The shipping lanes were busy in Dunedin at the weekend, with navy ships, merchant vessels, fishing boats and sailing craft vying for space, when the Alligator Tours airboat got into trouble in heavy weather and flipped.
Fortunately, the potentially disastrous scenario was played out on a much smaller scale than real life, and was restricted to the quite safe environs of the Charles E. Hazard Memorial Pond. And Murray Vince, wearing waders, was on hand to retrieve the overturned airboat.
What is colloquially known as ''the pond'' was just one site for model engineers to show off their creations on the first day of the Otago Model Engineering Society's festival week show in St Kilda on Saturday.
The show began on Saturday and continues until February 8. And to honour 100 years since the beginning of World War 1, the 2015 event had a military theme, convener Michael Forrest said.
There was a wide variety of models, from trains to planes and automobiles.
Mr Forrest said the club had a membership of about 115 people keen to indulge in what he said was a creative outlet.
''What we do is make models. It's creative - it's part of being human to have creativity in you,'' he said.
For Mr Forrest, a train set he got for Christmas began a lifelong interest in trains, and the instructions for the set in French and German began a lifelong interest in languages.
The Otago Vintage Machinery Club and Dunedin Model Aero Club were also involved in the show.
Footnote: The airboat was soon back on the water after its model drama.
