The Maritime Museum and Te Papa and are delighted to announce that over the last 24 hours, NZL32 has been successfully delivered into Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake. It all began around 5:00pm on Wednesday 5 August, with NZL32 transported on the back of a truck from its temporary home in the Western Viaduct Harbour. The hull was then craned from dry land onto a barge.
The barge chugged across the water to the northern tip of the Maritime Museum on Hobson Wharf, and there it was moored until midnight. In the wee small hours of Thursday 6 August Sean Reagan, of Emirates Team New Zealand, and his team lifted NZL32 from the barge and placed her back on terra firma, on a purpose built platform cantilevered out over the water.
Then with a bit of brute strength NZL32 began her journey inside.
Having measured the height of the hull and the height of the hole in the wall several hundred times, we were all confident (albeit a little nervous) that she would fit. But would the grinders going to be too high? If we heard the sound of an angle grinder being fired up, we knew we were in deep trouble! However under the watchful eye of Robert Clendon, from Te Papa, NZL32 slid into the building with ease and an incredibly generous 50mm to spare!
By now it was 3:30am and time to get some sleep. After two solid hours of shut eye, we were back to action stations, getting ready to feed fifty hungry crew and preparing for the media to arrive.
At 6:45am the movement began again, and within an hour the 5 tonne hull in all its glory was suspended in mid-air and being attached to its mast and rigging that had been hung from the ceiling. Next to join in was the boom, then the keel and finally the addition of the bulb, complete with flaming decals.
At 6:45am the movement began again, and within an hour the 5 tonne hull in all its glory was suspended in mid-air and being attached to its mast and rigging that had been hung from the ceiling. Next to join in was the boom, then the keel and finally the addition of the bulb, complete with flaming decals.
Overall a very exciting and energetic day; a true milestone in the development of the exhibition. For our exhibition design and installation team, Workshop E, it’s back to business as usual and in coming weeks we will see the installation of the fun and engaging interactive exhibits – watch this space. Now it’s well and truly time for bed!
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