The Wellington to stand guard for Auckland regatta

The HMNZS Wellington is the guard ship of this year's regatta. Photo / New Zealand Defence Force

Every year a Navy ship is selected to lead the Auckland Anniversary Regatta. Loaded with VIPs and Navy crew, the vessel becomes the guard ship for the regatta and is the platform from which races are started.

This year, for the 171st Anniversary and the first regatta of the new Supercity, the guard ship honour has been bestowed on the HMNZS Wellington, an 85 metre offshore patrol vessel.

The Wellington is the Navy's newest ship, launched in October 2007. Navy spokeswoman Lieutenant Sarah Campbell said: "We put it in the annual plan, we know this is coming up," she said. "We spread it around the ships so every ship gets a chance to be guard ship. It's a great opportunity for people to see what the Navy has."

The 1900-tonne Wellington was acquired under a Ministry of Defence programme named Project Protector. Through the project, seven new vessels including the Wellington's sister ship HMNZS Otago, were added to the Navy fleet.

The Wellington is the last of the seven-strong Protector fleet to enter service. The seven vessels are operated by the Navy for military tasks. They are also used to conduct tasks for New Zealand Customs, the Department of Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Fisheries, the Maritime Safety Authority of New Zealand and the police.

During the regatta, the Wellington will host a number of VIPs including the Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand and Auckland mayor Len Brown, who will have the privilege of starting one of the races.

A regatta spokeswoman said the Navy had been a key supporter of the event since its early days.

"It is a rare and ceremonial event too for the Navy to send one of its frigates over to the city-side and beat the retreat as well," she said.

The Wellington is named in honour of the HMNZS Wellington F69 which was a Leander class frigate serving in the Navy from 1987 until 1999.

Campbell said the Navy had been a solid supporter of the Auckland Anniversary Regatta for many years.

The Wellington takes over as guard ship from the HMNZS Te Mana, which led the 2010 regatta.

Last year the Te Mana kicked off Auckland Anniversary weekend with a cocktail party, hosting a varied guest list including the Minister of Defence and then-Mayor of Auckland John Banks.

The rest of the weekend was used to showcase the Te Mana and the Navy. Hundreds of people had the chance to get a hands-on look at the ship and the crew during an open day held at the wharf.

This year will be no different, with the crew of the Wellington opening up the ship to the public.

Following the Anniversary day regatta the Te Mana returned to Devonport, where the naval base is situated, to participate in a fleet-wide dress-ship.

Last year, for the first time, the Navy contributed two ships to take part in the regatta. Alongside the Te Mana was the inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Taupo, which marked one end of the start line.

The Wellington will be open today, Sunday 30 January from 10am until 4pm. Entry is free to the public and the last admission is 3pm to allow everyone to have a decent look aboard the vessel.