Venture finally sunk

The King Kong vessel The Venture was finally sunk on Tuesday Feb 9th, around 12:30pm. Originally planned for Monday, the scuttling operation couldn't go ahead due to weather conditons (the last thing anybody wanted was the ship going down on the way there!) but Tuesdays conditions were as perfect as I've ever seen them in Wellington - mirror smooth seas and windstill conditions. Later on in the day I watched a pod of about 15-20 dolphins jumping around the Petone pier.


I couldn't make it out to the sinking, and missed it leaving the dock for the last time as well, but a colleague of mine managed to take a few pics before it left.

(Pictures by Bryn Lloyd)

One of the people who's shown lots of interest in the ship (and who has been involved with other local scuttling operations, is the appropriately named Marco Zeeman, who managed to get close enough to the sinking to document the event - there's a video of the final moments on the local NZ news site Stuff.co.nz.


I saw the lonely red tugboat return into the Wellington harbour around 4:30pm - red, like the executioner's axe.

  - Jack M.

Venture will be sunk Tuesday 8th

Today was going to be the final day on the surface for the King Kong vessel The Venture, but due tothe weather conditions, it looks like it's had a stay of execution by one extra day. According to the Harbour Master, on Tuesday morning at 7:00am, the tug will arrive at the dock, and will tow The Venture out to sea for its final voyage.

I'm working on a tour tomorrow but I'll do my best to get there before work starts, hopefully I'll be able to take a few last pictures of it as it leaves.


Here is a great shot of the venture a little while ago, taken by one of my readers, Tim Prebble. Tim, great shot by the way! It was obviously taken before last week, when it still had both masts! I love the fog behind it! (For those unfamiliar with the area - behind it should be the hills of Miramar, and behind that, the hills of the Hutt Valley)...

(photo by Tim Prebble)

As a side issue, I was interviewed by Radio NZ's Tim Graham last week about it, and although I tried to keep things as positive as possible, they managed to turn my 5 minute interview into three pretty negative sounding soundbites, which is, I suppose, the power of the old media at work. At least he pronounced my name correctly. On the whole though, the piece is well balanced, although it sounded like Peter Jackson was somehow to blame for not covering the cost of the operation...? It hasn't been his ship for what, 4 years or so?

For those who'd like a listen to the podcast, it's available on the Radio NZ website. The link searches on all things "King Kong" so there may be other choice items there (currently there's still an interview from Philippa Boyens there as well). You can also subscribe to the Radio NZ podcasts through iTunes.

  - Jack

King Kong's Venture mast removed

I got a call from the Wellington Harbour Master yesterday giving me a quick heads-up to "something I might not want to miss" - one lucky person has managed to secure quite a major souvenir off the now doomed King Kong vessel, the Venture. This morning the crew was due to remove the main mast off the front of the boat (as you can tell I'm not of the sailor ilk, or I'm sure I would have called it the bow or something. Or the aft? Can't remember which is the front bit).

Underway I picked up a few mates who might be interested in witnessing the historical event, and we arrived at the Miramar Wharf just after 8:30am, just in time to watch the proceedings.

As we arrived, the mast was still up, although the rope ladders to both side were already hanging slack. The crane arrived shortly after, and started extending towards the top of the mast. The mast was secured into place with the crane as well as a few other ropes from the side, so that it won't fall to the ground (or worse, on the wet side of the boat) after the cutting is done.

One of the workers started seriously cutting through the mast. The whole process took about a minute or so.



He left a few very small tabs connected, so that the crane was besically keeping it in place.

Here's the cutting process in action (let me know if it doesn't work; it's my first YouTube video) :)

The blue ribbon cable in the photo was one of the last support left, apart from the steel cable above it (not in this picture). Once that was removed, the mast was loose. Here's the final moments of the mast, for posterity;

And off it came. It was a bit of a sad sight, a mastless ship. Especially after seeing it every day, and pointing it out to literally hundreds of people over the last four years.

On closer inspection, the mast did have a few treasures still on it - two lovely glass lamps.

I'm hoping the new owners will put the whole thing upright again somewhere, possibly even in a publicly accessible place. They certainly looked pretty chuffed with themselves afterwards!

 

After speaking to the Harbour Master again, it looks like the final paperwork on the sinking of the vessel will be completed next Monday the 8th of Feb. After that, they will wait for the right conditions - less than a one meter swell, less than 15 knot winds, and two tugboats have to be available for the whole day (in other words, not on a cruiseship day, of which there are four next week). I couldn't help thinking that if we have to wait for a 15 knot wind (or less!) here in windy Wellington, it may not go down for a few more years! But I suspect I'm being overly optimistic (or pessimistic, about our weather).

In any case, its days are numbered. More updates as they come to hand!

  - Jack

For Sale - King Kong's Venture Porthole, nz$100

The Greater Wellington Regional Council has been busy stripping the King Kong boat Venture (actual name was the Manuia), ready for its scuttling exercise later next month. This means getting anything off it that would float back to the surface later (eg, wood), removing anything environmentally hazardous (eg, plastics), and taking off anything that might be nice to keep.

