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Sailing On A Grand Scale
By Doug Owen
It wasn’t by mere chance that twenty-plus Corinthians and friends met in February in Auckland, New Zealand; it was, instead, a well organized America’s Cup Finals tour choreographed by Corinthians Cindy Marques & Fred Mayo.
Although some chose to arrive a few days early for some independent touring, the majority of our contingent assembled at the Heritage Hotel in Auckland early on the 24th. Following a day to relax and become rested and oriented, we assembled at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the water on the Viaduct Basin for cocktails and dinner on the patio in the warm, late summer evening. It was exciting to be looking out over the assembled megayachts and syndicate bases of the world’s sailing professionals, after watching so much of the preliminaries on TV! Now, here we were, with good friends old and new, in the midst of the action and adventure!
Visitors and locals agreed that what lay before us on the waters of Viaduct Basin was surely the most impressive assemblage of world class yachts ever in one place on the face of the globe. Med-moored caprail to caprail throughout every part of the quay, each seemed more impressive that the last. There are very few places one can go where the 80 and 90 footers seem small and insignificant! Heightened by the throngs of racing enthusiasts from all over the world, the size of the party matched the size of the yachts!
Getting onto a boat and out to the Huraki Gulf to view the racing firsthand was an easy task, as anyone with a suitable vessel (and some not so!) was anxious to profit from the action. Once again, CYC shined through, and a majority of our party found ourselves on various days aboard Super Fun, a 70’ catamaran motoryacht chartered by America True Syndicate. Departing from Viaduct Basin around 1000 hrs., we motored out onto the Gulf among a throng of other watercraft, to find our way to one of the offshore islands where, once the anchor was set, we were treated to swimming off of the stern and a sumptuous barbeque smorgasbord. Then, weighing anchor, a leisurely passage to the fringes of the racecourse in time for the days’ activities, while our capable crew passed trays of brownies, chilled fruits, and strawberries and whipped cream so we wouldn’t go hungry.
It was a thrill to be so close to the action. It was estimated that over 2,500 watercraft of all description descended on the Gulf on weekend race days, yet Super Fun, flying her “official” colors identifying her as a Syndicate vessel, was afforded a front-row, close to the committee boat position for maximum viewing of the action on the racecourse. With Team New Zealand’s five-zip crushing of the competing Prada Syndicate, it seemed that even the Kiwis were hoping for an Italian win or two just to heighten the drama before it was over.
As NZ60 and Prada were towed from their bases toward the Gulf in the morning, the noise from the blaring horns of yachts in the Viaduct, the hovering helicopters towing banners of support for each team, and the cheers of the thousands lining the quay became deafening. A well of empathetic support built throughout the competition for Prada, as they fell to one crushing defeat after another. After all, even the Niners won some games last year!
If one chose not to view the racing from the water, there were a number of premiere establishments with big-screen TVs, great bloody marys and local wines plus excellent food, and populated by enthusiastic spectators located around the perimeter of Viaduct Basin. As an added bonus, following race five, a float was towed to the head of the Basin, just outside the front door of a number of viewing establishments, and the crowd became a crush as first Prada and then NZ60 moored alongside for the presentation of the Cup.
Off the racecourse and almost as exciting was the Corinthian Dinner and evening at Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, current home of the America’s Cup. In addition to being very gracious to our attending membership, there was a tremendous sense of pride as Commodore Diana Fischer presented our burgee to RNZYS Vice Commodore Peter B. Taylor.
All in all, it was a fun-filled and exciting ten days down under, the only sad moment being when we had to accept the fact that it was over, and time to disband, either to travel home, or continue on to individual new adventures.
When you’re around the club and you spot someone wearing America’s Cup New Zealand logos, chances are they were there, so use it as an opportunity to make a new friend, and find out more details than this space can provide; it was a truly wonderful experience. |
