The 36.2 metre sailing yacht Miss Silver has been crowned the winner of the 2021 New Zealand Millennium Cup.
Having mantained the lead in all three races of the regatta, the Alloy sailing yacht was confirmed the overall winner after poor weather conditions led to the cancellation of further racing on Royal Huisman day.
Miss Silver was nonethless up against firece competition throughout the regatta in the form of the runner up, Tawera. the Auckland-based, 28-metre Tawera finished second to Miss Silver by just a few seconds in each of the races.
Although Tawera missed out on winning the 2021 New Zealand Millennium Cup, her team did receive a substantial prize in the form of a 20 litre barrel of Mount Gay Rum, after her crew emerged victorious during the Rum Barrel Skiff Race on Boat International race day.
The final results of the regatta confirmed that 34.2 metre Royal Huisman yacht Sassafras finished in third place, followed by 44 metre Vitters-built Catalina and 31 metre classic Aschanti IV of Vegesack in last place.
All of the races in the 2021 New Zealand Millennium Cup took place in the Bay of Islands, over racecourses ranging in length from nine to 12 nautical miles. This edition of the competition was also the first to make use of a unique new handicap system, which race officials commended.
With races cancelled, the superyacht fleet spent the final day of the competition around Motuarohia Island, soaking up the sunshine and swimming alongside dolphins, with Catalina even shooting off a cannon. The event concluded with a prizegiving at the local Duke of Marlborough Hotel.
“The spirit of this regatta is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” commented Sean Whitney, captain of Catalina as the formalities came to an end and celebrations began.
Having now concluded its 15th edition, the Millennium Cup is the longest-running superyacht regatta in the South Pacific, first held alongside the America’s Cup competition in 2000.
A key focus of the regatta, held each year in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands, is to highlight the extended cruising possibilities throughout the country for visiting yachts stopping over to watch the action.