KEY POINTS:
Suspending a 23m-long America's Cup-winning yacht inside a building is no mean feat.
But that's exactly what's going to happen at the New Zealand National Maritime Museum on the Auckland waterfront this year.
The NZ32 Black Magic yacht will be installed into the building as part of a $9 million memorial, titled Blue Water Black Magic, A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.
It will be the centrepiece of the new exhibition, and will be surrounded by an interactive display over three levels.
Sir Peter, one of New Zealand's greatest yachtsmen, was shot and killed by robbers in the Amazon in 2001.
Construction to expand the Maritime Museum started in September and is due to be completed towards the end of May. An official opening is expected in December.
The Princes Wharf side of the museum will be pushed out at the northern end and largely wrapped in green, blue and silvery white polycarbonate translucent panels to create a sense of shimmering water.
Among the exhibits will be personal items, including the pair of red socks Sir Peter wore during Team New Zealand's successful 1995 America's Cup campaign.
Many of the exhibits will be on loan from his widow Pippa, Lady Blake, who said one of the most appealing aspects of the project was the opportunity it would offer young people to learn about her late husband's achievements and act as an encouragement to work hard towards their own goals.
'Everything is going exceedingly well," said Alistair Aitken, chairman of the museum.
Although the building programme would be finished mid-year, the fit-out, including some of the electronic interpretation devices, would take a lot longer, he said.
"There will be a ramp which goes around the NZ32 yacht so people can start at ground level and work their way up. As they do, they can look at the smaller yachts, which were originally the centre of the museum's Hall of Yachting," Mr Aitken said.
The new exhibition in effect covered various aspects of yachting.
"It covers the history of yachting that brought New Zealand to such a prominent position. New Zealand has won all the Blue Water trophies, at one time or another, and participated in just about every team we compete against as well.
"The exhibition starts with the P class, which is the yacht that most small boys start with. And then it goes right up to NZ32 at 23m.
"The sequence of yachts from the smallest right up to the largest shows how yachting has progressed, as the yachtsmen themselves have matured.
"The other part of the exhibition is a tribute to Sir Peter, covering his yachting achievements, and also his environmental accomplishments. It's a reflection of our marine industry and we're really excited about it."
Mr Aitken said the Maritime Museum has had excellent co-operation from Te Papa, which paid most of the initial development costs, including work by primary architect Pete Bossley.
The Government pledged $2.5 million towards the project, followed by the Auckland City Council, which donated $2 million in 2003.
Donations also came from the Lion Foundation, ASB Community Trust, Southern Trust and the Perry Foundation, each donating $500,000. The Lottery Grants Board for Environment and Heritage gave $400,000.
More money was received through a mixture of private and commercial donations.
While the building extension and the core exhibition was fully funded, the museum was still looking for money to complete the extra interactive exhibitions, museum chief executive Paul Evans said.
The original plans for a $10 million "ship-in-a-bottle" memorial at the National Maritime Museum drew little enthusiasm from Aucklanders, and sparked debate about how best to honour the inspirational sailor.
Lady Blake was quite keen to make sure the exhibition was more than just about Sir Peter himself, Mr Evans said.
"And for our part, we felt we needed to reflect the history of yachting."
Mr Evans said the intended official opening date was December, with a view to coinciding it with a visit from Lady Blake.
"We're in the process of determining dates now, and there's some key politicians we need to look to as well."
The Maritime Museum opened in 1993 and this was the first major change within it for some time.
An update and preview will be held at the museum on February 9, where stakeholders and funding organisations will be updated on progress.
- NZPA
