Sinking of the F69
We weren’t sure what we to do this afternoon. While out doing some errands in the car, we were listening to the radio and the announcer reminded the listeners that this afternoon the F69 was being sunk in the harbour. The F69 is a navy frigate that has been docked outside Te Papa Museum for the past few months. There were parties every weekend on this decommissioned ship. I never made it out but my work colleagues tell me it was cool to party on a navy ship. At 3pm November 12th, they were going to sink this ship in the harbour to create an artificial reef.
We decided that this would be fun to watch so we headed for the beach. We parked on the street rather than pay the $5 parking, which meant we were 5 minutes away from the beach rather than 2 minutes….not so bad. We were also parked right next to a playground. We had arrived about an hour early so we played there for a while. At the playground we met one of J’s classmates and her family, which was neat. We spent the rest of the afternoon with them.
At 2:30pm we made our way to the beach. What a beautiful beach it was….blue and green water, the waves crashing against the shore, the sun shining, and a huge grey ship in the sea surrounded by 20-30 boats watching the spectacle from the water.
The kids played in the surf and sand while we waited. We stripped N down to his nappy (diaper) so that his pants didn’t get wet…instead he got his diaper and shirt wet and got himself covered in sand, head to toe.
As with most things, there was a little protest….some people had put signs outside their houses saying things like “Don’t make the sea an aquarium”. Maybe I don’t understand, but I can’t see anything wrong with creating an artificial habitat for sea creatures and a great tourist attraction to the area.
At a little after three, the fog horns sounded twice and cannons went off to announce the fun was about to begin. The explosions on the boat were awesome. Not sure how much was for show and how much was necessary to bring the ship down. There were three or four little explosions, some fireworks, and then a movie-style-car-blowing-up type explosion, including the mushroom cloud. I was amazed by how fast it sunk…probably only 5 minutes and it was out of sight. Talie, when she was taking J to the toilet, saw divers all ready to be the first to visit the ship under the sea.
What a great day at the beach!
We decided that this would be fun to watch so we headed for the beach. We parked on the street rather than pay the $5 parking, which meant we were 5 minutes away from the beach rather than 2 minutes….not so bad. We were also parked right next to a playground. We had arrived about an hour early so we played there for a while. At the playground we met one of J’s classmates and her family, which was neat. We spent the rest of the afternoon with them.
At 2:30pm we made our way to the beach. What a beautiful beach it was….blue and green water, the waves crashing against the shore, the sun shining, and a huge grey ship in the sea surrounded by 20-30 boats watching the spectacle from the water.
The kids played in the surf and sand while we waited. We stripped N down to his nappy (diaper) so that his pants didn’t get wet…instead he got his diaper and shirt wet and got himself covered in sand, head to toe.
As with most things, there was a little protest….some people had put signs outside their houses saying things like “Don’t make the sea an aquarium”. Maybe I don’t understand, but I can’t see anything wrong with creating an artificial habitat for sea creatures and a great tourist attraction to the area.
At a little after three, the fog horns sounded twice and cannons went off to announce the fun was about to begin. The explosions on the boat were awesome. Not sure how much was for show and how much was necessary to bring the ship down. There were three or four little explosions, some fireworks, and then a movie-style-car-blowing-up type explosion, including the mushroom cloud. I was amazed by how fast it sunk…probably only 5 minutes and it was out of sight. Talie, when she was taking J to the toilet, saw divers all ready to be the first to visit the ship under the sea.
What a great day at the beach!
Comments
This news site has a good picture: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3477699a11,00.html
T