All hands ahoy, me hearties!
Mandurah visitors and residents will be able to get on board a wooden pirate ship and sail in local waters like real salty dogs after the City of Mandurah gave The Pirate Ship Mandurah charter proposal the green light on Tuesday night.
The mastermind behind the project was Yorkshire man Ben Dougherty, who run a similar business in an English coastal town.
Mr Dougherty’s pirate ship will offer pirate-themed children charter tours around the estuary departing from the foreshore’s Town Jetty, if the Department of Transport gives him the green light.
The service will focus less on sightseeing and more on short, themed joy rides for children aged between 3 and 12 years old, with each trip lasting between 15 and 30 minutes.
It is anticipated there will be two full-time employees working at the vessel with the potential to expand it to four full-time staff members during peak tourism season.
The vessel has yet to be bought, but it is anticipated that it will be a British-made 12-metre long wooden boat able to carry 60 passengers at the time, and will dock at the Marina overnight.
The City of Mandurah councillors voted unanimously in favour of the propsal at the last council meeting, allowing the company to run the charter service for the next five years.
The project was welcomed by local councillors who hoped the company would help boost the region’s tourism sector.
“This are the sort of initiatives that put Mandurah on the map,” Mandurah’s deputy mayor Darren Lee said.
Town ward councillor Peter Rogers said the initiative fit with the City of Mandurah’s plans to activate the city’s CBD, such as the monthly food truck and laneway festivals.