Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Hendrix guitar, Tudor warship used in Olympic boat

Updated at 3:22 pm on 8 May 2012

A boat built from 1200 pieces of wood, including fragments from the 16th century Tudor warship Mary Rose and Jimi Hendrix's guitar, has been launched in England.

Named Collective Spirit , it was created as part of a national art project to mark the 2012 London Olympics and built at a West Sussex boatyard.

The name was chosen by public vote and the bottle used in the naming ceremony was cracked by Emily Covell, 13, the daughter of Olympic silver medallist Mark Covell.

The project was funded by the Arts Council as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Project spokeswoman Tracy Jones said more than 1000 people came to see the boat and to spot the pieces they have donated.

"People have also been desperate to have a go on the tiller because that's where the Jimi Hendrix bit is."

Others pieces included a plank from the London 2012 Velodrome, several hockey sticks, a Victorian policeman's truncheon, large crates used to transport gold as British securities to Canada during World War II and a hairbrush used by a make-up artist at Pinewood Studios in the 1960s.

The boat will visit locations along the south coast en route to the Olympic sailing venue in Weymouth, Dorset, arriving in time for the Games in August.

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