KEY POINTS:
It's the ultimate holiday home, decked out in rosewood, with staff on hand to cater for every whim.
The luxurious $6 million Verena V superyacht is causing heads to turn at its berth at Tauranga Bridge Marina.
It is en route from Auckland to the Marlborough Sounds where its British owner will step aboard.
"Out of all the marinas we've been to, the service here has been unbelievable," Kiwi skipper Gerry Ross said.
"They've bent over backwards for us.
"We got some looks going through the entrance here and we've had a number of people coming down to have a look at its size."
He said it was hard to find a berth big enough to fit the 27m 70-tonne ship, so it was docked at the edge of the marina.
The ship was brought from France on a yacht transporter ship, as it is not rated to sail the vast distance across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
After arriving in Auckland, the crew has been getting the yacht shipshape for the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous.
It has been in Tauranga since Saturday and is expected to stay for a week, or until the conditions allow it to move on to its next port of call, Napier.
The owner will step aboard in January and has made the yacht available to family in the South Island.
In April, it will move on, again on a transporter ship, to Southeast Asia.
"It would be cheaper to charter a ship this size instead of bringing it over here but it's his boat and he wants to share it with his family," Mr Ross said.
He said that unlike other yachts its size, the Verena V it was available only for private use and was never chartered out.
"It's one of the smallest boats I've skippered but also the newest.
"In terms of electronic set-ups, it's pretty amazing. It's got lots of back-ups that others don't have."
He said the yachting industry was dominated by Kiwis and Australians - two of the Verena V's crew are New Zealanders, while the third is Czech.
"In this industry it's more about the person you work for.
"He'll make me coffee in the mornings. He's a really nice guy and that's the hardest thing in this industry - getting a good owner."
VERENA V
Value: $6 million.
Length: 27m.
Weight: 70 tonnes.
Top speed: 50km/h.
Engines: 2 x 1500hp diesels.
Guest rooms: Two doubles and two twins. Master double has Sky TV and en suite with jacuzzi bath. Crew have rooms below deck.
Toilets: Six.
Bathrooms: Five.
Capacity: Nine guests and four crew.
Facilities: Fly bridge with outdoor furniture, kitchen, lounge, bow deck and stern loungers, drive-in storage for tender and water sports gear.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
