Boating NZ February 2021

The machine that is the America’s Cup is often vilified – even by die-hard yacht-racing enthusiasts – as a toxic, unsavoury circus populated by a cast of unscrupulous, self-serving, egodriven elitists with a limited grasp of what goes on in real life. And they have a point: much of the action – and it’s seemingly written into the event’s DNA – always revolves around a barrage of protests and accusations, of legal challenges and counter-challenges. Victims vs villains. Always an unpleasant, headline-grabbing sideshow, far removed from the values of what was once considered the sport of kings. How did it come to this? But we saw a different and far more edifying slice of the America’s Cup on Sunday, January 17 following the catastrophic capsize of the American Magic team’s…

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Widely-considered one of the world’s most elegant motoryacht classics – the 90-year-old Atlantide has arrived at the Royal Huisman and Huisfit Shipyard in the Netherlands for a complete refit. Built by the British shipyard Philip & Sons in 1930 (designed by naval architect Alfred Mylne) Atlantide has changed ownership (and names) many times over her illustrious career and has also enjoyed numerous refits. She is now owned by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dr Jim Clark. The project follows Huisfit’s earlier refit (in 2020) of Clark’s other famous vessel – the J-Class Hanuman. The shipyard has a lengthy track record with the restoration of classics and conversions and received the prestigious ‘Best Rebuilt Yacht Award’ for the 1913 Herreshoff schooner Vagrant in November last year. Atlantide was originally built as Calista for…

The inclusion of females in the New Zealand SailGP team progressed in January with six of the country’s top female sailors trialling for spots on the boat. New Zealand announced its intention last year to field a SailGP Team, sailed on F50 foiling catamarans. It is headed by co-chief executives Peter Burling and Blair Tuke and the pair, along with former Yachting New Zealand high performance director Jez Fanstone, held the trials at the Manly Sailing Club. The six triallists, which included Alex Maloney, Molly Meech, Erica Dawson, Liv Mackay and Gemma Jones, predominantly sailed Waszp foiling boats over the weekend but also did strategy sessions as Burling, Tuke and Fanstone assessed the hopefuls. SailGP plans to advance gender equity. There are presently five roles on the cats, including two…

Hitting the water just after the New Year break was this new EC powercat, designed by Ron Given and built by Craig Partridge Yachts in Kerikeri. Built for an Auckland-based owner, this 10.8m boat is the fourth of these powercats Partridge has produced. She features two double cabins and two heads, with the option of an additional double berth in the saloon. She’s powered by twin Yanmar 110hp diesels on ZF saildrives, cruises at 15 knots and has a top speed of 20 knots. Made of timber, foam and glass composite, Hōne Rua also features lithium batteries and a Raymarine radar and electronics package.…

Protection of the South Atlantic’s marine wildlife has taken a significant step forward with the government of Tristan da Cunha – one of the planet’s most remote inhabited islands – banning bottom-trawling fishing, deep-sea mining and other harmful activities from its waters. Around 250 people live on the volcanic island which is part of the UK’s overseas territories. The island’s government has announced that almost 700,000km2 of its waters will become a marine protected area (MPA), the fourth largest such sanctuary in the world. It is hoped this move will protect and safeguard the region’s teeming wildlife which includes species such as sevengill sharks, the globally threatened yellow-nosed albatross and Atlantic petrel, rockhopper penguins and other birds. One of the island’s residents – James Glass – says Tristan da Cunha…