Millionaires row filling fast

By ALAN PERROTT

There are more superyachts in Auckland than at the same stage of the last America's Cup, they are also bigger, staying longer and many more are on the way.

One hundred and twenty of the luxury vessels are booked in for the cup finals next year, but with seven new arrivals last week the resident population along millionaires row has already topped 50.

The homes away from home for the rich and famous are attracting plenty of envious glances from the 17,200 people visiting the Viaduct Harbour each day over the past month.

Among the new boats is the sleek, white racing yacht Unfurled.

She is owned by Harry Macklowe, a New York real estate magnate who fought a bitter feud with American style guru Martha Stewart.

Unfurled was one of seven unloaded from the Dock Express 12 last week and has taken a prime spot at Te Wero Island in the middle of the viaduct. Mr Macklowe enjoyed widespread notoriety in the United States after trading hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees with Stewart during a dispute over shrubberies and lighting on land dividing their properties in The Hamptons, an exclusive district of Long Island.

At one point Stewart, once named as one of the "50 most powerful women" by Fortune magazine and now being investigated for alleged insider trading, sued after Mr Macklowe's gardener publicly accused her of abusing him and using her car to pin him against a security gate control box.

Unfurled was the 44th superyacht to take up residence in the Viaduct Harbour, a larger fleet than the venue was hosting at the same time during the last regatta.

Hosts Team New Zealand say the yachts arriving for this regatta are on average 5m longer than last time and are staying one month longer.

Most of the owners of these enormous vessels will arrive around December 15, in time for the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals. The Dock Express 12 "floating marina" will return to Auckland with more superyachts in the next few weeks. But there is already more floating eyecandy sitting at other Auckland marinas for enthusiastic yachtspotters to enjoy.

Orams Marine, at Westhaven, is filled to capacity with another 12 big yachts including Ke-Ama II, Antarctica, Freedom, Anakena and Rubino.

The 40m sloop Philanderer, owned by an Italian count, is under wraps at the marine service centre for a paint job worth about $1.5 million.

Whangaparaoa's Gulf Harbour Marina is hosting a dozen yachts over 30m, including the New Zealand-built, European-owned 34m yacht Silvertip.

Bayswater Marina has two 30m-plus monsters, the 55m Huntress and Alumercia, a 38m full-displacement aluminium yacht.

Achilles III, a 33m superyacht owned by Hamilton Island Resort's Australian creator Keith Williams, sailed into Bayswater on Monday.

Tatoosh, the 92m, $US100 million megayacht owned by Microsoft partner and OneWorld syndicate funder Paul Allen, has had several homes since arriving in late October.

She is too big to fit inside the Viaduct Harbour and has been berthed at Princes Wharf, the outer Viaduct Harbour marina, the inner Waitemata Harbour, and is now sitting alongside New Zealand Navy frigates at Devonport.

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