The s<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g of the Canterburyby Ruth E. HendersonIt was a bit like the gather<strong>in</strong>g of the clan. Nadia texted itwas “all go” and <strong>to</strong> check that we were head<strong>in</strong>g north. Rogerarrived at Cable Bay after a quiet leisurely Thursday ofexploration by himself at Urupukapuka. Charlie and I turnedup <strong>in</strong> time for d<strong>in</strong>ner and a jo<strong>in</strong>t jaunt the next morn<strong>in</strong>g. Bymidday Sue and Steve had arrived, also early so they couldpaddle out <strong>to</strong> the Canterbury, for a last fond farewell pat.One by one, they arrived. The North Shore and AucklandYakity Yak clubs and Andy from Manukau converged onthe Island. By Friday even<strong>in</strong>g arrivals had reached railwaystation proportions and it was impossible <strong>to</strong> keep up withwho what when and where as tents, laughter and cook<strong>in</strong>gsmells filled the night air. And <strong>in</strong> the morn<strong>in</strong>g we awoke<strong>to</strong> f<strong>in</strong>d even more tents had sprouted <strong>in</strong> the dark. We nownumbered about 25 kayakers.Face pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g production l<strong>in</strong>eThe pageantry, the bunt<strong>in</strong>g28 ISSUE FORTYthree • 2 0 0 7
We were <strong>in</strong> the Bay of Islands <strong>to</strong> witness the scuttl<strong>in</strong>g of HMNZS Canterbury.The 3000 <strong>to</strong>nne warship, a Leander-class frigate, was launched <strong>in</strong> 1970 andproudly served the country for 35 years before be<strong>in</strong>g taken out of commission<strong>in</strong> 2005. Now stripped of salvageable material and pollutants, with the eng<strong>in</strong>eroom, galley and magaz<strong>in</strong>e flooded and with holes cut <strong>in</strong> her sides, she was‘<strong>in</strong> location’ anchored off Deep Water Cove.The forecasted w<strong>in</strong>d failed <strong>to</strong> show, the sun shone and with the s<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>gtimetabled for 1430 hours there was time for other forays. Steve and Sue<strong>to</strong>ok one big pod up, straight-l<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, <strong>to</strong> Cape Brett and through the Hole <strong>in</strong> theRock. Nick and Co went fish<strong>in</strong>g before breakfast, and aga<strong>in</strong> en-route <strong>to</strong> OkeBay where he smoked one for us ‘coastl<strong>in</strong>e huggers’ <strong>to</strong> share.As we drew closer <strong>to</strong> the grey warship and countdown approached, thenumber of yachts launches and fizz boats <strong>in</strong> view swelled by the m<strong>in</strong>ute.Soon we were part of the throng. There was a carnival air, rigg<strong>in</strong>g decked out<strong>in</strong> bunt<strong>in</strong>g and colourful flags, people hail<strong>in</strong>g, and us<strong>in</strong>g Channel 6 <strong>to</strong> locateone another. Two hours <strong>to</strong> wait we gathered for lunch on the steep rocky beachand the hill over-look<strong>in</strong>g the Cove, jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Russell, Ann and others from theNorthland <strong>Kayak</strong> Club and Guy who had driven up for the day. Picnics over– some swam, some got wet as Greg preyed on unsuspect<strong>in</strong>g arrivals withhis latest <strong>to</strong>y, an American <strong>to</strong>rpedo water gun; Sue produced black and redballoons and pots of face pa<strong>in</strong>t - Dave and Jacqui turned <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> production l<strong>in</strong>emake up artists. We were ready.At 1345 we were on the water. The 100 boats I had counted when we hadapproached the Cove were now far <strong>to</strong>o numerous <strong>to</strong> count, apparently, evenfrom a helicopter. Reports the next day varied from the exaggerated “crowd ofbetween 2000 – 2500 recreation boats of all sizes, commercial boats, charterboats, helicopters and fixed-w<strong>in</strong>g aircraft” <strong>to</strong> the understated “specta<strong>to</strong>r flotillaof 300 <strong>to</strong> 400 boats.” In my reckon<strong>in</strong>g there were 1000 boats at anchor and 50kayaks, dozens of d<strong>in</strong>ghies and rubber-duckies, jostl<strong>in</strong>g for the best positionbeh<strong>in</strong>d the 500m cordon barrier.At 1430 an audible groan went up when the s<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g was delayed till 1530. Theday wore on …wait<strong>in</strong>g, wait<strong>in</strong>g, and the bum became numb. VHF exchangesand humorous repartees enterta<strong>in</strong>ed. One cow-cocky protested that he had<strong>to</strong> go home and milk, others ‘asked’ for fresh beer supplies.That new time came and went. We were <strong>to</strong>ld that there would be a one m<strong>in</strong>utecountdown. It never eventuated, so most like me missed captur<strong>in</strong>g on camerathe 8 kg of explosives de<strong>to</strong>nat<strong>in</strong>g with red flashes, <strong>in</strong>stant billow<strong>in</strong>g smoke,and a blacken<strong>in</strong>g sky. The explosives certa<strong>in</strong>ly jolted us <strong>to</strong> attention. It felt likea m<strong>in</strong>or earthquake. Smoke cont<strong>in</strong>ued <strong>to</strong> rise <strong>in</strong> black plumes, and with<strong>in</strong> am<strong>in</strong>ute the Canterbury listed <strong>to</strong> starboard, <strong>to</strong>wards the nearest land. Then thestern sunk, the bow po<strong>in</strong>ted skyward and f<strong>in</strong>ally all that was left of the navy’slast steam warship was bubbles and a patch of white water: a mov<strong>in</strong>g sight. It<strong>to</strong>ok about 4 m<strong>in</strong>utes from ka-boom <strong>to</strong> gone.The occasion was t<strong>in</strong>ged with sadness as some of our crew were Navypersonnel or ex – Navy and had served on the Canterbury. However, muchlike an organ donor sacrifices someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> give life, the sunken ship nowgives the Bay of Islands dive and <strong>to</strong>urism <strong>in</strong>dustry a new playground. Shewill live on as an artificial reef, attract<strong>in</strong>g national and <strong>in</strong>ternational divers.HMNZS Canterbury is still serv<strong>in</strong>g, but for a different purpose, a peacefulone - recreation.Ka-boom and plumes of black smokeWav<strong>in</strong>g goodbyeList<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> starboardGreg gets made upGoneISSUE FORTYthree • 2007 29
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