They are having a bit of difficulty getting some of it off though, the boat is a bit of a rustheap at the moment, and all the good bits are stuck pretty fast to the ship, apparently. However, one Porthole has made it off the ship properly so far, and it's available for purchase through NZ's premium auction site, TradeMe. The starting price is a mere nz$100, which is more than fair - it's made from bronze/brass and glass, and would look stunning built into your home somewhere.

Take a look at the auction here - it will run until Tuesday the 26th of January.

The porthole comes with a handwritten letter of authenticity signed by the Wellington Harbour Master.

The proceeds of the auction will go back to the region's ratepayers, to help cover the expenses of stripping the vessel and towing it out to sea.


The catch is that TradeMe is a New Zealand only auction site. If anybody is interested in making a bid from overseas, please let me know, I'm happy to bid/purchase on behalf as long as I know your bid is genuine. Drop me a line - but do so quickly!


For more details, about the state of the ship, check out the local newspaper's report today in the Dominion Post.

I'm also trying to get support for people to join me on a charter vessel on the day of the sinking, to witness the event. It could be a long day - expect at least a 10 hour day onboard (but fully catered). Again, get hold of me ASAP if you're keen. Seating will be strictly limited, and will go on a first-come, first-served basis. The ship goes down early February.


  - Jack M.

King Kong boat "The Venture" is going down - real soon!

I've been talking to the Wellington's Deputy Harbour Master, Patrick Atwood, about the fate of the Venture that was used in King Kong. The boat used to belong to Peter Jackson (or at least to one of his companies, I guess) but he sold it years ago, right after the movie was completed. It's been sitting on the wharf all this time, slowly rusting away. I've showed the boat to most of my guests over the years, as it's just at the entrance of the Miramar suburb that we visit on the way to the Weta Cave.

I'd noticed that there had been some action on the boat lately - a pile of old firewood and some odds and ends from the boat, the occasional Wgtn City Council vehicle parked beside it, that sort of thing. So I introduced myself a month or so ago to the council official, and we got to chatting about it. He gave me some information that I blogged already in an earlier post.

I've spoken to him again, and it looks like the approximate date is set. The final cleanup is due to be completed somewhere in the first week of February, and the ship will be towed out to sea, to an undivable position unfortunately (approx 1.7km deep!), where they will open the sea valves, and it will slowly take on water. There will be no explosive charges or anything theatrical like that.

I'm currently trying to gauge interest with a few local groups to see if anyone is keen to come out with us - if I get enough people that want to see it going down, I can arrange a tourboat to follow along from an appropriate distance. The tourboat is lined up already, and I'll be talking to the captain later today.


As an aside, Patrick has managed to salvage a few choice items off the ship, and will contact me when he has them ready for eBay. I'll announce the auction as soon as I know about it. I understand the first item will be one of the portholes, with possibly more to follow. The anchor unfortunately has already gone, luckily to a local museum.

More details when they come to hand.

  - Jack M.

Two months left for King Kong ship...

The ship used by Peter Jackson for the movie King Kong is finally to be turned into a diving attraction, somewhere off the Wellington south coast.

The aging fishing vessel, originally named "Manuia" and built in the Netherlands in 1965, was bought for the King Kong production around 2004. It was heavily modified by the Weta Workshop to resemble an old 1890's ship, complete with smoke-stack. The original red/green colours were replaced with black, yellow and rust coloured paint, and the general shape was changed as well.

After the movie was completed, it stayed on the edge of the Miramar peninsula, where it's been moored ever since.

Now, word has it that the King Kong ship is finally going to be sunk, around mid February 2010. This has been widely expected for about three years now but the signs are pretty solid this time. Slowly, the ship is being stripped of all furnishings and non-sinkable items, and anything environmentally unfriendly. It is my expectation that it will be towed out to sea and scuttled somewhere near Wellington waters, to attract divers.

Before it's completely stripped, I hope to get a few choice souvenirs off it, if there's anything left - I know for instance that a lot of the external rivets on the hull exterior are fake, and would make great collectible items.

NB - the horizontal line of rivets is has a gap where the paint has flaked

off, taking the rivets with it - obviously glued on to the side.

Let me know if anyone is interested - I can't make any promises but I'll see what I can do!

  - Jack M

Worser Bay School (in Miramar) auctioning off Weta Collectible

Got this information from Miramar Mike

 

Mike Riversdale said...

As you probably know Worser Bay School here in Miramar is having it's annual fair on Sun 1st Nov (11am-2pm) and along with the circus theme there is a "silent auction". "So?", I hear you say - well, one prize (to be given out at 1pm) is: "King Kong Bookends personally signed by Richard Taylor" Thought that might interest you and your (local) readers :-)

Looks indeed pretty interesting. The fair is always a great affair - I remember that a few years ago one of the ROTK Oscar winners who had a child at the school was offering the opportunity to get photographed with an Oscar for $5 or something like that. Seemed like an excellent way to raise funds for the school!

 

I'm not quite sure what a "silent auction" entails but if you're local to the area, don't miss this chance to do some good for the community while at the same time running a good chance to pick up a fantastic collectible!

Unfortunately, I'm going to miss it as I'll be moving house that day, which will entail a lot of floor scrubbing if I want to see my bond back. Never mind - maybe next year!

There's more information on the school's website.

  - Jack M.