On the 4th of March 2010 the first NZ Marine Cup was held. The race began at New Zealand’s Auckland Harbour, with scenic Kawau Island as their destination which lies in the Hauraki Gulf, (40 km north of Auckland), and 1.4km off the North Auckland shore.
The race included a small fleet of superyachts that set sail late in the morning on Thursday 4 March for the first NZ Marine Cup, hosted by the New Zealand Marine Export Group (NZ Marine). This one-off race saw the beautifully-crafted superyachts SY Drumbeat, SY Shenandoah and SY Celandine as the official entries for the Kiwi Kawau Challenge.
The beautiful, classic three-masted schooner Shenandoah was built in 1902. She is 54m (177 ft) in length with a steel-hull and a traditional timber superstructure.
Sailing yacht Drumbeat is a 174 ft (53 m) Dubois-designed, Alloy Yachts-built ketch that is back in New Zealand having scheduled maintenance work done according to Captain Michel Personnic.
Sailing yacht Celandine is a 95 ft (29m) cruising yacht that is visiting New Zealand while on a round-the-world cruise following a westerly direction. Sailing yacht Celandine arrived in New Zealand in October and has been undergoing some repairs and maintenance after more than a year at sea covering 17,000 nautical miles.
The course provided perfect sailing for the race with clear sunny skies and a good wind blowing. All three yachts had different start times allocated by race director Hal Wagstaff of the Royal New Zealand yacht Squadron. With the difference is start times, Sailing yacht drumbeat was across the finish lines first, with Sailing yachts Celandine and Shenandoah following. With the race completed entrants and spectators headed the Kawau for the prize giving and celebrated with a kiwi BBQ under a marquee setting pitched beside the historic landmark Mansion House.
With the times reconciled, the results were announced as follows:
1st place: Sailing yacht Celandine
2nd place: Sailing yacht Shenandoah
3rd place: Sailing yacht Drumbeat
The race was a great success that aimed to help profile New Zealand and Auckland as fantastic places for super yachts and their passengers to visit.
