Unusual’s final ship naming of the summer of 2003 reunited the production team with their long-standing creative partner Sir Michael Parker. The naming was for Swan Hellenic’s new ship Minerva II and the ceremony was to be held whilst the ship was moored on the Thames, a short distance downstream of Tower Bridge. The largest ship to venture this far up the Thames for 70 years, Minerva II was an impressive sight.
Swan Hellenic stipulated that the ceremony build/de-rig should be carried out with the minimum of disruption to the ship, because the process was to happen whilst a cruise was in progress. The contents of a full 40ft curtainside truck were forklifted onto the ship on Monday 30th June, whilst the ship was docked in Bordeaux. Over the next three nights, a team of three installed the cabling for the sound and lighting systems. Transformers were positioned to convert ships power to more conventional production requirements. Cables were laid and cable tied into the ships cable trays wherever possible to maintain the required level of discretion.
On Wednesday, the next instalment of the production team travelled to Le Havre to join the ship in nearby Honfleur the next morning. Work would start in earnest once the guests had gone into dinner on Thursday evening. Work was to be carried out whilst the ship was sailing up the English Channel and as predicted - it rained. Mike Hannon from Centrestage provided the backdrop for the main ceremony, scenic elements to hide the pool deck bar and to cover the jaccuzis.
Unusual provided a couple of goalposts for Fourth Phase’s lighting and Delta Sound supplied the sound system for the event. The theme was an English Country Garden, which necessitated a black liner and fountain in the swimming pool and a spectacular floral display by Town and Country to disguise the pool and jaccuzis. Production designer Malcolm Birkett showed enormous restraint and left out the plastic frogs, fish and gnomes!
The jaccuzis were covered with a circular steel frame and then decked to provide twin stages for St. Pauls Cathedral choir.
The final instalment of the production team came on board from a tender at 0530 on Friday from Butlers Wharf on the south bank of the Thames. During the morning, graphics panels were installed, sound levels set and the rig was set up for the bottle smash. In the afternoon, The Band of the Royal Marines arrived for rehearsals with the choir and the VIP’s.
The bottle smash was a zip wire from the top of the ship’s funnel down to the rail on Deck 10. The bottle was on a short stinger line, enabling it to smash on the name board fixed to the railings for the event. The debris fell behind the scenic panels, which were disguising the pool deck bar. The smash was successfully rehearsed in the morning and in the evening when the godmother, Dame Kiri te Kanawa uttered the immortal words “I name this ship...”, all went well apart form one thing we all forgot - the ships horn. The ship’s contribution is a long blast on the horn and much amusement was derived on seeing the ashen faced riggers Robin Elias and John Roberts emerging from the funnel!
The naming ceremony took place early in the evening. The guests then dispersed for dinner, during which a barge loaded with fireworks proceeded to a point between the ship and Tower Bridge. After dinner, guests were invited on deck by MC Stephen Fry for a superb fireworks display by Pyrovision to the backdrop of London and Tower Bridge.
The derig and get out started immediately after the event. All production elements were taken from deck 9 down to deck 3, where the equipment was offloaded onto a Thames barge and taken up river to Putney for offloading. All production staff were clear of the ship by 0900 on Saturday.
