Waves of nostalgia as service launched into history books

Skipper Leung Kam-yip sailed into history with dozens of passengers last night as he captained the last trip on the 36-year-old North Point-Kwun Tong ferry route.

The final trip, at 8pm, marked an end to the 35-year career of Mr Leung who was told by the Hong Kong & Yaumati Ferry Company yesterday that he was among the 300 staff to be dismissed following a reshuffle of ferry services.

'There's no choice. I feel very sad, but that's life,' Mr Leung said. The 55-year-old skipper said the number of passengers taking the ferry had dropped over the years.

'There would be a ferry load of passengers in the past. But today, like this outgoing route, there are only a few passengers for some of the trips,' he said.

Among the dozen passengers was Wong Hung-to, 56, reviving memories of days gone by. 'My girlfriend, now my wife, lived in Kwun Tong and I worked on Hong Kong Island. 'The ferry was the only inexpensive public transport available in 1978. She often waited for me at the pier. It's good to take a ferry. The air is fresh and it's comfortable,' he said.

The comfort of a ferry ride also attracted the Lauders, who came from Canada to Hong Kong last November and have taken the route every day since. 'It's a treasure to us. We're very disappointed it's closing. It's like taking away the heritage of Hong Kong,' Alisa Lauder, 48, said.