She’s got it; Sassafras takes the win! At the morning’s briefing, principal race officer Harold Bennett told owners, captains and crew he was sending them on two of the Cup’s longest courses. 
“With 15 to 18 knots of wind forecast, our race committee is sending you out into the Hauraki Gulf. The Multihull Division is bound for Gannet Rock and a drag race, while our NZ Millennium Cup division is taking on the longest course they’ll tackle over the regatta.”

And tackle it they did, with the superyachts out on 33.2nm course four, and multihulls taking on course five’s 41.6nm. The NZ Millennium Cup division was… Read More

New Zealand’s largest on-water boat show will play host to this year’s new boat releases when it forms part of Moana Auckland this March.Preparations are underway now for the huge selection of boats journeying to Auckland for the Auckland Boat Show.With more than 500 marine brands, and 150 boats on display, the 2024 show will host this year’s new boat releases with an enormous array of vessels from sailing yachts, to RIBs; trailer boats to luxury motoryachts.It’s a jewel in the crown of Moana Auckland; New Zealand’s Ocean Festival. The city’s deep connection with the water will be on full… Read More

The clock is on! The New Zealand Millennium Cup gets underway this week, marking the start of Auckland’s inaugural ocean festival.The southern hemisphere’s longest-running superyacht regatta gets underway this week in Auckland.The final countdown is on to the New Zealand Millennium Cup, which will see striking superyachts gather to race in Auckland from this Friday. This year’s Cup is a standout edition of the event, marking the start of Moana Auckland; New Zealand’s ocean festival.Credit: Robert Gleed, Breed MediaWith the festival creating a month-long celebration of Aucklanders’ connection with the ocean, the harbour city makes the perfect backdrop for the… Read More

From tiny model boats, perfect in every detail through to a steam tug that helped build the Auckland Harbour Bridge, to our most famous race yachts: more than 160 boats will on display at the Jellicoe Harbour in Auckland’s Viaduct from 1-3 March for the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival.“We put out a call for owners of wooden boats to let us know if they were keen to be involved and the response was overwhelming,” says Tony Stevenson, co-director of the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival.The list includes an electrified classic launch, a full line up of A-Class gaffs, Ranger, Innismarra, Tawera,… Read More

MIAMI (Feb. 15, 2024) — Mercury Marine®, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), introduced Mercury Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels, compatible for use with the Mercury Verado® family of V8, V10 and V12 outboard engines from 250 to 600hp, at the Discover Boating™ Miami International Boat Show in Miami Beach, Florida. Enhanced by electric steering, Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels rounds out Mercury’s suite of joystick systems, delivering effortless command and control to owners of vessels powered by sterndrives, inboards, Zeus® pod drives, multi-outboard installations, multi-outboards with an integrated bow thruster, single-engine pontoons with deployable thrusters, and now, boats with… Read More

Yamaha Marine New Zealand has announced the release of their widely anticipated all-new F350 V6 4.3L horsepower outboard. The new engine combining big horsepower, state-of-the-art features, industry leading boat control integration, premium level performance and of course Yamaha’s legendary reputation for reliability.Yamaha has been the leader in bringing big horsepower engines to the outboard market, introducing the V8 F350 in 2007. Since this time, Yamaha has dominated the New Zealand offshore market when it comes to high horsepower and boat control system integration, with the new V6 F350 filling an important segment in Yamaha’s extensive high horsepower line-up.The new F350… Read More

Superyacht crew and industry gathered in Auckland to celebrate New Zealand’s annual superyacht welcome function last night. The event, hosted by NZ Marine, is the largest superyacht networking event in the southern hemisphere and sees local industry companies host captains, crew and guests. Crew from more than 35 yachts were invited to the event, held on Auckland’s waterfront, with those celebrating their first season in New Zealand mingling with crew glad to be back. Credit: Matt Crawford PhotographyNZ Marine’s Peter Busfield welcomed superyacht captains and crew and thanked them for choosing to come to New Zealand, as well as acknowledging the 47… Read More

Organisers of the inaugural Auckland Wooden Boat Festival are calling for owners of wooden boats to participate in a new event honouring Auckland’s maritime heritage.“There are wooden boats throughout the region that have fascinating stories to tell. They can be graceful yachts, work boats, recreational boats, dinghies, and even skiffs and canoes. We especially welcome indigenous boats,” says Festival Co-Director Tony Stevenson.Tony says that boats will be berthed at Jellicoe Wharf in Auckland’s Viaduct for the three days of the festival.“Owners or representatives will be on board to tell visitors about their boat, to share their story with the public.”He… Read More

prestigious DAME awardRaymarine’s recently released Alpha Series performance displays have won the coveted Navigation and Communication category of the 2023 DAME Awards at the METSTRADE industry show in Amsterdam.Designed for sailors, by sailors, the Alpha Series take tactical and situational awareness to a new level.Providing fully customisable and extensive data and graphical information, the high-visibility touchscreen Alpha Series displays are designed to be read quickly, accurately and at distance. Optimised for helm or mast mounting, they highly visible in a wide range of light and spray scenarios, and through polarised sunglasses.Controlled and customised using the touchscreen or remotely through a networked… Read More

From 1-3 March 2024 a festival celebrating Auckland’s maritime heritage will be held for the first time on the waterfront.Photo credit: Tony Stevenson“Wooden boats are in our DNA,” says founder of the event, Tony Stevenson. “We are an island nation, connected by waterways and boats are truly integral to our way of life. Wooden boats are that connection back to our heritage.”The inaugural Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, which is part of the Moana Auckland Festival, is organised by members of the Tino Rawa Trust and the Classic Yacht Association with the support of Tātaki Unlimited, the New Zealand Maritime Museum… Read More