Tauranga students tour HMNZS Canterbury

Sarah-Jane Stone, Hayley Thomas, Saffron O'Donnell and Ella Carlsen. Photo / Zoe Hunter

A second Royal New Zealand Navy ship has docked at the Port of Tauranga in less than a week. The HMNZS Canterbury cruised into the Tauranga Harbour yesterday and will stay for the weekend. Four Tauranga teenagers were invited on board to check out the impressive 9000-tonne military vessel which followed the Tauranga arrival of HMNZS Wellington on May 17.

The silhouette of a 9000 tonne Royal New Zealand Navy ship appears majestic as it glides along the Tauranga Harbour.

The striking morning sun shines a spotlight on the HMNZS Canterbury as if to announce its entrance into the Port of Tauranga.

Waves splash against the rigid-inflatable boat that is delivering the military sea vessel's next passengers - four students from Mount Maunganui and Tauranga Girls' colleges.

"The navy's next recruits," the crewmen call them.

A crisp morning breeze combs the girls' hair as the inflatable cuts through the waves closer to the Navy ship.

"Yahoo," Royal New Zealand Navy Warrant Officer Reece Golding lets out a cheer, as he breathes in the fresh salt air.

"It's a beautiful morning, couldn't get any better."

Sarah-Jane Stone, 15, Ella Carlsen, 17, Martin Walker, Hayley Thomas, 18, and Saffron O'Donnell, 16. Photo / Zoe Hunter

The inflatable boat edges parallel to the ship before it is hoisted upwards for the passengers to climb aboard.

Once on deck, a view of Mauao can be seen from all angles and provides a perfect backdrop.

"It's beautiful," says Martin Walker, who was made the ship's commanding officer just three weeks earlier.

Walker joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1989 as a midshipman and undertook common and professional training at HMNZS Tamaki before posting to sea at the beginning of 1990.

"Tauranga was my first port on the HMNZS Tui," he says. "It is awesome to be back again."

The HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Tauranga on May 23. Photo / Zoe Hunter

Watchkeeper Alexander Hart is also looking forward to being back in the Mount.

The former Mount Maunganui College student joined the navy in 2017 and has never looked back.

"I love it here," he says. "I love the sea and joining the navy had always in the back of my mind."

Hart's love and loyalty for the navy is evident as he leads Mount Maunganui College students Ella Carlsen, Saffron O'Donnell, Hayley Thomas and Tauranga Girls' College's Sarah-Jane Stone on a tour of the HMNZS Canterbury.

Alexander Hart, Hayley Thomas, Saffron O'Donnell, Ella Carlsen, and Sarah-Jane Stone. Photo / Zoe Hunter

Seventeen-year-old Ella Carlsen says her koro, who served in the New Zealand Army before he passed away on Anzac Day 2019, would be watching over her as she toured the navy ship.

"It is very eye-opening seeing what he might have seen," she says. "You don't get to do this every day."

Saffron O'Donnell's father Murray O'Donnell joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1964.

"It is cool to see how he lived. It makes me understand him a lot more," says the 16-year-old.

Tauranga Girls' College student Sarah-Jane Stone hopes to one day become a medic with the navy.

The 15-year-old cricketer hopes to continue her sporting career as well as serve in the navy. "I can still play my sport as well as serve my country," she says.

Hayley Thomas, 18, says the tour helped to cement her aspirations of becoming a navy engineer.

"It is really valuable to form connections and hear their stories and take their advice," she says.

Specifications

Displacement: 9000 tonnes
Beam: 23.4m
Draught: 5.4m
Length: 131m
Speed: 20 knots
Range: 6000+ nautical miles at 18 knots
Complement: 78 (core crew), 10 (flight personnel), 4 (Government agencies), 7 (army ship's staff), 24 (trainees), 243 (embarked force). Total 366
Two medium landing craft (23m/60 tonnes)