1984 was a momentous year for the ferries and can be seen as the beginning of their rise from the slump of the 1970s. For the duration of the International Garden Festival, a special ferry service was provided to Otterspool Promenade. This service was usually operated by the "Overchurch". The ferries also began to operate summer Manchester Ship Canal cruises, a service which had been popular for many year since the canal opened, but declined somewhat in the 1960s and 1970s. Sailing ships from the Tall Ships' Race visited the river in August 1984, which helped bring patronage to 250,000 over four days, a level unseen for forty years.