The French patrol boat FNS Prairial and its 94 sailors were on show in Dunedin yesterday.
The naval vessel had been on a routine visit in Dunedin since Sunday while on a maritime surveillance mission to New Zealand.
The frigate was open to the public yesterday and was expected to depart Dunedin this morning for Wellington, then Auckland and Rarotonga before returning to its home port of Papeete, Tahiti, in French Polynesia.
Captain Frederic Daumas (41) said the joint naval mission with the New Zealand Navy and New Zealand Army had ''gone well''.
The mission included maritime surveillance from the frigate and from the helicopter Alouette III, which was housed on the frigate.
''We had a good time with our New Zealand friends - it was a very exciting experience for us.''
During the naval exercise, he met two of his former workmates in England, who were now in the New Zealand Navy, he said.
Navy crew from anywhere could work together easily because they thought the same, he said.
''We have the same tactics, procedures and approach to the sea and our job.''
The camaraderie was important to enhance military relationships, he said.
Although he would return to Tahiti - and his wife of 17 years and five children - for Christmas, the frigate would be at sea for seven months this year, he said.
Navy life could be hard on family life.
The younger children enjoyed the frequent moves, but the teenage children did not, he said.
''For families, it is quite a burden.''
The 94 crew on the frigate - 12 Tahitians and 82 French - were finding the Dunedin weather cold yesterday.
Dunedin reminded him of Brittany in the northwest of France, which had a changeable maritime climate.
