S.Y. Naos confirms for Millennium Cup
Tuesday 3 February 2009, 6:43PM
By Millennium Cup Pacific Series
773 views
Mark Wightman, chairman of the Millennium Cup Pacific Series organising committee, has confirmed another entrant in the event’s division one class for superyachts over 100 feet in length.
“We’re delighted to announce that S.Y. Naos will join S.Y. Janice of Wyoming, S.Y. Thalia and S.Y. Silvertip to sail for the Millennium Cup on Auckland Harbour next week,’ says Wightman.
“Along with S.Y. Ragtime and the unofficial-but-nonetheless interesting entry of NZL41, one of New Zealand’s America’s Cup boats from 1995, we are surer than ever this is going to be a great sailing regatta.
“And we’re very close to confirming one, possibly two more sailing yachts,” adds Wightman. “We won’t say which ones just yet; let’s get the entry details confirmed with the owners and crews first.
“While this Millennium Cup won’t have the sheer numbers we saw at our last event in Palma de Mallorca, we’re confident the sailing will be no less intense as these fantastic sailing yachts compete in a best of four races regatta for the cup.”
The Millennium Cup Pacific Series superyacht regatta runs from 9 to 11 February, with IRC-format racing taking place each of the three days. The three courses include an inner harbour race starting from Princes Wharf in downtown Auckland, a longer race taking in Rakino, Tiritiri Matangi and Moturoa islands in the Hauraki Gulf, and a twice-repeated triangular course starting off Takapuna beach.
S.Y. Naos is a Ron Holland Design yacht 32m or 105ft in length. Ron Holland also designed one of Naos’ competitors, Thalia, a 48.5m (160ft) superyacht.
“This Millennium Cup Pacific Series offers superyacht owners what could be the last chance in a long time to compete for the Millennium Cup in Auckland. We don’t know when, or if, the America’s Cup will be contested again. As our event is intrinsically linked to the America’s Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup, all you can say with certainty is that the next Millennium Cup will be sailed overseas. So with the beautiful summer we’re having in Auckland, there’s no better time to get a race crew together and get out on to the Waitemata Harbour for a very special Millennium Cup challenge in 2009,” concludes Wightman.
The 2009 Millennium Cup Pacific Series is made possible with the support of Boat International Media, Alloy Yachts, Integrated Marine Group, Southern Spars, Fitzroy Yachts, Robinson Marine Interiors, Events Clothing, Viking Crew Management, Hall Spars, Electronic Navigation, Oceanbridge Shipping, Harken NZ, North Sails, IC Frith & Associates, Maxwell Marine, Mulcahy Engineering, Yachting Developments, 26000 Vodka, Lufthansa Private Jet, Lexus, Antipodes Water, Arano Juice and Domo Collections.