away from the amenities of civilisation taught her to be resourceful. “I’m like a kitchen Rain Man. I can walk into any pantry and come up with a menu based on what’s there.”
Although she loved her time on the Alvei, Farrant yearned to plant roots closer to home, hence the idea of a floating restaurant concept and Bay Belle’s restoration in the Hauraki Gulf.
Bay Belle had fallen out of survey when she retired as a Fullers Ferry in 2011. Pre-sale inspections didn’t include a sea trial or out-of-water survey, so the condition below the waterline was the first big question to be resolved. In January 2025 Bay Belle was hauled at Hobsonville Marina. The survey involved removing the propeller and shaft, removing rotten plywood cladding, cleaning the bilges and exposing various areas for a full commercial survey inspection. Fortunately, there was no hull rot, although fasteners were added and several pulled seams were caulked. Her entire exhaust system had deteriorated, so she was fitted with a new stainless-steel muffler and exhaust system. After a repaint, taking her hull from white to dusty pastel green, all exterior grinding and sanding was completed, showing off her wooden bulwarks.
“The Bay Belle was built with no plans. She’s a brick shithouse. I think people built boats well using materials they could find, so I’m just keeping that history alive. The craftsmanship is incredible.”
Cotton caulking and marine sealant were used in the seams between her decks and hull planks. Winter brought with it rain anxiety since the water threatened to seep into every part of Bay Belle, but Farrant learned how to shrink wrap, after being donated huge amounts of plastic sheeting from various companies happy to help. This has been crucial to enable work to continue through the winter.
The next steps Farrant must tackle will be to bring the vessel up to the current regulations, mostly related to electrical, safety and firefighting. Given that she plans to install a woodfired pizza oven exceeding a tonne, it was crucial to employ a naval architect and to obtain stability information for design approval and, of course, the placement of the pizza oven, tanks, batteries and generators.
Eventually, Farrant wants an open-plan kitchen utilising the existing pop-out windows so guests can sit and watch the sea while they eat. Bean bags, live music, and cocktails are all part of the vision. Farrant’s pizza oven should be able to churn out 250 pizzas daily – Napoli-style: soft, elastic bases with puffy blistered crusts. She and Newton have already hosted pizza parties on Rakino Island to test her recipes.
The Bay Belle will be able to seat 49. If Farrant wants to expand capacity, she may need to make structural and further stability-related alterations. The boat already came with 150 life jackets – leftover from her passenger service days. When she is up and running, the Bay Belle will cruise between Rakino, Waiheke, and Auckland three or four days a week in summer. Boaties will reach the boat via tender and either hop on board or grab takeaways. If possible, the boat will dock in Auckland, where she could function as a pop-up restaurant.
Meanwhile, Farrant’s working toward her captain’s licence. The process of restoring the Bay Belle, she says, has been like an internship in boatbuilding, leadership, and problem-solving. Currently, an entirely self-funded mission, where possible, Farrant has used salvaged materials and enlisted volunteers. Nevertheless, she says the project has taken longer than expected.
Restoring the ferry has been demanding – and, at times, exasperating – but mostly, Farrant says she feels lucky to be engaged in something so meaningful even if her hair is perpetually caked in dust and all her clothes have become work clothes.
On the plus side, she’s become stronger and more flexible, both mentally and physically. The project has even strengthened her bond with family. Her parents have stepped up – hosting volunteers, helping with the refit, offering business advice. Her accountant mother is teaching her how to run the enterprise; her architect father has workshopped the layout and drawn up the plans.
She’s also been moved by the generosity of strangers – locals and businesses offering time, products, or support. The boat is currently on a Rakino Island mooring donated by a local.
“I’m humbled by everyone who wants this to happen. It’s not just about me anymore. This is about bringing joy and adding to the culture of the Hauraki Gulf. The Bay Belle feels like a warm hug whenever I step onboard, and I hope she will bring people together, strengthening the community.”
Farrant has been documenting the journey on Facebook and Instagram, building an ever-growing community of support around her for the project.
Instagram: baybellenz
Facebook: Bay Belle
See Kate speak at the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival
Bay Belle is featuring at the 2026 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, and owner Kate Farrant will share her restoration journey in person.
From no experience to collectively succeeding – Stories from the Bay Belle
Sunday 15 March 2026
1.30pm to 2.00pm
New Zealand Maritime Museum, Auckland
Kate will speak about taking on a 1960 ex Fullers Bay of Islands ferry with no formal boatbuilding experience and a limited budget, and how volunteers, friends and supporters helped return Bay Belle to life.
If you are attending the Festival, this is a rare chance to hear first hand how one young owner brought an icon back from retirement and into a bold new chapter.
