Torpedo-Onna-Stick (Canterbury) Traditional Cache
Woolfienz: unable to maintain
Torpedo-Onna-Stick (Canterbury)
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Just above a tiny bay that is packed with history - do take time to walk down to the bay and explore !
**NOTE , DUE TO EQ DAMAGE, YOU MUST APPROACH FROM MAGAZINE BAY SIDE**
The co-ordinates are for the gun emplacement at Fort Erskine above Magazine Bay. The Russian scare in 1885 led to the building of several of these gun emplacements around Lyttelton Harbour.
Magazine Bay is the location of the Thornycroft Torpedo Boat Museum, which is housed in the old Powder Magazine building built in 1874 to store explosives for roadworks, an is well worth a visit on a weekend afternoon..
The concept of the Torpedo boat was frightningly simple.
The boats were equipped with a long spar projecing over the bow of the boat. An explosive charge was mounted on the end of the spar.
To effectively use the torpedo spar, the boat would have to approach the enemy until the spar was touching the hull of the enemy vessell and then explode it.
Despite armour plating to protect the crew, this was a highly dangerous form or warfare and they must have been either truly brave or foolishly trusting.
The "Onna-Stick" bit is my own personal tribute to C.M.O.T Dibbler from Terry Pratchetts Discworld books, who always turns us at any event purveying some food item "'Onna-Stick"
The beach is nicely sheltered for swimming when the tide is in, and the museum is open on weekend afternoons
The cache is a small Wellware rectangular container. Camoflage painted. and holding a few small swaps, log book etc.
There are picnic tables close by and quite a few places to sit and fill in logbook. Quite a few steps to get here and its a little steep in places.
**PLEASE BE SURE TO PLACE CACHE WELL BACK**
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
haqre jrfg rqtr